Care homes self-isolation rule forcing residents to 'forego' medical appointments

Care home residents are forgoing healthcare appointments because of a requirement to self-isolate for 14 days after leaving the home for certain visits, campaigners have warned.

John's Campaign is calling for the requirement, set out in Government guidance, to be urgently scrapped for all visits out, including external medical appointments and overnight stays.

This week, the Government removed the rule for care home residents leaving the home for "low risk" outdoor visits, such as walks or sitting in a garden.

But the supplementary guidance, issued over the weekend, did not cover visits for medical appointments or overnight stays with family members.

Co-founder Julia Jones said the 14-day isolation period should be "consigned to history's bin of shame".

She said: "No-one is helped to feel better, stronger or happier by being isolated for 14 days and it's patently ludicrous - as well as cruel - to make this the penalty for a visit to hospital outpatient department, an optician or a dentist.

"If these places are not safe for people who live in care homes (who have the highest rate of vaccination and antibody protection), they are not safe for anyone."

05:52 PM

Evening summary

That's all for today. Here's a quick run down of all your top stories from around the world...

• Boris Johnson has said there is a “good chance” that he will scrap the social distancing rules that force people to remain at least a metre apart on June 21, as deaths continue to fall.

• Meanwhile, there is no evidence that drinking alcohol after a Covid-19 vaccine interferes with how it works, a UK regulator has said.

• Another 1,946 cases have been confirmed in the UK, while a further four deaths take the official tally to 127,543.

• Separate figures suggest there have been more than 152,000 fatalities registered in the UK with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

• Downing Street admits the NHS app may not be ready to be used as a vaccine passport when international travel resumes.

• Two patients died after a fire broke out in the coronavirus ward of a hospital in northern South Africa, the local health department said.

• The United States is expected to authorise the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children age 12 and up by early next week.

• The European Medicines Agency has said it has started a "rolling review" of China's Sinovac coronavirus jab, a process that could lead to eventual approval for the European market.

• And as the healthcare system goes into freefall, a court in India's capital New Delhi has become the last hope for many hospitals struggling to get oxygen for Covid-19 patients as supplies run dangerously short while government officials bicker over who is responsible.

05:41 PM

'Pain-free' vaccines move a step closer

An Oxford biotech developing "pain-free" vaccines has moved a step closer to launching its product after success in trialling its device with the flu jab on ferrets.

Enesi Pharma has developed a needle-free instrument that can deliver vaccinations under the skin that causes almost no pain for the patient.

The company found its jab not only worked by prompting a strong immune response in the animals, but that it could be stored for six months in temperatures as high as 40c.

The technology works by reformulating liquid vaccines into a tiny solid stick measuring 0.85mm in diameter and 3.5mm long, with a point at the end. Enesi’s device, called ImplaVax, injects the stick into the patient.

Enesi is working with several partners including large pharmaceutical companies and the Gates Foundation across a range of diseases, from measles to flu.

Julia Bradshaw has more on this story here.

05:14 PM

Coronavirus outbreak in Portugal's migrant workforce sparks 'human rights' debate

Portugal's government has said it will protect the rights of migrant fruit and vegetable pickers and keep them safe from Covid-19 after a wave of infections in the sector revived concerns over the conditions they live in.

As Portugal entered the final phase of easing a national lockdown last week, sanitary cordons were imposed in the southern municipality of Odemira, where hundreds of plastic-covered greenhouses rely on migrant labour to operate.

People are not allowed in or out of two parishes. One of them, Sao Teotonio, reported 1,910 cases per 100,000 people over a 14-day period. The country's average is around 64 cases.

To tackle the issue, the government has temporarily taken over a private eco resort in Odemira, where migrants considered high-risk contacts can self-isolate. Those who test positive for Covid-19 will be transferred to local lodging.

"Our priority is the public health of migrants," Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita said during a visit to Odemira. "I want those who come to work in Portugal to have the same rights as the Portuguese who work abroad."

Many of the migrant workers - from countries such as Nepal, India and Bangladesh and also eastern Europe - live in packed living quarters with few amenities.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa has said the conditions migrants live in are a risk to public health and a "blatant violation of human rights".

04:54 PM

Argentina Supreme Court overrules presidential decree on school closures

Argentina's Supreme Court overruled Presidential decree to close Buenos Aires schools amid a surge in coronavirus cases, siding with the city government who had sought to keep kids in class.

The Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday said April's presidential decree constituted a violation of the legally enshrined autonomy of the city of Buenos Aires, which it ruled was the authority in charge of deciding if schools should close.

Alberto Fernandez had ordered schools in and around the capital to temporarily close amid a steep second wave of Covid-19 cases and deaths, initially until the end of April and then extended to May 21.

However, the city government in Buenos Aires mounted a legal challenge with the Supreme Court. It has kept elementary schools and kindergartens open, while mandating hybrid in-person and virtual classes at high school level.

Argentina has had over 3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and almost 65,000 deaths. Intensive care wards have been filling up amid the second wave, with three-quarters of beds occupied in and around the capital.

04:19 PM

Care residents 'forgoing healthcare appointments over self-isolation rule'

Care home residents are forgoing healthcare appointments because of a requirement to self-isolate for 14 days after leaving the home for certain visits, campaigners have warned.

John's Campaign is calling for the requirement, set out in Government guidance, to be urgently scrapped for all visits out, including external medical appointments and overnight stays.

This week, the Government removed the rule for care home residents leaving the home for "low risk" outdoor visits, such as walks or sitting in a garden.

But the supplementary guidance, issued over the weekend, did not cover visits for medical appointments or overnight stays with family members.

It followed a threat of legal action from John's Campaign, which said it encouraged care homes to act unlawfully by "falsely imprisoning" residents.

The charity is writing to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, calling on him to remove the requirement for all visits out when the guidance is next updated.

04:02 PM

UK reports four more coronanavirus deaths and 1,900 new cases

The Government said a further four people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, bringing the UK total to 127,543.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies show there have been 152,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The Government also said that, as of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 1,946 lab-confirmed cases in the UK.

It brings the total to 4,423,796.

03:55 PM

Dr Tedros eyes up second term as WHO chief

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, is considering plans to run for a second five-year term as the head of the agency, STAT News has reported.

The 56-year-old from Ethiopia made history in 2017 when he became the first African elected to the global health agency’s top job.

Dr Tedros has so far sidestepped questions of whether he plans to run for a second term. But a source has reportedly confirmed his intention to do so.

WHO director-generals may only serve two five-year terms, and must be elected each time.

Dr Tedros has so far overseen two major health emergencies, including the second largest outbreak of Ebola in the northeastern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The WHO’s handling of the pandemic was the subject of fierce criticism by the Trump administration, which believed the agency was soft on China in the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Despite this many believe he may be able to secure a second term.

03:35 PM

'Biden and Johnson must ensure education does not lose out to Covid-19 and climate change'

The US President and Britain's Prime Minister must stand shoulder-to-shoulder to fend off the global learning crisis, say Tom Hart and Gwen Hines.

Read more

03:17 PM

US queues up Pfizer jab for potential use in under 16s

The United States is expected to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children age 12 and up by early next week, according to US media reports.

Pfizer has applied for emergency use authorization for its Covid vaccine for children and teenagers between ages 12 and 15, according to CNN, citing a government official.

"The FDA will have to amend the emergency use authorization for the vaccine, but the process should be straightforward," CNN reported on Monday.

The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant that approval by early next week. After the FDA decision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee will meet to recommend how the vaccine should be used.

A spokeswoman for the FDA declined to give details on the approval timeline, telling The Washington Post: "We are working to review this request as quickly and transparently as possible."

The Pfizer vaccine is currently authorized for people 16 and older in the United States.

The US pharmaceutical giant said in late March it had submitted data from a clinical trial of 2,260 12- to 15-year-olds that showed the vaccine was highly effective and well-tolerated. Further testing on younger children is ongoing.

03:02 PM

Medical students to be sent to Covid frontlines as India’s hospitals face collapse

A shortage of health workers – on top of a lack of oxygen and hospital beds – is compounding India's fight against Covid-19, with trainee doctors and nurses set to be deployed on hospital front lines.

India's healthcare system has collapsed under the weight of a devastating second wave of the virus, and on Tuesday the country passed a milestone of 20 million cases, 10 million of which have been registered in the last four months.

India also recorded more than 300,000 new Covid-19 cases for the 13th consecutive day, but the actual figures are believed to be 10 times higher due to a nationwide lack of testing.

Now doctors say there are not enough trained health workers to cope with the sheer number of patients requiring hospitalisation.

Joe Wallen has more detail on this story.

02:50 PM

Austria to offer free coronavirus tests to tourists

Coronavirus tests in Austria will be made free for foreigners in order to boost tourism, the Austrian Tourism Minister has announced, saying that the perk would soon be seen by travellers as essential as free WiFi.

Elisabeth Köstinger told Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper that the boost Austria would receive from increased tourism would offset the costs of the tests.

“In the past, guests wanted to know whether there was free WiFi or a free parking space,” she said. Now, the offering of free coronavirus tests “is decisive for the booking”.

Austria has invested heavily in coronavirus testing and already offers free tests for Austrian citizens and residents.

Tourism in Austria is expected to pick up speed from May 19 when the quarantine requirement is reduced for most arrivals.

02:39 PM

Two dead in fire in South Africa Covid ward

Two patients died after a fire broke out in the coronavirus ward of a hospital in northern South Africa, the local health department said.

The incident occurred at a hospital in Modimolle, 170 kilometres north of Johannesburg in rural Limpopo province.

"A team of fire experts... have been dispatched to F.H. Odendaal hospital in Modimolle where two patients died after a fire broke out at the hospital's Covid-19 ward," the Limpopo health department said in a statement.

"Nurses at the hospital managed to extinguish the fire and rescue the patients inside the ward, unfortunately the two had already demised," it added.

Structural damage was avoided and the cause of the blaze is being investigated.

Unconfirmed reports suggested it was started by a patient smoking in a cubicle.

02:15 PM

In other news: DRC's Ebola outbreak is over but experts warn of risk of resurgence

The end of an Ebola outbreak that killed six people in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been met with cautious celebration, amid concerns that new epidemics in the country have become increasingly frequent.

In the latest outbreak - the country’s 12th since the deadly haemorrhagic fever was first identified in 1976 - a dozen people were infected in North Kivu province in eastern DRC, after the virus was detected in the city of Butembo in early February.

The outbreak is the country’s fourth in less than three years and emerged just nine months after a protracted two-year epidemic in North Kivu - which saw 3,481 cases, including 2,299 deaths - was finally declared over.

Sarah Newey has more details here.

02:04 PM

Cambodia bans media coverage from Covid lockdown 'red zones'

Cambodia on Tuesday ordered journalists to stop reporting from blockaded coronavirus "red zones" and from chasing ambulances as the country battles against a record surge in infections.

The ministry said some journalists had reported from locked down cities and banned areas such as treatment centres and hospitals.

It also said some had "chased ambulances" and caused confusion and unrest.

The order comes as residents living in red zones complained about food shortages and took to social media to appeal for essential aid.

Rights group Amnesty International issued a strong condemnation of Cambodia's lockdown measures last week, saying they had left many people to go hungry and humanitarian groups had been barred from distributing food and other essential aid.

01:54 PM

UK to host in-person meeting of G7 finance chiefs on June 4-5

British finance minister Rishi Sunak will host an in-person meeting of his peers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven countries in London on June 4 and 5 ahead of G7 leaders' summit, the British finance ministry said.

"June’s meeting will seek to progress the Chancellor’s G7 priorities of building a green and inclusive global economic recovery, protecting jobs, and supporting vulnerable countries to recover from the COVID pandemic," the ministry said on Tuesday.

Sunak will also convene a virtual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors on May 28, the Treasury said.

01:45 PM

Countries need to have a 'global view' on vaccines, scientist urges

Dr Adam Kucharski, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said countries needed to be taking a "global view" on vaccines.

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme: "Unfortunately we could well see the situation in India unfold elsewhere because we have a number of countries that have these characteristics, like relatively low vaccine coverage, circulation of concerning variants, rising cases that combine to create this kind of situation."

He added: "Places like Cambodia, Fiji and Mongolia are now struggling with outbreaks and lockdowns, so I think there's some concerning signs really now and then there's more potentially to come for a number of countries."

He went on: "Limited capacity of healthcare's a massive concern because it may be that a large outbreak isn't required to put a huge stress on their systems... I think really we need to be thinking proactively about how to avoid these situations emerging in other places.

"So obviously there's a need for reactive support for India, but we need to be thinking about how to get vaccines out equitably in the global landscape and really avoiding a situation where we have, for example, rich countries selectively choosing vaccines or vaccinating younger groups while humanitarian crises are unfolding in other countries."

He said: "We can have vaccines that are working well domestically, but if you have variants emerging globally that's going to be an ongoing threat."

01:34 PM

EMA opens review of China's Sinovac coronavirus jab

The European Medicines Agency has said it has started a "rolling review" of China's Sinovac coronavirus jab, a process that could lead to eventual approval for the European market.

Made by Sinovac's Beijing-based Life Sciences unit, the vaccine contains an inactivated coronavirus that cannot cause a disease, but helps a person to develop antibodies against the virus.

The EMA's human medicines committee's "decision to start the rolling review is based on preliminary results from laboratory studies (non-clinical data) and clinical studies," the Amsterdam-based agency said.

"While the EMA cannot predict the overall timelines, it should take less time than normal to evaluate an eventual application because of the work done during the rolling review," it said.

Sinovac's shot was approved by China's medicines regulator for use in February.

01:12 PM

NHS app may not be ready for use in international travel, Downing Street says

Downing Street has admitted the NHS app may not be ready to be used as a vaccine passport when international travel resumes and "another approach" may be needed.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has previously said the app - which is currently used to book medical appointments and order repeat prescriptions - will display evidence that someone has been vaccinated or recently tested.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman indicated that officials were working on alternative plans when international travel resumes, which is expected on May 17.

12:27 PM

Desperate for oxygen, Indian hospitals go to court

A court in India's capital New Delhi has become the last hope for many hospitals struggling to get oxygen for Covid-19 patients as supplies run dangerously short while government officials bicker over who is responsible.

A two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court have been holding almost daily video conferences to hear petitions from hospitals invoking India's constitutional right to protection of life.

On Sunday, with just 30 minutes of oxygen left for 42 virus patients at Sitaram Bhartia hospital, and new supplies nowhere in sight, hospital authorities approached the Delhi court as a "last resort" for help, lawyer Shyel Trehan said.

The judges ordered the Delhi state government to immediately arrange supplies.

The shortage of medical oxygen has plagued the city of 20 million people for about two weeks, with unprecedented scenes of patients dying on hospital beds, in ambulances and in carparks outside, gasping for air.

12:11 PM

Africa’s vaccine rollout ‘a mess’ as shortages hit second shots

India’s devastating coronavirus surge has left Africa’s vaccination campaign in disarray, with growing signs that countries will be unable to offer second doses as deliveries to the continent dry up.

Nations including Ghana and Rwanda have administered nearly all of the shots received to date through the global Covax distribution scheme, but it is unclear when further doses will arrive – raising fears that people will miss out on their second vaccine.

Like many countries, Covax’s initial delivery projections have been hit by supply problems. But the scheme has been disproportionately impacted by a vaccine export ban imposed last month by India – known as the “pharmacy of the world” – as the country descended into chaos and prioritised domestic rollout.

Sarah Newey has the lastest on this story here.

12:01 PM

South Sudan reopens schools after year-long closures

Schools in South Sudan reopened this week after more than a year of Covid-19 closures.

“Covid-19 is still with us but we have decided to reopen schools and will strictly follow Covid-19 preventative measures in the schools,” Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, one of the country’s Vice Presidents told journalists.

The war-torn nation has recorded just over 10,000 coronavirus cases and 100 deaths since the pandemic began. The real number of deaths is thought to be far higher, however.

Last month, the country kicked off its AstraZeneca vaccination campaign. So far the country has received about 130,000 doses of the Oxford vaccine through COVAX.

11:41 AM

Risk of a pandemic of inequality emerging in vaccine drive, warns scientist

Giving evidence about vaccine passports, Professor Stephen Reicher told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus: "There's a real danger that this pandemic will become a pandemic of inequalities, with certain pockets of marginal communities, of deprived communities, in which people are more exposed and in which people are less vaccinated.

"In fact, it's not an issue of, for instance age or ethnicity. The two intersect.

"If you look at the figures for levels of vaccination, it's much higher for white groups than black groups of all age groups."

He added: "We've got to be very careful not to exacerbate that and not to increase issues of inequalities through measures which exacerbate this trust."

11:33 AM

Singapore tightens Covid-19 curbs as overseas virus variants detected

Singapore announced on Tuesday tighter curbs on social gatherings and stricter border measures after recording locally acquired cases of coronavirus variants, including a strain first detected in India.

After reporting very few local infections for months, numbers have increased over the last week, mainly linked to an outbreak at a hospital. On Tuesday, it confirmed five new locally acquired cases.

Though the cases are only a fraction of the number being reported among Singapore's Southeast Asian neighbours, a jump in infections would be a setback for the Asian business hub, which has successfully contained its earlier outbreaks.

11:20 AM

Melinda Gates sees U.S. government donating Covid-19 vaccine doses soon

Melinda French Gates, co-founder of one of the world's largest private charitable foundations, expects the U.S. government will soon weigh up how much of their vaccine supply to donate bilaterally and through the global Covax programme.

"I think the U.S. government is looking at their supply of vaccine and deciding, okay how much should we do through Covax, how much should we do bilaterally, so I think you're going to start to see some movement there," Gates said in an interview with the Financial Times broadcast on Tuesday.

Her remarks were recorded before an announcement on Monday that she and her husband, Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates would divorce after 27 years.

Mrs Gates said wealthy nations did not need to vaccinate down to their teen populations before they started sharing doses with low-income countries.

10:45 AM

Gordon Brown urges countries to invest in vaccine equity to safe costs later

Labour former prime minister Gordon Brown said the cost of mass vaccination is a "very small price to pay given that we're losing so much money in economic activity".

He told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour: "I think it's about £30 billion a year that we're going to need so that we can vaccinate most of the world. We've got to start from the proposition that this is in our self-interest as well as a charitable act.

"Nobody is safe anywhere until everybody is safe everywhere. If we don't have mass vaccination round the world the disease will spread, it will mutate and it will come back to hit even those people who've been vaccinated in our own country, Britain, and so no country is really going to be finally Covid-free until we're all Covid-free. Just like smallpox in the past, you've got to find a way that every country gets the benefit of vaccination.

"So £30 billion a year, now I've worked that out, if it's spread across the richest countries, it's about 25 cents, so you call it 20 pence in Britain, per week, that we would have to spend as a Government per person to get everybody vaccinated around the world.

"It's a very small price to pay given that we're losing so much money in economic activity and economic output... We can't afford not to act."

10:38 AM

School reopenings did not drive up infections, new ONS data shows

The number of secondary school pupils testing positive for Covid has fallen by almost three quarters since December despite the reopening of schools, latest official figures show.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from the 15 to 31 March - shortly after schools in England reopened after the third national lockdown - suggests children returning to the classroom did not drive up infections.

The percentage of secondary school pupils testing positive for Covid-19 during that period was 0.33 per cent, compared with 1.42 per cent in November and 1.22 per cent in December - a drop of 73 per cent between December and March.

This reduction was also evident among secondary school staff with a fall from 1.36 percent in November and 1.64 per cent in December to 0.32 per cent in March.

The ONS surveyed 137 schools (57 primary, 80 secondary) in 15 local authorities, within these schools 15,187 participants (4,154 staff and 11,033 pupils) had at least one PCR test from 15 to 31 March.

10:03 AM

Only 13% of Britons prepared to go abroad this year

Fewer than one in seven Britons are willing to take an overseas holiday this year and two thirds are swapping any foreign plans for a staycation instead, according to new research.

With travel and other restrictions in place and future plans yet to be finalised, just 13 per cent are happy to go abroad this year, said the survey of more than 2,000 adults for GoCompare Travel Insurance.

It found two thirds are planning a holiday in the UK with 25 per cent looking at B&Bs, 21 per cent at self catering accommodation, 17 per cent hope to stay with friends or famaily and 13 per cent in a caravan or motorhome.

A further 10 per cent are going to go camping, nine per cent in an AirBnB or similar site and seven per cent at a theme park.

Covid, unsurprisingly, is the main reason for staying in this country with 23 per cent saying that was the biggest factor in their decision as many did not want to quarantine or felt there was too much uncertainty over what may happen to other restrictions.

But the pandemic has also hit budgets and 10 per cent are holidaying in the UK because they cannot afford a foreign holiday, said GoCompare

09:42 AM

Majority Covid-19 positive people are following self-isolating rules, survey suggests

Some 84% of respondents said they fully adhered to the self-isolation requirements for the entire 10-day period after testing positive for coronavirus.

Just 15% of people reported at least one activity during self-isolation that broke the rules, such as leaving home or having visitors for a reason not permitted under legislation.

The figures have been compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on responses collected from adults in England between April 12 and 16.

They suggest that most people are still following the requirements for self-isolating despite the sharp fall in Covid-19 infections and deaths in recent weeks, along with the ongoing rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

09:23 AM

Covid lockdown roadmap: the rules that could change from May 17

From May 17, indoor hospitality will be allowed to reopen under Step Three, along with museums, cinemas and hotels - should the data allow. Two households will also be able meet indoors for the first time since Christmas.

Additionally, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on May 3 that the rule of 30 at funerals will be dropped on May 17, with venues assessing how many people can fit in indoor and outdoor spaces with social distancing in place.

Read more about the unlocking here.

08:52 AM

PM saying Covid rules will be scrapped in June should be 'taken with a pinch of salt'

Professor Stephen Reicher, from the University of St Andrews and a member of the Sage sub-committee advising on behavioural science, said the public should not take Boris Johnson's announcement that social distancing could be scrapped in June too seriously.

"I think we should take this with a little bit of a pinch of salt," he said.

"Remember, he said it in the middle of an electioneering visit to the North of England, and clearly he wants to tell a good news story... He immediately qualified it by saying it depends on the data and how many infections there are and the state of things on June 21, nearly two months away.

"Now, if a week is a long time in politics, two months is an eternity in a pandemic. Remember, two months ago in India they were declaring the pandemic was all over, now they're having 400,000 cases a day."

08:30 AM

Portugal: 'We're pushing for Brits to holiday here this summer'

Portugal's secretary of state for tourism, Rita Marques, said the country is "taking the lead" at the European Council in negotiations aimed at opening up the European Union to UK holidaymakers.

"We are really pushing hard to open up to third countries like the UK," she said.

"I'm not going to tell you how important is the British market to Portugal. I just want to tell you that the British market is really important to all Europe, and in that sense we are ready to welcome you when you are ready to come."

"At our end, we are working to have an agile process, as simple as possible, in order to provide a seamless experience to everyone that would like to travel to Portugal."

08:16 AM

Michel Barnier admits UK vaccine success shows it is easier to act alone than under EU ‘bureaucracy’

Michel Barnier has conceded that Britain’s vaccine success proved that individual states could act faster than the unwieldy European Union, which displayed an “ideological mistrust of public-private partnerships” and had “not yet learned to take risks”.

The former Brexit negotiator, 70, is bringing out a book on more than four years in the job called La Grande Illusion (The Grand Illusion) this week.

In an interview ahead of the book’s launch with France Inter, he was asked whether Britain’s vaccine success was an “extraordinary advert” for Brexit.

Read the full story here.

08:01 AM

'The absurd cost of testing for holidaymakers is yet another insult to our freedom'

"Sixteen tests, at a cost of £1,600. That’s what a family of four faces if they want to go on holiday to Spain this summer, and then be allowed home again," writes Annabel Fenwick Elliott in The Telegraph.

"According to the latest research from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), even with the cheaper tests (that are few and few between), more than half of British travellers will be priced out of getaways in countries headed for the Government’s ‘amber list’ this season; and that’s most of Europe, by the looks of things.

"Even those returning from one of the few likely ‘green list’ destinations will have to open their wallets. Even if you’re coming back from Gibraltar, where 100 per cent of the population is vaccinated. Even if you yourself have had both jabs. Even though your jaunt would therefore pose significantly less risk to your fellow countrymen than you coming home with nits."

07:48 AM

Prince Harry bids to heal the world at Vax Live charity concert

The Duke of Sussex was given a standing ovation as he pleaded for vaccines to be "distributed to everyone everywhere" at a star-studded charity concert in Los Angeles.

In his first public appearance since the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, Prince Harry received a rapturous reception as he urged the governments of wealthy nations to share vaccines with the world's poorer countries.

The 36-year-old was speaking on Sunday at the Vax Live concert in his capacity as campaign chair for the event, which was held in front of a fully-vaccinated audience of frontline Covid health workers. The concert featured a host of stars including Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez and the Foo Fighters.

The heavily-pregnant Duchess of Sussex, who was also named as a campaign chair, remained at home.

Read the full story here.

07:29 AM

India infections surge past 20 million

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for a nationwide lockdown as the country’s tally of coronavirus infections surged past 20 million on Tuesday.

This makes it the second nation after the United States to pass the grim milestone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is reluctant to impose a national lockdown due to the economic fall out, yet several states have imposed various social restrictions.

The surge in cases of the highly infectious Indian variant of Covid-19 has swamped the health system, drained supplies of medical oxygen vital for survival for those infected, and seen patients dying in ambulances and carparks outside hospitals.

Rows of funeral pyres in parks and carparks cremate the overflow of corpses.

07:05 AM

Prof Neil Ferguson: 'I'm optimistic summer will be normal'

Prof Ferguson, director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, said: "The data is very encouraging and very much in line with what we expected.

"It's much better to be vaccinating people than shutting down the whole of society.

"I'm feeling fairly optimistic that we will be not completely back to normal but something which feels a lot more normal by the summer."

He said the risk of vaccines being less effective in the face of variants was "the major concern" that could still lead to a "very major third wave in the autumn".

06:40 AM

‘Good chance’ social distancing rules will be scrapped on June 21

Boris Johnson has said there is a "good chance" that he will scrap the social distancing rules that force people to remain at least a metre apart on June 21.

The low prevalence of Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths in England has already allowed the Government to accelerate the removal of the cap on attendees at funerals. The move has been brought forward from step four, on June 21, to step three.

Looking further ahead to the fourth and final step in his route out of lockdown, Mr Johnson told reporters on Monday morning: "We've got a good chance of being able to dispense with the one metre plus on June 21."

Read the full story here.

06:05 AM

Mosques shut out women for Ramadan prayers

Mosques across the UK are not allowing women in to pray during the month of Ramadan, an investigation has found.

In a survey of 29 of the biggest mosques in the UK, more than a fifth admitted barring women, citing Covid restrictions as the reason.

Over a quarter of British mosques do not have a space for women at all, the BBC discovered. In those that cater for both men and women, the spaces are not always the same size.

While many families pray together at home, worship in mosques tends to be gender segregated, with many people believing that allows time to focus on prayer.

Sometimes women will pray behind men in the same space, but more often mosques will have two separate rooms for each gender to pray in, with the men in the main prayer hall and the women in an alternative space.

05:28 AM

Europe to welcome British tourists for summer holidays

British holidaymakers are expected to be freed to travel to Europe's top holiday destinations next month after Brussels opened the door to vaccinated travellers from the start of June.

Spain, Greece and France are among countries that could be added to the safe "green list" by the end of June under the traffic light system being drawn up by Downing Street for international travel, The Telegraph can disclose.

On Monday, Boris Johnson played down hopes of an immediate mass getaway, saying that putting a significant number of countries on the "green list" from May 17 would risk an "influx of disease".

Read the full story here.

04:32 AM

Call for hospitality judicial review turned down

The High Court has rejected a challenge to the Government's delay in reopening indoor hospitality until May 17.

Hugh Osmond, the founder of Punch Taverns, and Sacha Lord, the co-founder of Parklife, had claimed there was no justification or scientific basis for indoor hospitality to remain closed when non-essential retail outlets had been allowed to resume trading.

However, the Honourable Mr Justice Julian Knowles dismissed the call for a judicial review to bring forward indoor reopenings as "academic" because the necessary hearing would now be unlikely to take place before May 17.

Read the full story here.

03:21 AM

Cricket star says PM has blood on is hands over India ban

Among the Australians trapped in India are high-profile sporting stars - cricketers playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

Commentator and former Test cricket star Michael Slater is among those outraged by the Australian government's decision to close borders to India, labelling the decision a "disgrace".

"Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this," he tweeted. "If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home."

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the idea he had blood on his hands was "absurd".

"There have been a lot of difficult decisions during Covid and people will criticise me and my government for it," the PM said.

"I'm not going to fail Australia. I'm going to protect our borders at this time."

03:04 AM

Australian PM says India jail rules will be used 'responsibly'

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has fended off accusations of racism and having blood on his hands, as he retreated from a threat to jail Australians trying to escape Covid-ravaged India.

The government moved to ban travellers from India from entering Australia until May 15, threatening rule-breakers - including Australian citizens - with prison time.

Amid widespread backlash, Mr Morrison said today that it was "highly unlikely" travellers from India would face the maximum penalties of five years jail and a A$66,000 (£37,000) fine for breaking border rules.

"I don't think it would be fair to suggest these penalties in their most extreme forms are likely to be placed anywhere, but this is a way to ensure we can prevent the virus coming back," Mr Morrison said.

He said the rules would be used "responsibly and proportionately" but they had to be put in place to ease the pressure on the country's quarantine system, which saw a 1,500pc spike in Covid cases from India since March.

Around 9,000 Australians are believed to be in India.

02:53 AM

Survey reveals support for NHS decent pay rise

Most people believe the Government should find money to give NHS workers in England a decent pay rise, new research suggests.

A survey of 2,000 adults by the UK's 14 health unions showed that public support remains strong for a proper wage rise for health staff following controversy over the Government's recommendation of a one per cent increase.

Almost two thirds of respondents said an increase of one per cent for NHS workers in England was too low.

A similar number said they would support the Government making additional resources available for a pay rise for NHS staff.

The unions pointed out that more than one million NHS workers are still waiting for a pay rise that was due on April 1.

A recommendation from the NHS Pay Review Body will be made in coming weeks.

02:53 AM

UK urged to ensure equal access to Covid vaccines

The UK should use its presidency of the G7 to help ensure a faster supply of coronavirus vaccines to places in most need, the heads of union bodies have said.

The issue was raised in a joint letter to International Trade Secretary Liz Truss by unions including the European Trade Union Confederation, International Trade Union Confederation and Trades Union Congress.

The World Health Organisation also pleaded with the G7 group of wealthy nations to dig deep and fund the global Covid-19 recovery, warning the crisis cannot be resolved worldwide if they do not step up.

It comes as India's total coronavirus caseload approaches 20 million - in stark contrast to gradual reopenings in wealthier parts of the world where rapid vaccination programmes have helped keep new cases down. UK figures show just one Covid death, a low last achieved in August 2020.

The number of daily cases in the UK has fallen to 1,649, with infection numbers continuing to plummet.

• LIZ TRUSS: Strengthening trade with India will fuel our recovery

02:37 AM

Today's top stories

• British holidaymakers are expected to be freed to travel to Europe's top holiday destinations next month after Brussels opened the door to vaccinated travellers from the start of June.
• Boris Johnson has said there is a "good chance" that he will scrap the social distancing rules that force people to remain at least a metre apart on June 21, with the news coming as Britain recorded only one Covid death.
• Michel Barnier on Monday conceded that Britain’s vaccine success proved that individual states could act faster than the unwieldy European Union, which displayed an “ideological mistrust of public-private partnerships” and had “not yet learned to take risks”.
• The High Court has rejected a challenge to the Government's delay in reopening indoor hospitality until May 17.
• The Duke of Sussex was given a standing ovation as he pleaded for vaccines to be "distributed to everyone everywhere" at a star-studded charity concert in Los Angeles.
• In a survey of 29 of the biggest mosques in the UK, more than a fifth admitted barring women, citing Covid restrictions as the reason.