Hancock: UK at 'worst point' as vaccine brings hope

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Thanks for joining us today. Here are some of the main stories from the day:

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the country is at a "perilous moment" as he announced 2.4 million vaccines had been given so far
• His words came after chief medical officer for England Prof Chris Whitty told the BBC the next few weeks would be "the worst" for the NHS and urged people to stay home
• Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has been criticised for travelling seven miles from Downing Street to go cycling during lockdown
• A further 529 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test have been reported in the UK, bringing the total to 81,960. And there have been another 46,169 positive cases reported, bringing the total cases to 3,118,518
• The Morrisons supermarket chain will bar customers who refuse to wear face coverings from its shops amid rising coronavirus infections. Shoppers who refuse to wear face masks offered by staff will not be allowed inside, unless they are medically exempt
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a speech that the government should "protect family incomes" as it deals with the economic fallout of the pandemic
• An Essex hospital's oxygen supply has "reached a critical situation" due to rising numbers of Covid-19 infections
• In Scotland, lower league football and the Scottish Cup have been suspended for three weeks amid rising coronavirus cases
• Customers using BT Mobile, EE, and Plusnet Mobile can use BBC Bitesize educational content from the end of January without using their data allowance
• Portugal has seen a record 122 deaths within the past 24 hours, according to its health authority - the previous record of 118 was set last week
• In the Republic of Ireland, Prime Minister Micheál Martin has said almost half of all new cases relate to the new variant, first discovered in the UK
• And European rugby's Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have been temporarily suspended, organisers have confirmed. It comes after the French government decreed its clubs should not play in the competitions this month

Today's figure of 46,169 new positive Covid tests is the first time the number has been under 50,000 since 28 December.

However, numbers are usually lower after the weekend due to a lag in reporting.

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Lebanon is set to enforce a 24-hour curfew from this Thursday as it battles to contain the coronavirus.

The authorities say that without drastic action the country’s fragile health system will be overwhelmed. The curfew will initially last for eleven days but could well be extended.

Customers will be barred from shopping in supermarkets and instead will need to rely on deliveries. The country’s only airport will remain open but the number of passengers is set to be dramatically reduced.

Compared with other countries, Lebanon had - until now - coped relatively well with the coronavirus. But despite a rise in infections, the government relaxed restrictions ahead of Christmas and New Year, hoping to bolster the country’s crumbling economy.

Health officials say that relaxation has led to a dramatic spike in the number of cases, which could sky-rocket in the coming days. More than fifteen hundred Lebanese have died from the virus in the past year.

The World Health Organization has warned herd immunity won't be achieved this year, despite Covid vaccines being rolled out in countries across the world.

"We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021," the WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a briefing.

She stressed that people needed to continue measures such as social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings.

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Today's UK government press conference has ended. Here's what happened:

• Matt Hancock said he didn't rule out taking "further action" over lockdown rules in England, but said “stronger enforcement" of current rules was necessary and police had stepped up their approach
• He added the government would have to "look at" rules allowing exercise with one other person outside a household if too many people use it for "socialising"
• But he ruled out getting rid of childcare and support bubbles, adding they were an “important part of the system we’ve got to support people”
• He said he was "confident" a target to vaccinate people in the top four priority groups by mid-February would be reached, although it is "not going to be easy"
• The health secretary pledged all older adults in care homes would get a first Covid vaccine by the end of the month, by which point everyone in England would live within 10 miles of a centre
• But NHS Medical Director Stephen Powis warned the impact of vaccination would not be felt in hospital admission figures until February.

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The health secretary was questioned about the prime minister being spotted exercising seven miles from Downing Street.

Sun reporter Kate Ferguson asked Matt Hancock for specific details about what people were allowed to do under the rules.

She referred to a case where two women in Derbyshire were threatened with a fine after driving five miles to a park to meet each other for a walk.

Ferguson then asked whether it was "all right to go ahead and exercise seven miles away from your home" - an apparent reference to reports the prime minister had been seen cycling in the Olympic Park in east London.

Matt Hancock said: "If you went for a long walk and ended up seven miles away from home, that is OK, but you should stay local.

"You should not go from one side of the country to another potentially taking the virus with you.

"So it is OK to go for a long walk, cycle ride or exercise. But stay local."

Asked about the story earlier and whether Boris Johnson was driven to the Olympic park, a spokesperson for the PM did not provide any details but said he had complied with Covid guidelines.

Dan Bloom of the Mirror asks the health secretary if he can guarantee that support bubbles and childcare bubbles will remain - as many people rely on them.

Matt Hancock says yes, he can "rule out" removing them, adding: "I know how important they are to people. They're an important part of the system we have to support people."

But he stresses that they are there for "individual specific people" and that you have to stick to the same bubble, once you are in one.

Hancock says he wants to be "absolutely crystal clear" about the fact they will stay.

And Prof Powis is asked if there have been any incidences of people catching Covid on their way to, or back, from vaccine centres.

He replies that all of those set up, whether large-scale centres or GP-led hubs, have infection prevention measures in place to minimise the risk of catching the virus.

There is appropriate social distancing so people stay apart and the risk of transmission is as low as possible, adds Prof Powis.

The big question – and it is one that Elaine from Glasgow asked – is whether mid-February will mark the start of the lifting of lockdown and the return to normality.

It should, but the process is likely to be slow.

Firstly, it takes several weeks after the first dose for an immune response to start to kick in.

Second, the over-60s, who are at quite significant risk, are not part of this initial stage and so will remain vulnerable to the virus.

And finally, while trials showed the two vaccines that are being used in the UK are very effective at preventing infection and certainly at stopping serious illness, it is still uncertain what impact they will have on transmission.

It is possible people who are vaccinated can still pass on the virus.

We hope it will disrupt this to some extent – and maybe even stop it.

This will be a crucial factor in how quickly the UK and the rest of the world can get on top of the pandemic.

Is a walk with a friend and a takeaway coffee allowed?

In answer to that simple question, the health secretary says "yes" but goes on to stress that the rules permit exercise with one other person.

The emphasis should be on exercising, not socialising, he says, and if too many people broke that rule the government would have to "have a look at it."

The rules, as ever, are open to some interpretation and Mr Hancock clearly hopes his appeal for people to not "push the boundaries" will work.

But MPs and others are calling for more clarity here, with some people travelling long distances to exercise and others being punished for going for a walk relatively close to home.

Laura Bundock from Sky News asks if it was complacent for the prime minister to allow mixing indoors over Christmas - and if we are paying the price now.

Matt Hancock says what we're seeing is that "the new variant of the virus is incredibly transmissible" and is "highly contagious".

The fact it spreads so easily means we have an "incredibly difficult few weeks ahead of us".

It is imperative everybody follows the rules - and doesn't see them as a limit to be stretched.

"I know that's difficult but it's so important for everybody," he says.

Prof Powis says when the NHS is under pressure, it's not just Covid patients affected but anyone requiring medical assistance. He says it's important "we all pull together" to ensure the NHS can treat us all and keep us safe.

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The health secretary stresses the importance of the public following the restrictions of the current lockdown.

Asked by Emily Morgan of ITV whether it was time to make the rules stricter amid reports of people not sticking to them at the weekend, Matt Hancock says: "We keep these things under review and we have demonstrated that we're willing to tighten the rules if they need to be tightened.

"But the thing that really matters right here, right now is that everybody follows the rules as they are today.

"And everybody can play their part in doing that."

He adds he applauds the action supermarket Morrisons has taken in enforcing the wearing of masks by its customers unless they have a medical reason.

"I want to see all parts of society playing their part in this," he says.

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The BBC's Fergus Walsh asks if the target of 12.5m doses of the vaccine for the most vulnerable, in the next five weeks, is "doable".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock replies: "Yes, we're on track to meet that target."

He says the target is "ambitious" but "achievable" and he is "confident we're going to do it".

Since Thursday when the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was rolled out, there was an increase in 210,000 vaccinations a day, on average. The mass vaccination sites means the speed of the rollout will increase further, he adds.

He says of the target: "It's not going to be easy but we're going to get there."

Prof Powis adds everyone is confident the NHS can "stand up to this challenge" and deliver it, and that "it's in all our interests to speed through those high priority groups".

Another warning, this time from Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England.

There is "significant and sustained pressure" on hospitals, he says, and they are "yet to see" the impact of the loosening of restrictions at Christmas reflected in admissions.

To summarise, things are bad and about to get worse.

He says the vaccine programme cannot be seen as a "free pass" and only if people complied with the lockdown laws will the situation be manageable.

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NHS England national medical director Prof Stephen Powis says the country should be "in no doubt" that the battle against Covid is "tougher than it has ever been".

There are 13,000 more patients in hospital since Christmas Day, he says, adding there are "stubbornly high" levels of infections and deaths.

Hospitals are seeing "significant and sustained pressure" from the rising number of patients. And we are still to see the full impact of the loosening of restrictions at Christmas, Prof Powis adds.

It is, he says, an "extremely serious moment for the country".

And the vaccine "cannot be seen as a free pass" to ignore the guidance in place, like social distancing and staying inside.

"We have to keep focus and resilience as a country," he says.

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The health secretary refers to a statement given earlier by the head of the NHS in which he talked about the UK being in a "sprint" from now to February, as those in the priority groups get their vaccinations.

"It will then kick off another sprint up to April as we get the rest of the vulnerable groups protected," Hancock says.

"And then, finally, a marathon to the autumn as we deliver vaccination to everybody else."

But he says the current pressures on the NHS mean the UK is in an "extremely serious moment."

Hancock adds the vaccine is "good news" but "cannot be seen by any of us as a free pass to ignore the national guidance".

The rules may not be getting any stronger but the language certainly is.

Matt Hancock repeated the warning that this was the "worst point" of the pandemic so far.

He made clear the onus is on individuals, whose actions could "make a difference".

Increasingly urgent appeals to follow the rules reflect deep concern in government that the message isn't getting through.

The health secretary says he wants the UK to get back to normal as fast as possible.

"I want us to have that Great British summer. And my team and I are working hard to deliver this as fast as possible."

Matt Hancock goes on to outline the government's vaccine delivery plan - saying it is the biggest vaccination programme in British history.

He adds: "We have significantly accelerated the care home vaccination rollout.

"Almost a quarter of older care home residents have now received their first dose of the vaccine and we are committed to reach every care home resident this month."

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Matt Hancock starts with an update of the number of daily cases.

The health secretary says the new variant is highly contagious - with 46,169 cases recorded in the UK in the last day.

There were 32,294 people in hospital - up 22% on this time last week, he adds.

Hancock says the vaccine rollout is proceeding at pace and is the "way out" of the pandemic

He says 2.6m doses of the vaccine have been given - to 2.3m people - more than all other countries of Europe together,

UK GovernmentCopyright: UK Government