AND VAX THE END IS IN SIGHT
Portugal & Seychelles breaks on the horizon School tests ‘a mess’
HERE are the key points in Boris Johnson’s plan for lifting the lockdown in England: MARCH 29 People will be allowed to meet outside, with one other household or within the “rule of six”, including private gardens. APRIL 12 All shops, gyms, salons and libraries can reopen and pubs can serve food and drink outside.
MAY 17 Six people or two households can meet indoors and up to 30 can meet outdoors.
JUNE 21 All restrictions can be lifted.
World Snooker Championship and the FA Cup final will be offered up as guinea pigs. The events – in April and May respectively – are set to go ahead with slimmed-down crowds to check if they spread the disease.
It is thought up to 20,000 football fans could be allowed in to Wembley Stadium for the latter event.
A Covid-19 booster vaccine is also due
restrictions is scheduled for June 21. Each step is subject to four tests being met, including the pressure on the NHS, the success of the vaccine rollout and the impact of virus variants.
The ‘R’ infection rate is currently at its lowest since last May – ranging from 0.6 to 0.8. It means that every 10 people with the virus pass it on to six to eight others.
It has also emerged that a Covid booster vaccine could also be rolled out in either August or September. to be rolled out in August or September to avoid another winter surge, top government vaccination adviser Prof Anthony Harnden said yesterday.
So far, more than 23.6 million Brits have had their first dose of the vaccine and UK Covid deaths fell by 34% last week. One in three people also now live in a Covid-free zone.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out lifting the lockdown early as scientific advisers fear a third wave.
But Prof Robert Dingwall, from Nottingham Trent University, said: “The speed of the vaccine rollout and the solid evidence of its benefits means that we do not need to wait for five weeks between each step in the release programme.”
As it stands, pubs and restaurants can only open for indoor dining on May 17 but the British Beer and Pub Association want the date brought forward to April.
Matt Todd, landlord of the Wonston Arms, near Winchester, Hants, said: “We need Boris to be brave and trust in us pub landlords to do the right thing.”
A Government alert is going out to more than two million 16 to 64 year olds who should have had the Covid vaccine.
Texts are being sent after NHS officials found half of those with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease had not yet had the jab, even though they qualify.
HOLIDAY dreams were boosted last night as Portugal and the Seychelles looked set to be removed from Britain’s international travel ban.
Transport Secretary Grant
Shapps, inset, is expected to announce tomorrow that Portugal will come off the “red list” of 33 countries with high infection rates.
It means the ban on direct flights into the UK will be lifted, and arrivals from Portugal will not have to quarantine at Government-approved hotels for 11 days at their own expense.
Industry experts believe the ban could also be lifted for the Seychelles within days.
Turkey is planning to welcome back tourists if they have had the jab while Greece and Cyprus have already said they want to allow vaccinated Brits as early as May.
But last night there was a warning that holiday hotspots should not lift restrictions too soon.
Travel consultant Paul Charles of the Save Our Summer campaign
SCIENTISTS have branded school Covid testing a “shambles” due to the risk of false-positive results.
Government advice says pupils and their families should take two lateral flow tests a week at home, which give results in 30 minutes.
If positive, they are told to get a more accurate test at a centre.
But there is no requirement for follow-up tests for teachers or said: “The challenge for Portugal is to ensure that it doesn’t remove its lockdown restrictions too quickly so its infection rates rise again, which has been seen in other countries.”
Italy is just one of the European nations bracing itself for a “third wave” of Covid-19. Shops, restaurants and schools will be closed across most of the country from tomorrow as part of a new minilockdown. Germany has also reported a rise in infection rates.
A Covid-19 booster vaccine could be rolled out later this year to stop the same thing happening here.
Anthony Harnden, acting chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said: “I think we’re likely to make a bold decision to recommend a booster dose... the consequences of not immunising with the booster doses are so big.”
Under the Covid roadmap, foreign holidays for people in England will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest. pupils if swabs are taken at school. Prof Christina Pagel of Independent SAGE said: “It’s a mess. The tests are easy to do badly, and it’s difficult to test children properly.”
Dr Zubaida Haque added: “The entire testing approach to schools is a shambles. Schools nor parents know exactly what to do.
“And on top of that, the whole system is voluntary.”