UK

A new public awareness campaign has been launched, urging people to ”stay at home” and “act like you’ve got” coronavirus in an attempt to encourage the public to comply with lockdown rules. It comes amid growing fears that people have not been observing social distancing rules, as case numbers surge, hospitals become swamped and deaths continue to

The UK has recorded its highest daily increase in the number of COVID-related deaths of the pandemic, with 1,325 fatalities. Government figures also show the UK recorded 68,053 new coronavirus cases – the highest daily total of the pandemic so far. Responding to the announcement, a spokesperson for Public Health England (PHE) said “we can

All travellers to England from overseas will need to test negative for coronavirus before they are allowed to enter the country, the government has announced. The test will need to be taken up to 72 hours before their departure – and failure to comply will result in an immediate £500 fine. Arrivals by boat, plane

Hundreds of thousands of vaccines will be delivered daily by the end of next week, the prime minister has promised. Speaking at a Downing Street briefing, Boris Johnson said almost 1.5 million people across the UK have received their first dose already. And he insisted the UK has “enough” vaccines to offer a first dose

GP surgeries in England are to begin rolling out the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus jab as part of the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history. It comes just a day after the UK daily reported death toll topped 1,000 for the first time since 21 April with a further 1,041 people dying with the virus. Record numbers

Teacher assessments will replace GCSE and A-level exams in England this summer, the education secretary has announced. “This year, we’re going to put our trust in teachers, rather than algorithms,” Gavin Williamson told MPs in the Commons. Setting out his plans for students as MPs prepared to vote on England’s latest lockdown, Mr Williamson said

Foreign travellers may need to test negative for coronavirus before being allowed into the UK if ministers back plans to tackle surging cases. The prime minister told the Downing Street press conference on Tuesday that the government will be “bringing in measures to ensure that we test people coming into this country and prevent the

The government “should be able” to begin easing England’s coronavirus lockdown in March, a senior minister has told Sky News. Michael Gove said the public should not expect a sudden relaxation of the COVID-19 rules, with restrictions “progressively” relaxed instead. “The government is doing everything it can in order to ensure that we can roll

Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown for England – with people instructed to “stay at home” as they did during last March’s first shutdown. The prime minister revealed the action in an eight-minute TV address on Monday night, after being told that COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in every part of the country

Boris Johnson will make a TV address tonight to set out “further steps” to combat the spread of COVID-19. The prime minister is expected to speak at 8pm, while parliament will be recalled to sit on Wednesday amid calls for a third national lockdown in England. Live COVID updates as PM to address the nation

The government must impose a national lockdown within 24 hours, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said. Sir Keir said the virus is “clearly out of control” and national restrictions have to be “the first step”. He said: “It’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week

Hundreds of new vaccination sites are expected to be up and running this week as the NHS expands its coronavirus immunisation programme. Some 530,000 doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine will be available across the UK from Monday. At first, only a small number of hospital will distribute the vaccine but after a few days,

Public Health England (PHE) has said it does not recommend mixing COVID-19 vaccines from different suppliers. The warning comes as distribution of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is due to start in the UK next week, the second roll-out following the launch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in December, with both requiring two doses. On New Year’s Eve,

A coroner in Malaysia has ruled the death of British teenager Nora Quoirin was most likely a misadventure that did not involve other people. The 15-year-old from Balham, southwest London, vanished from a hotel in August 2019. Rescue teams searched for 10 days before her body was found by a stream just over a mile

Boris Johnson is facing calls to close every school in England after an embarrassing government U-turn which means all primary schools in London will remain shut next week. A union leader claimed what was right for London was right for the rest of the country and called on ministers to “do their duty” and close

Police have broken up scores of parties across England and issued hundreds of fines as people ignored orders to stay in and celebrate New Year at home. Gatherings were broken up from Lancashire to Brighton, while in one Essex COVID hotspot officers had objects thrown at them at a large party in a disused church.