Restrictions 'more likely' to end if 70% jabbed

We are going to be drawing our live updates to a close soon so here's a recap of the days coronavirus news:

• Covid restrictions are more likely to end if 70% of adults are vaccinated by 19 July, Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England says
• Queues have been building outside walk-in vaccine clinics across England in a major push to offer jabs to all remaining adults
• The UK has given the highest number of first doses in nearly three months, Saturday's figures show
• Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has demanded compensation from the Scottish government after a travel ban between Scotland and Manchester
• The Scottish government says the decision had only been taken "after extremely careful consideration"
• There have been no coronavirus-related deaths in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland in the last 24 hours and six in England, government figures show
• Meanwhile, Brazil's Covid death toll has passed 500,000, with intensive care units running close to capacity
• The outbreak could worsen in Brazil as winter starts and only 15% of adults are fully vaccinated
• And China has administered more than one billion doses of vaccine against the coronavirus - more than a third of jabs given globally, its health ministry says

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A balance of restrictions and vaccinations would be required "for the foreseeable future" to tackle coronavirus in Wales, the first minister has said.

More than 80% of Wales' population - not just adults - will need to be vaccinated or been infected with Covid-19 to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, Welsh government scientists have said.

About 70% of the population has had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

An estimated eight in 10 adults in Wales have antibodies, according to official analysis at the start of June.

First Minister Mark Drakeford told BBC Wales the country must not rely "wholly and exclusively on vaccination as the only thing we can do to prevent coronavirus from overwhelming the health service again.

"The social distancing, the mask-wearing, the hand-washing, all those things are a defence against coronavirus - as is vaccination.

"First of all, we press ahead with the vaccination programme to try to get as close to that 80% figure as we can.

"The more we push the vaccination numbers up, we hope, the fewer other restrictions we will need.

"And for the time being, it's going to be a balance between those two things," he added.

Wales has recorded 176 new cases and no Covid-related deaths today.

Pfizer will supply the Philippines with 40 million doses of vaccine, after the government there signed its biggest coronavirus vaccine deal to date.

Deliveries of the Pfizer jab, one of a number of vaccines signed off for emergency use in the Philippines, will begin in late September, according to Carlito Galvez, head of vaccine procurement.

In late March, a second Covid surge left hospitals and crematoriums in the South East Asia country struggling to cope - and triggered a recession too.

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A spokesperson for the Scottish government has defended their decision to ban non-essential travel from Scotland to Salford and Manchesterfrom Monday.

It follows accusations of "hypocrisy" by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, following the "out of the blue" decision - announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to parliament on Thursday.

The spokesperson said the decision had only been taken "after extremely careful consideration, and in the same way we have previously done in relation to a number of other areas in England".

Non-essential travel is already banned from Scotland to Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen, while there has been an easing of travel restrictions with Bedford and the Republic of Ireland.

"Nobody wants travel restrictions in place for any longer than is absolutely necessary," the spokesperson said.

"But rates of Covid in these cities are particularly high at the moment and these restrictions are intended to minimise the risk of either exacerbating the situation there or indeed allowing more virus to come back here to Scotland."

Mr Burnham told the BBC's Andrew Marr show on Sunday that he would be writing to Ms Sturgeon to ask for compensation, for local holidaymakers who had booked to travel to Scotland and for businesses.

The spokesperson said rules on travel between Scotland and other parts of the Common Travel Area were subject to sudden change - depending on the latest data - and advised those booking holidays to check their travel insurance.

"We are taking a four nations approach wherever possible and are always willing to work across all levels of government to protect our local economies whilst, critically, ensuring we minimise the risk of Covid-19 spreading."

A total of 74,304,520 coronavirus vaccinations have been given in the UK, the government's daily figures show.

That's 42,964,013 first doses and 31,340,507 second doses.

A major push on vaccinations this weekend saw the highest number of first doses given in almost three months.

A total of 280,241 first jabs were given and the last time the figure was higher was when it reached 293,548 on 28 March.

A further 236,363 second doses were given across the UK yesterday the figures show.

You can find out when you'll get your jabs here.

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Professor Kevin Fenton, regional director for London at Public Health England (PHE), says the capital is entering a "summer sprint" to get as many people vaccinated as possible by 19 July.

"We're working with local authorities to get the rates up among everybody over age 18, but especially those aged over 40," he said.

"That's our number one focus in the city now."

He told LBC London had lower rates of vaccine take-up than other regions because of the size and diversity of its population: "We have pockets of poverty, deprivation, we have people who travel and move across the city."

He added that PHE staff were "really dealing with hesitancy that people may have about getting vaccinated, it's safety, or where to get it done".

On the possibility of mandatory vaccines for care home workers, he did not sanction government plans, but said PHE would work with local authorities, visiting all the city's care homes, to help ensure "that all staff are as well protected as possible".

Prof Fenton conceded it would be hard to get everyone over 30 in London vaccinated by so-called Terminus Day, on 19 July, given the size of the younger population in London.

He said many young adults would not get their second dose until late July or early August, but he urged them to "get the first dose in as soon as possible".

"Even with the first source, there is some protection that you will receive."

Actor Peter Capaldi, known for playing the famously abrasive Malcolm Tucker in satirical comedy The Thick of It, shared what he thought the character would think about revelations from former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings.

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser has made a series of explosive claims about mistakes made by the government during the Covid pandemic.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr programme, Capaldi says the behaviour of the top people in government was "beyond a joke" and says Tucker would be "too good" to exist in the current political world.

I've traced back the story of the Delta variant, from its arrival in the UK to how it became the dominant strain of Covid-19, leading to a delay in the easing of restrictions.

A fever clinic isolation room, a gym that has room for 500 people to train and a 45,000 cover dining room - just some of the features of the Tokyo Olympics athlete's village.

The home for thousands of athletes has presented a unique challenge to organisers, who hope strict safety measures will combat the risk of infection.

I took a look inside the grounds to see how Covid guidelines are being implemented.

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Many pupils from low-income families in the UK are concerned they will receive unfair grades this summer, a survey suggests.

More than half of them think they will be unable to appeal, after teacher assessments replaced cancelled exams.

The charity wants governments across the UK to allow all pupils in the final year of sixth form to repeat a year, if their schools approve.

"We cannot afford to get this wrong again," said Alan Milburn, chairman of the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF), who ran the survey.

"Levelling up cannot happen without a level playing field," said Mr Milburn.

"If the government is truly committed to prioritising the most disadvantaged, they must have an appeals process that recognises that the pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on those from poorer backgrounds."

Scotland has made a special dispensation for those who have faced greater disadvantage - and say pupils opting to take exams in the autumn instead of accepting teacher-assessed grades should be able do so free of charge.

A Department for Education spokesperson said students would have the chance to resit in the autumn, and those in Year 13 "will be able to repeat part or all of the year if they feel they have been adversely impacted by the pandemic".

Read the full story.

Tottenham Hotspur's stadium has become a walk-in vaccination centre for the second time.

Anyone over the age of 18 can turn up for a jab and as you'll see from our video hundreds are happy to queue.

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The Indian government has urged states to take great care in easing coronavirus restrictions imposed during the country's deadly second wave of the pandemic.

Covid-19 infections and deaths are falling in India, which saw record-breaking numbers in May. On Sunday, India reported another 58,419 cases, the lowest single-day rise since March.

The decline in cases means restrictions are being eased.

But there's concern that people are flouting Covid-19 protocols such as social distancing and wearing masks. Several states have seen streets packed with crowds and traffic.

The head of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has warned that a third wave is inevitable within weeks if lessons are not learnt.

Given this, the government is clearly worried.

The Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar, has warned against complacency in a letter asking regional ministers to take action should infections increase again. He said testing a vaccinations were crucial.

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The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) is to take part in an industry-wide day of action on Wednesday, calling on the UK Government to allow international travel to return safely and in a risk-managed way.

Abta said this can be done by expanding the green list "in line with the evidence and making restrictions more proportionate".

A review of the current travel guidance - as set out by the Global Travel Taskforce - is expected by 28 June, including any updates to the quarantine-free 'green list'.

Pilots are expected to join travel industry colleagues on Wednesday's day of action at Heathrow, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester airports.

As we said in a previous post, the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) is calling for urgent help because of the "devastating" impact of the pandemic.

Abta wants ministers to bring forward a package of tailored financial support, including extension of furlough support, recognising that the sector's ability to trade is "much slower than first anticipated and more gradual than for businesses in the domestic economy".

A Government spokesman said: "We recognise the challenging times facing all sectors of transport as a result of Covid-19, which is why we have put in place an economy-wide support package, including around £7bn of support expected to benefit the air transport sector by September 2021.

"We continue to work with the aviation sector to help them navigate this period, and encourage them to draw on the unprecedented package of support measures available."

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Russia has reported 17,611 new coronavirus cases today, including 8,305 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,316,826.

The government coronavirus task force said 450 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 129,361.

The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and says Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to COVID-19 from April 2020 to April 2021.

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Here are some of the queues that have been forming outside pop-up vaccination centres this weekend as a major push to offer coronavirus jabs to every adult in England gets under way.

In London, clinics have been set up at sports grounds, including the London Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur FC and Selhurst Park.

Charlton Athletic opened its Valley stadium in south-east London as a walk-in centre focused on giving over-40s their second doses.

Anyone aged 18 or over can book a jab in England and it is hoped all adults will have had their first jab by 19 July.

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All coronavirus restrictions could be lifted in England on 5 July thanks to the huge numbers of people getting their jabs, a vaccine expert says.

Brendan Wren, professor of vaccinology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says it is "very encouraging" that more than 700,000 vaccine appointments were booked on Friday when jabs became available to people aged 18 to 20 in England.

Asked whether the success of the vaccine programme means England will not need to wait until 19 July to fully open up, he told Sky News: "We'd still need to be vigilant - but vigilance and vaccination are the two words.

"So, I think if the numbers continue to be promising then I think there's great hope we could open up on 5 July."

Official figures show the UK has recorded more than 10,000 daily Covid cases for three consecutive days.

But Prof Wren says the rise in cases seem to be "flattening off" and the number of people in hospital with coronavirus and "certainly the severe cases" have "not crept up in line" with the number of infections.

He says he does not particularly think that the UK is experiencing a third wave of coronavirus and he does not expect to see a "huge peak like we've had in January and last year."