Germany to relax quarantine for double-vaccinated Britons

06:00 PM

Here's a recap of today's top news:

• Boris Johnson sought to downplay reports that up to five million Britons could be excluded from the EU's travel passport scheme because they had received an Indian-made dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine
• Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said there had been no "proportional rise" in hospitalisations despite rising cases
• Angela Merkel warned the Prime Minister that 60,000 fans at Wembley Euros final may be a "bit too much"
• A man was charged with common assault after accosting Professor Chris Whitty in St James's Park
• The WHO director-general warned that "no country is out of the woods yet" when it comes to Covid-19
• PHE data shows cases of the Delta variant were up 46 per cent in the past week

05:46 PM

Cambridge Covid patient discharged after 151 days in hospital

Rajinder Singh, 38, spent more than five months in Cambridge's Royal Papworth Hospital being treated for Covid-19.

The hospital said Mr Singh had broken the record for time spent on an artificial lung, with staff lining the corridors to clap for Mr Singh as he was discharged on Thursday after 151 days of treatment.

Mr Singh praised the staff for being "kind, compassionate and helpful" and for giving his family regular updates on his condition - sometimes several times a day.

He said: "I feel stronger every day and, when I can, I will get my Covid-19 vaccine as I've been in hospital during most of the time the vaccine has been rolled out."

05:28 PM

Russia will not impose a new lockdown despite surge in deaths

Russia said it will not impose a new lockdown - despite four days of record Covid-19 deaths.

The government has refused to impose a full lockdown since the first wave last year, reports AFP, and is hosting mass events including Euro 2020 football fixtures - including the quarter final match between Spain and Switzerland tonight.

President Vladimir Putin has urged Russians to get vaccinated, but the Kremlin today said “nobody wants any lockdowns” and said it is “not up for debate”.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "It [lockdown] is not being discussed, which is why... we must all be vaccinated as soon as possible."

The country today reported 679 deaths from the virus, up slightly from yesterday's previous record high of 672. There were 23,218 new cases, including 6,893 in Moscow.

05:17 PM

UK is experiencing a Covid 'Mexican wave', says professor

The UK is seeing its "own form of a Covid Mexican wave" as infections move from the west of the country to the east, a leading symptoms researcher has said.

Professor Tim Spector, co-founder of the ZOE Covid-19 symptom study, said areas in the west which have been worst affected are now seeing lower case rates, suggesting they have hit the peak of infections.

However, London, the South East, East Anglia and eastern parts of the country are seeing cases increase, according to data from his study.

"It is our own form of a Covid Mexican wave", he said.

04:40 PM

Common colds could prime the immune system to fight off Covid

Common colds may prime the immune system against Covid, scientists believe, after finding that some people never develop an infection despite repeated exposure to the virus.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have discovered that some people have natural protection against Covid and seem to fight off an infection using pre-existing memory T-cells.

T-cells remember past infections and circulate in the body looking for invaders. They can directly kill cells or activate other parts of the immune system.

The scientists studied a cohort of 129 healthcare workers at high risk of an infection for 16 weeks and found that 57 never tested positive for the virus.

• Read the full story here: Common colds could prime the immune system to fight off Covid

04:19 PM

Statue erected in Keswick for 'extraordinary' Covid hero dog

Max, a 13 year old springer spaniel, won the animal equivalent of an OBE - the PDSA Order of Merit - in February for providing virtual therapy during lockdown.

Now, his hometown of Keswick, Cumbria, has erected a bronze statue in local Hope Park to celebrate him.

His owner Kerry Irving said: "It's incredible that our little boy, proudly wearing his PDSA Order of Merit, will now be sat there and remembered for generations to come."

The statue was designed and made by local sculptor Kirsty Armstrong and was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign, which raised £26,000 in a single day.

04:06 PM

Japan may still ban all fans from Olympics

Japan could still ban all fans from the Tokyo Olympics - with the games opening in just three weeks.

Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the organising committee, said: "The situation of infection changes and how it will be - it is still unclear.

"But from Tokyo 2020's perspective, we also include an option of not having spectators."

If it happens, the decision would reverse one announced 10 days ago by organisers who said a limited number of local fans - up to 10,000 - would be allowed to attend.

03:48 PM

Africa's third wave 'like nothing we've seen before'

A third wave of Covid-19, fuelled by the Delta variant, is continuing to sweep across Africa - with South Africa suffering the most as case numbers double every three weeks.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, said: "The speed and scale of Africa's third wave is like nothing we've seen before."

The Delta variant has been reported in 16 African countries and accounts for more than half of the continent's new cases. It was detected in 97 per cent of samples collected in Uganda and in 79 per cent of samples collected in Congo, said the WHO.

"The rampant spread of more contagious variants pushes the threat to Africa up to a whole new level," Dr Moeti said in a statement.

"More transmission means more serious illness and more deaths, so everyone must act now and boost prevention measures to stop an emergency becoming a tragedy."

Less than 2 per cent of the 1.3 billion people across Africa have received a single vaccine dose.

03:26 PM

Global vaccine rollout, in pictures

Bogota, Colombia

Ottawa, Canada

Dharamshala, India

03:12 PM

UK records 27,125 new Covid cases and 27 deaths

The UK today reported 27,125 new Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official government data shows.

This compares to 27,989 cases and 22 deaths reported yesterday.

03:06 PM

More than 85 per cent of UK adults now vaccinated

Figures show 85 per cent of UK adults have now been vaccinated with a first vaccine dose, following rapid uptake among younger age groups.

A total of 63 per cent of people have been double-vaccinated.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said it is "hugely encouraging to see millions of young people coming forward so quickly for their jabs".

02:52 PM

Delta variant gains ground in France and Italy

The Delta variant of Covid-19 now accounts for around 20 per cent of cases in France and 22.7 per cent of cases in Italy.

The French health minister said the variant represents around a third - or 20 per cent - of cases in the country, and added that "there is a real risk that the epidemic will pick up again this summer in France".

In Italy, the National Health Institute (ISS) said the variant accounted for 22.7 per cent of cases on June 22.

The ISS said: "In Italy, where the vaccination campaign has not yet achieved sufficient coverage, the spread of more transmissible variants may have a significant impact”.

02:45 PM

'No country is out of the woods yet', says WHO director-general

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general, said that the world is in a “very dangerous period” of the Covid-19 pandemic and “no country is out of the woods yet”.

Dr Tedros said the coronavirus is a "common enemy" - and overcoming it is a "matter of survival for the world" - that especially affects small island countries, with the Delta variant having been detected in at least 98 countries.

He also urged world leaders to work together to ensure that 10 per cent of all people globally are vaccinated by September, and 70 per cent by this time next year - saying that "only a trickle" of vaccines are currently being shared around the world.

02:24 PM

Sporting events being opened up in 'very careful and controlled manner', says PM

Boris Johnson has said sporting events are being opened up in a "very careful and controlled manner" after Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern about the numbers attending Euro 2020 matches at Wembley.

Speaking at a joint news conference following their talks at Chequers, Mr Johnson said: "The crucial point is that here in the UK we have now built up a very considerable wall of immunity by our vaccination programme.

"In the UK almost 85pc have had a first dose and more than 63pc have had two jabs. Since you get more than 80pc protection from one dose and 93pc protection from two doses there is a very great degree of resistance to (the) virus in the UK population."

He said there had been "a big change" in the relationship between the numbers of cases and the numbers of serious illnesses and deaths since the start of the vaccination programme.

"I want to stress that we have been very cautious at every stage. But that's why I think it's been effective and it's why it's been an irreversible road map (out of lockdown)," he said.

01:57 PM

Government must consider alternatives to isolation, says scientist

The Government must consider alternatives to the 10-day isolation period in order to avoid creating constant pseudo-lockdowns, a scientist has suggested.

Dr Adam Kucharski, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group, said rising Covid-19 cases could mean a million people or more per day could be forced to self-isolate.

Dr Kucharski told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "If we get to a situation over the summer where there's 30,000 to 40,000 cases per day, you'll be potentially looking at maybe even over a million contacts per day who may be eligible for quarantine.

"In situations where you're quarantining large numbers of people you do end up with similar outcomes to lockdown."

He said scientists are investigating whether rapid daily testing over five days may be as effective as longer quarantine periods.

He added: "These measures are reducing transmission considerably and I think if we have an alternative that gives a similar reduction in transmission but less disruption, we do need to seriously consider if that's going to be a better option."

01:38 PM

Vatican calls for global effort to combat vaccine hesitancy

The Vatican's bioethics academy and the World Medical Association are calling for a combined effort to combat vaccine hesitancy and correct the "myths and disinformation" that are stunting the global effort against Covid-19.

In a joint statement, the groups said some vaccine hesitancy in poorer countries is rooted in historical inequalities and suspicions of Western pharmaceutical companies. But they said "a more pernicious form" of hesitancy is being driven by fake news, myths and disinformation about vaccine safety, including among religious groups and some in the medical community.

They demanded that "all relevant stakeholders exhaust all efforts to... confront vaccine hesitancy by sending a clear message about the safety and necessity of vaccines and counteracting vaccine myths and disinformation."

01:13 PM

Johnson & Johnson vaccine 'neutralises' Delta variant, study finds

Johnson & Johnson said that its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine "elicits neutralising activity" against the Delta variant, according to the results of a new study.

Analysis of blood from eight patients showed that immune responses elicited by the vaccine against the Delta variant were at a higher level than against the Beta, or South African, variant.

"We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against Covid-19 and elicits neutralising activity against the Delta variant," Johnson & Johnson chief scientific officer Paul Stoffels said.

Data from a separate study also showed that immune response for recipients of the vaccine lasted at least eight months.

"The single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralising antibody response that does not wane; rather, we observe an improvement over time," Mathai Mammen, head of research and development at Johnson & Johnson's drugs business, said.

01:05 PM

England's R rate decreases to 1.1 to 1.3

England's R rate has decreased slightly to 1.1 to 1.3, from its previous estimate of 1.2 to 1.4.

An R value between 1.3 and 1.3 means that, on average, every 10 people with Covid-19 will infect between 11 and 13 other people.

12:36 PM

Germany recommends mix and match vaccines

A German health committee has recommended all people who get a first shot of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should swap to a different vaccine for their second shot.

The committee, which includes health minister Jens Spahn, said current study results show a mixture of the AstraZeneca jab with an mRNA vaccine (such as Pfizer or Moderna) is "significantly superior" to two doses of AstraZeneca.

It also recommended the second dose be administered four weeks or more after the first shot, much shorter than the nine to 12 weeks recommended between AstraZeneca jabs.

This remains a draft and a final recommendation with more detail will be available soon.

12:20 PM

Thailand to speed up vaccines for vulnerable following record deaths

Health officials in Thailand said they will speed up Covid-19 vaccinations of the elderly and medically vulnerable as the country reported its third successive day of record deaths.

Reuters reported that health authorities had wanted to vaccinate those groups first - but supplies had been diverted to factory workers, communities with large outbreaks, and people on the island of Phuket ahead of this week's reopening to foreign tourists.

Senior health official Sopon Mekton told a briefing that: "We have to vaccinate at least 50 per cent of the two groups by the end of July."

Thailand reported 61 deaths from the virus on Friday. Only 0.7 per cent of over-60s and 3.1 per cent of people with health conditions have received two doses of a vaccine in the country.

12:03 PM

Slovakia to launch lottery for vaccinated people

Slovakia will launch a lottery with weekly prizes of up to 2 million euros for vaccinated people and offer bonuses to those who convince others to get their jabs, in a plan approved by parliament to boost uptake.

The proposal, by the ruling party Ordinary People (OLANO), offers people the opportunity to take part in the lottery once after each vaccine shot.

Separately, each Slovak who convinces another to get vaccinated will receive between 30 and 90 euros when that person gets fully vaccinated, with the bonus amount rising with the age of the vaccinated person.

"Because another wave of the pandemic can be expected in the autumn... it is necessary to develop maximum effort to increase the public's interest in vaccination," authors of the proposal said in a document supporting the plan.

Slovakia, a country of 5.5 million people, has fully vaccinated around 28.7 per cent of the population.

11:47 AM

Tory MP says it is "vital" we benefit from vaccine rollout as he self-isolates

Conservative MP Mark Harper said on Twitter that he is self-isolating at home, after coming into contact with a positive case, because he thinks it is "really important that elected politicians follow the rules" - but said we must soon be able to benefit from the success of the vaccine rollout to return to normal life.

11:29 AM

Estimated one in 260 people in England had Covid last week

Positive Covid-19 case rates have increased across most of the UK and are similar to levels last seen in February, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Around one in 260 people in private households in England are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week up to 26 June, up from one in 440 the previous week.

In Scotland, this figure was one in 150, up from one in 220.

Wales saw an estimated one in 450 people estimated to be infected, up from one in 830; while one in 670 people tested positive in Northern Ireland, up slightly from one in 720.

11:23 AM

England fans advised to watch tomorrow's match outdoors

England fans should watch tomorrow's Euros 2020 match against Ukraine outdoors if possible, PHE's medical director said.

Pointing to a rise in Covid-19 cases, Yvonne Doyle said: "Many of us will be joining friends and family to watch England in the Euros on Saturday night. But please follow the guidelines in place to reduce the risk and enjoy the match safely: watching the game outside will always be safer than gathering indoors."

11:10 AM

Ireland to ramp up vaccinations for young people

Ireland is to speed up vaccination of 18 to 34-year-olds, by offering the jab one to two months earlier than initially planned to try and slow the spread of the Delta variant, which now accounts for around 70 per cent of cases.

Health minister Stephen Donnelly said: "To be able to pull forward a huge number of people is incredibly valuable and is really going to help us in protecting our population from the Delta surge that we know is coming.

"Nearly 45 per cent of Ireland’s 3.7m adult population has so far been fully vaccinated and 65 per cent have received one dose."

10:56 AM

Australia to halve foreign arrivals to control Delta variant spread

Australia has said the number of people allowed to arrive in the country each week will halve from 6,000 to 3,000 by 14 July, to help it deal with clustered outbreaks of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The smaller cap will only apply to commercial arrivals, and the government has said it will charter more planes to repatriate Australians. Some 34,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents are stuck overseas and registered as wanting to return home.

The move comes as almost half of the population has been locked down since last week because of clusters of the Delta variant, with cities including Brisbane and Sydney remaining under strict restrictions.

10:41 AM

Abu Dhabi to roll out smartphone Covid detection software

Abu Dhabi will use facial scanning software on smartphones to detect Covid-19 infections in shopping malls and airports from Monday, Bloomberg reports.

A trial of 20,000 people using the software showed "a high degree of effectiveness".

The technology can detect infections by measuring electromagnetic waves, which change when the RNA particles of the coronavirus are present in the body.

The software was developed by EDE Research Institute Abu Dhabi.

10:29 AM

Masks should stay after 19 July, says Andy Burnham

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he wants the wearing of face masks to stay in place even if all remaining restrictions are lifted as planned on 19 July.

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Burnham said: "I am worried about reports that distancing is going to be dropped, and masks are going to be dropped. You've got to keep one or the other, you can't get rid of distancing and the requirement to wear masks.

"You've got to think of people who feel worried about being out there. I think about the tram in Manchester, I know if that [social distancing] goes some people will feel very vulnerable to use the tram, I think it's better to keep the masks requirement."

10:09 AM

Man charged with common assault after Professor Chris Whitty accosted in park

A man has been charged with common assault after accosting Professor Chris Whitty in a central London park.

Lewis Hughes, 23, from Romford, had previously apologised to the chief medical officer for "any upset I caused" after footage was shared on social media showing Professor Whitty being harassed in St James's Park at around 7.20pm on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police said officers had reviewed the footage and referred the matter to the Public Order Crime Team, and that Hughes has now been charged with common assault.

09:49 AM

One in seven older teenagers hesitant over getting Covid-19 jab, figures suggest

Around one in seven older teenagers in Britain would be hesitant about getting a coronavirus vaccine, new figures suggest.

Some 14pc of 16-17-year-olds reported vaccine hesitancy when surveyed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between May and June.

The UK's vaccination programme is currently only open to adults aged 18 and over, and some children in exceptional circumstances, with experts divided on whether children should be jabbed.

The ONS also found that 9pc of 18-21-year-olds and 10pc of 22-25 year-olds reported hesitancy.

Vaccine hesitancy is defined as people who have refused a vaccine, say they would be unlikely to get a vaccine when offered, and those who responded "neither likely nor unlikely", "don't know" or "prefer not to say" when asked.

The survey was carried out between May 26 and June 20 and covered 16,180 participants aged 16 and over.

09:35 AM

South Korea's Covid cases spike as Delta variant spreads

South Korea's daily count of coronavirus cases has topped 800, the highest in nearly six months, due to new cluster infections and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, officials said on Friday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 826 cases, up from 762 the day before and the highest since January 7 when the country was grappling with a third wave of Covid-19.

Almost 81pc of the 765 locally transmitted cases came from the capital, Seoul, and its surrounding regions, KDCA data showed.

The government had said it would relax social distancing measures this month as daily new cases hovered around 500 and the vaccination drive accelerated.

But days before restrictions on movements were to be eased, case numbers shot up and authorities in Seoul and surrounding areas extended restrictions for another week to July 7.

09:25 AM

Pictured: Coronavirus around the world

Jakarta, Indonesia

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Caracas, Venezuela

09:11 AM

Nearly all restrictions to be lifted from 19 July

Almost all of England's coronavirus restrictions are set to end from July 19, reports suggest today.

The rule of six indoors, rule of 30 outdoors, one-metre social distancing in pubs, ban on nightclubs and at least some legal face masks laws are all likely to be dropped, according to the Daily Mail.

A final decision is reportedly not going to be made until 12 July, with Boris Johnson cautioning that there "may be some extra things we have to do" in terms of restrictions.

However, Mr Johnson said on Thursday that he wants the UK to go back to normal "as close as possible", though he warned that Boris Johnson has thrown the extent to which our freedoms will be restored into doubt, warning that some "extra precautions" will be required after July 19.

08:59 AM

No 'proportional rise' in hospitalisations even though cases are rising, says Dr Jenny Harries

Responding to the latest figures on the delta variant, Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: "Cases across the UK continue to rise and it is incredibly important that we do not forget to be careful.

"The best thing we can do to protect ourselves and the people we love is to get the vaccine if eligible, get tested twice a week and practise 'hands, face, space, fresh air' at all times.

"Although cases are rising, we are not seeing a proportional rise in the number of people who are being admitted to hospital. The data suggest this is testament to the success of the vaccination programme so far and clearly demonstrates the importance of getting both doses of the vaccine."

08:46 AM

Delta variant up 46pc in latest week, says PHE

UK cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 have risen almost four-fold in less than a month, new data shows.

A total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of the Covid-19 delta variant have now been identified in the UK, according to the latest figures from Public Health England - up by 50,824, or 46pc, on the previous week.

Of the 161,981 cases, 148,538 have been in England, 10,185 in Scotland, 1,749 in Wales and 1,509 in Northern Ireland.

The Delta variant continues to account for approximately 95pc of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the UK.

08:33 AM

India's death toll from coronavirus crosses 400,000 amid faltering vaccination drive

India's official death toll from the coronavirus reached 400,000 on Friday, though experts say the actual number of dead could have reached one million or even higher, with a possible third wave approaching.

India added 100,000 deaths in 39 days, a Reuters tally showed, as a brutal second wave of infections swept across cities and into the vast countryside where millions remain vulnerable without a single shot of vaccine.

Overnight, the country recorded 853 deaths, taking the toll past the 400,000 mark, health ministry data showed.

India's death toll is the third-highest globally.

"Undercounting of deaths is something that has happened across states, mostly because of lags in the system, so that means we will never have a true idea of how many people we lost in this second wave," said Rijo M John, a professor at the Rajagiri College of Social Sciences in the southern city of Kochi.

The government has shifted its focus to mass immunisations amid warnings from disease experts of a looming third wave as the country slowly re-opens and a new variant, locally called the Delta Plus, emerges.

08:13 AM

Those who received jabs manufactured in India 'should not be concerned', says JCVI member

Professor Adam Finn, from the JCVI, said people should not be concerned about receiving doses of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India.

"The most important part of this is that people who have received these batches should be reassured that they have received exactly the same stuff as people who have received other batches made elsewhere," he told the Today programme.

"This is an administrative hurdle that needs to be straightened out but people should not be concerned that they are in some way less well protected.

"We're in the early days of this new world of needed vaccine passports and there are lots of aspects of this that are still being sorted out for the first time.

"But it's clearly, ultimately not in anyone's interest, including the European Union, to create hurdles that don't need to be there."

He added: "I would anticipate that this will get straightened out in due course."

07:57 AM

Five million Britons being locked out of EU countries due to unauthorised jab batch called an 'administrative error'

The Telegraph's report that five million fully vaccinated Britons will be locked out of European countries due to receiving a vaccine that is not recognised by the EU's passport scheme has been called an "administrative hurdle" by a JCVI member.

Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said that the issue "needs to be straightened out", but reassured people who received the particular AstraZeneca batches that "they are exactly the same vaccine, just made in a different factory".

The batches that are not yet authorised by the European Medicines Agency are 4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003.

Prof Finn told BBC Radio 4's Today that he believed this issue will "get straightened out in due course".

He said: "It’s not just a matter of people in the UK travelling to Europe, there’s actually people all over the world receiving this vaccine who will ultimately need to be able to travel.

"And the places they’re going to travel to are going to need to be able to receive them."

"This is something that is going to upset people in the short term, but I think in the longer term when this actually starts to matter, it’s just going to have to be sorted out," he added.

07:48 AM

Blood cancer patients 'unaware they may not get full protection from Covid jabs'

Eight in 10 people with blood cancer have not been told they are not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine, a charity has warned.

An online survey by Blood Cancer UK of around 1,000 people found that 80pc were not told by the NHS that their weakened immune systems lessened the chance they would have an immune response to the jab.

The charity said this means people with blood cancer are at a high risk of contracting coronavirus despite having both doses of a vaccine, and are also more likely to get severely ill.

Gemma Peters, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, said: "We have known since the start of the vaccination programme that immunocompromised people were less likely to be protected by the vaccines, and over the last few months research we have funded has shown that many blood cancers and treatments have a significant impact on vaccine response."

Recent research suggested people with blood cancer account for an increasingly high proportion of Covid admissions to intensive care. Some 230,000 people in the UK are living with blood cancer.

07:11 AM

End self-isolation for double-vaccinated healthworkers, say NHS chiefs

NHS bosses have called for a change to self-isolation rules for double-vaccinated healthcare workers.

It is understood that up to a fifth of staff in some parts of the UK are off work with sickness, and self-isolation is increasing the burden and creating a threadbare workforce.

The issue of nurses being off work due to contact tracing and mandatory self-isolation was described as a "big issue" by one top-level NHS official.

"With demand levels about 20 per cent up on the levels that we saw pre-pandemic, and they were high, then you can imagine the stress and tension," another source said.

A senior NHS manager added: "The rules around [self-isolation] need a rethink. I've got lots of medics who are saying, 'I'm double jabbed, I've done a flow test, I'm negative, can I come back to work?'.

"Covid-positive patients are nowhere near as sick as [before] but we've also got like, 130, 140, registered nurses off, isolating, and this is a big issue."

06:50 AM

European holidays could be off limits to 5m Britons given Indian-made AstraZeneca jab

Up to five million Britons face being locked out of European holidays because their vaccines are not recognised by the EU's passport scheme, the Telegraph has learned.

Millions of vaccines administered here do not qualify for the European Union’s vaccine passport scheme, because the shots were manufactured in India and are not yet authorised by the European Medicines Agency.

The hitch could leave thousands of Britons turned away at EU border crossings when the batch numbers on their vaccines are checked digitally.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate, which launched on Thursday, is designed to allow Covid-secure travel across the continent but does not recognise a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine called Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), because it is yet to receive approval in Europe.

Up to five million doses of this version of the vaccine have been administered in the UK and are identifiable by the vaccine batch numbers (4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003) included on recipients’ vaccine cards and in the Covid travel pass available via the NHS app.

• Read the full story

06:25 AM

Ministers fear the growing cost of free Covid tests

Free coronavirus tests are becoming a burden on the state, ministers fear, as it emerges the Government is considering a “sticker” scheme to coax firms to foot the bill for testing staff.

Officials are examining how to incentivise sectors that currently get public-funded testing to pay commercial providers for the service, under moves to shift the cost away from the taxpayer, The Telegraph has learned.

A so-called sticker system, under which businesses could boast “we test here”, has been floated on Whitehall as a way to incentivise firms to pay for lateral flow devices, which cost several pounds each.

It would stop short of a formal certification scheme, but allow companies to signal to their staff and to potential recruits that they are a responsible and caring employer.

However, the future winding down of government-funded tests is likely.

• Read the full story from Lucy Fisher

06:08 AM

Today's front page

Here is your Daily Telegraph for Friday, July 2.

05:37 AM

Experts question if WHO should lead pandemic origins probe

As the World Health Organisation draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say the UN agency it isn't up to the task and shouldn't be the one to investigate.

Numerous experts, some with strong ties to WHO, say that political tensions between the US and China make it impossible for an investigation by the agency to find credible answers.

They say what's needed is a broad, independent analysis closer to what happened in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

04:36 AM

India's death toll crosses 400,000

India reached the grim milestone of 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, half of them during a second wave in the past few months that overwhelmed the healthcare system and crematoriums.

India has recorded 30.45 million cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, and is the second-most affected country behind the United States, which has 33 million cases.

The United States has over 604,000 deaths and about 518,000 people have died in Brazil.

India recorded 853 deaths in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Friday. That took it past the 400,000 mark, with the last 100,000 being added in just 39 days, according to a Reuters tally.

04:10 AM

Australia tightens border further to curb outbreak

Australia announced a dramatic cut in the number of people who will be allowed to enter the country on Friday, as it struggles to contain coronavirus clusters that plunged major cities into lockdown.

With almost half of the nation's population under stay-at-home orders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said quotas for overseas arrivals would be cut by around 50 per cent to help prevent further outbreaks.

Under the current "zero Covid" strategy, just 6,000 people are allowed to enter Australia on overseas commercial flights each week and arrivals must undergo mandatory two weeks hotel quarantine.

That quota will be cut to around 3,000 by the middle of July, Mr Morrison indicated, although the government will at the same time step up its private repatriation flights.

Read more: PM to confront Merkel over quarantine demand for vaccinated Britons

02:18 AM

Australian outbreak continues to grow in NSW

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), on Friday warned residents to brace for an increase in Covid-19 infections over the next few days as it reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases recorded so far this year.

Country-wide, Australia is fighting outbreaks of the highly infections delta variant simultaneously in three state capital cities, meaning nearly half of all Australians are currently under strict orders to stay at home.

Thirty-one local cases were reported in NSW on Friday, so far the biggest daily rise in cases during the latest outbreak and for 2021. Total infections have grown to more than 200 since the first case was detected more than two weeks ago.

01:12 AM

J&J's vaccine shows strong activity against delta variant

Johnson & Johnson said late on Thursday that its single-shot vaccine generated strong, persistent activity against the delta and other highly prevalent variants.

Data showed that the durability of the immune response lasted through at least eight months, the US-based healthcare company said, adding that its vaccine was 85 per cent effective and could also help prevent hospitalisation and death.

The vaccine elicited neutralising antibody activity against the delta variant, first identified in India, at an even higher level than what was observed for the beta variant, which was first detected in South Africa, the company said.

J&J has submitted data as a preprint to the website bioRxiv ahead of peer review.

Read more: Modelling that delayed lockdown lifting was flawed, admits scientist

12:29 AM

Cases surge in South Korea as delta variant spreads

South Korea's daily count of coronavirus cases topped 800 on Thursday, the highest since Jan. 7, due to new cluster infections and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, officials said on Friday.

The government had relaxed social distancing measures starting this month as the daily tally had hovered around 500 over the past couple of months and the country's vaccination drive accelerated.

But just days before the eased curbs took effect, the numbers shot up to nearly 600 and then nearly 800 this week due chiefly to new outbreaks in the capital Seoul and its surrounding regions, prompting authorities there to postpone the easing by a week.

11:02 PM

Today's top stories

• Up to five million Britons face being locked out of European holidays because their vaccines are not recognised by the EU's passport scheme, the Telegraph has learned.
• More than 20 countries including France, Italy and Austria are on track to join the UK’s green list and open to British holidaymakers this month, data has revealed.
• Modelling that helped persuade the Government to delay the June 21 reopening was overly pessimistic and the lockdown lifting should "possibly" have gone ahead on time, a government adviser has admitted.
• Boris Johnson has called for parents to be "patient" over the ending of bubbles as his own MPs and senior Downing Street officials warned that the situation in schools was worsening by the day.
• Children's activity levels have plummeted since the start of the Covid pandemic, with one in three doing less than half an hour's exercise a day, official data reveals.
• Free coronavirus tests are becoming a burden on the state, ministers fear, as it emerges the Government is considering a “sticker” scheme to coax firms to foot the bill for testing staff.
• Wearing disposable facemasks is "unforgivable", the environment minister has said.