Sajid Javid ‘comfortable’ with July 19 Freedom Day despite surge in Covid cases

06:02 PM

What happened today?

Good evening, that's our Covid updates wrapped up for now. Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

• The Government is "very comfortable" with the timetable for ending England's lockdown despite the surge in coronavirus cases, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said as he warned any delay to the July 19 great unlocking would risk piling adding pressure on the NHS during winter

• British holidaymakers were set to flock to their favourite overseas holidays hotspots after the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that fully-vaccinated Britons will no longer be required to quarantine on return from amber list destinations, along with unvaccinated children, from July 19

• The number of exposure alerts sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app has risen by more than 60 per cent, the latest contact tracing figures show

• The head of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, said work is taking place to "tune" the NHS Covid app to take account of the fact increasing numbers of people have been vaccinated, as NHS staff delete their app over concern at the amount of staff being "pinged" to self-isolate

• A senior World Health Organization official has accused the UK of “moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity” over its Covid unlocking policy

• Fans will be banned from spectating at the Tokyo Olympics, as a state of emergency was declared in the Japanese capital over rising coronavirus rates.

05:49 PM

‘Moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity’: WHO condemns UK Covid policy

A senior World Health Organization official has accused the UK of “moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity”.

In a series of scathing comments, Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, said it was a “dangerous assumption” that high vaccination rates will prevent substantial surges in hospitalisations and deaths, amid increasing case rates across Europe.

“The idea that everyone is protected and it’s ‘kum-ba-ya’ and it can go back to normal, is a very dangerous assumption,” Dr Ryan told a press conference on Wednesday, without naming specific countries.

“I would ask governments... to be really careful at this moment, not to lose the gains you’ve made, to open up very carefully.”

• Sarah Newey has the full story

05:38 PM

'One in 17 over-80s' in England may not have any jab, figure suggest

Some 6 per cent of people aged 80 and over in England may not have received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine, new data suggests.

The figure is the equivalent of around one in 17 over-80s, or just over 171,000 people, with 47,000 of them in London.

Other age groups among the over-50s are likely to have a much lower percentage of unvaccinated individuals, with estimates of 0.5 per cent for 70 to 79-year-olds, 2.3 per cent for 60 to 69-year-olds and 4.9 per cent for 50 to 59-year-olds.

The data has been published by NHS England and covers vaccinations delivered up to July 4.

The Government has said all adults in England will have been offered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by July 19.

The latest figures suggest there may be pockets of vaccine hesitancy in some parts of the country among the very old. People aged 80 and over were among the earliest to be offered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in December last year.

05:23 PM

Coronavirus around the world, in pictures

04:57 PM

NHS Test and Trace was a success, insists former boss

The much-criticised NHS Test and Trace programme has proved a "success" in fighting the Covid pandemic, the organisation's former head has said.

Baroness Harding rejected accusations that it had failed in its objectives after the country was forced into a second national lockdown last winter.

Giving evidence to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, she said it was responsible for helping to break the chains of virus transmission, reducing infections by up to a third.

"I do appreciate that a lot of people listening to this will find this rather incredulous given some of the way it's been reported, but I would actually argue that NHS Test and Trace has been a success, that it has delivered on the objective to help break the chains of transmission," she said.

Her comments come amid widespread criticism of its performance, with the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) having said it had only a marginal impact on transmission, despite a budget of £37 billion over two years.

04:55 PM

Javid on unlocking: 'If not now, when?'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has defended the Government's plans for ending most of England's restrictions on July 19, warning that delaying would risk adding to winter pressures on the NHS.

He warned that experts had concerns about the impact of flu this winter because of the lack of natural immunity because of low prevalence during the lockdown last winter and "less confidence" in this year's vaccine due to a lack of data from southern hemisphere cases.

"There are people who are anxious and want us to be more cautious with opening up and I totally understand that, I absolutely get that," he told the Local Government Association conference.

"But all I would ask them to think about is that if you don't start opening up now, when? When would you do it? Because opening up now, going into the summer, all the public health officials that we have, the scientists, our epidemiologists are saying that it's much better to open up going into the summer - for lots of reasons - than just waiting to do it in the winter."

04:42 PM

England fan who skipped Euro semis to donate stem cells gets golden draw

A football fan who skipped the chance to go to England's Euro 2020 semi-final win because he was donating stem cells is set to be at Wembley for the final after he was offered free tickets.

Sam Astley, a buyer from from Cradley Heath near Birmingham, was given the chance to go to the clash with Denmark on Wednesday night after his girlfriend Beth Hill won two tickets in an online competition.

However, the 24-year-old was scheduled to donate potentially life-saving stem cells and decided to stick to the appointment instead of heading to the game.

Ms Hill told PA: "He was being admitted to hospital yesterday before his procedure this morning. He was like 'I'm not going to go (to the football), there's no way I'm going to delay the donation, this is a chance of life for someone else'."

Once his story started to go viral online, a campaign grew on social media to ensure his selflessness was rewarded with tickets to the final.

04:25 PM

Share the science on Covid quarantine rules, say leading medics

The Royal College of Nursing has urged the Government to "share the science" on changing self-isolation rules, Lizzie Roberts reports.

It comes as some NHS staff have been quietly deleting the NHS Covid app as they fear being forced into self-isolation.

Business leaders have also warned the app was causing huge levels of staff absences, sparking fears that some companies will be unable to cope after "Freedom Day".

The Government has said fully-vaccinated people will be exempt from self-isolation come August 16, but there are growing calls for this to be brought forward to the July 19 great unlocking.

Jude Diggins, the RCN's interim director of nursing, policy and public affairs, said: "Nursing staff are keen to find a way to work safely. Patients and staff need continued protection from this highly contagious disease. Nursing staff are highly dedicated and do not want to be away from work if it can ever be avoided.

"Governments and employers looking to change the rules for healthcare workers need to share the science they have, demonstrate how they will manage any risks and ensure nursing staff have access to the highest level of PPE.”

• Read more: NHS staff deleting Covid app amid self-isolation backlash

04:13 PM

Fresh restrictions on travel and more social distancing in Israel

Israel recorded two deaths from Covid on Thursday, including a fully vaccinated elderly man, as it reimposed some restrictions on travel and resumed its publicity campaign on social distancing, James Rothwell reports from Jerusalem.

Officials said an unvaccinated 48-year-old man and an 86-year-old man who had received two vaccine doses had died from the disease, the first fatalities to be recorded in two weeks.

This week the government announced that all travellers to Israel must go into self-isolation on entering the country to await a Covid test result, even if they are vaccinated. Previously, fully vaccinated people did not need to self-isolate unless they tested positive.

Israel is also setting up testing centres at summer camps with more than 100 people attending, and is going to "step up" its publicity campaign on the importance of mask wearing and social distancing.

Despite reimposing restrictions, Israel's mortality and hospitalisation rate from Covid remains very low, and the vast majority of the adult population has been fully vaccinated against the disease.

However, the infection rate has risen to around 500 cases per day this week and Israeli health officials have warned that number could exceed a thousand by next week.

Israel is currently focusing its vaccination efforts on children aged over 12 in the hope that this prevents another wave of the disease over the summer.

03:32 PM

Latest UK Covid figures are in

Another 32,551 coronavirus cases and 35 deaths within 28 days of a positive test have been reported as of Thursday.

This means that the seven-day average of new cases has risen by 34.9 per cent week-on-week, running at a national level of 267.1 per 100,000 people.

Deaths are up 52.6 per cent week-on-week, but are still very low compared to the pandemic peaks, currently running at a rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people.

Hospitalisations also remain low in the latest data, showing the effect of the vaccines, with around 450 Covid-related admissions per day.

Meanwhile, the vaccination rollout is continuing apace with 86.6 per cent of UK adults covered by a first dose, and 64.9 per cent fully vaccinated with both doses.

03:09 PM

‘Premature’ Freedom Day is a dangerous and unethical experiment, doctors warn

More than 100 scientists and doctors have signed a letter to The Lancet accusing the Government of conducting a “dangerous and unethical experiment” and urging it to reconsider its plans to abandon all coronavirus restrictions.

The letter, signed by the chairman of the British Medical Association, the chairman of Independent Sage and scientists from Oxford University and University College London, says the decision to release restrictions is “premature”.

The “Memorandum Against Mass Infection,” signed by 122 medics and scientists says any strategy that tolerates high levels of infection is both “unethical and illogical”.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA Council, said: “The numbers of Covid-19 cases in the UK are soaring. Whilst the link between hospitalisations and deaths has weakened, it has not been broken."

Their call comes despite the success of Britain's vaccine rollout - with 65 per cent of adults now double-vaccinated and 86.6 per cent having had as first dose - and the continued low number of deaths and hospitalisations.

• Laura Donnelly, our health editor, has more

02:47 PM

One in eight Covid cases not reached through Test and Trace in latest data

Around one in eight people transferred to the Test and Trace system after testing positive for Covid-19 were not reached in the latest week, new figures show.

It is the largest proportion not reached since the end of last year, and comes as the number of people testing positive rose to its highest total for nearly five months.

Some 12 per cent of people transferred to Test and Trace in England in the week ending June 30 were not reached, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. 87.9 per cent were reached during that latest week, when a total of 135,685 people tested positive in England at least once.

The figure has not been this high since the week ending December 30, during the peak of the second wave of coronavirus, when it stood at 12.6 per cent.

Anybody in England who tests positive for Covid-19, either through a rapid (LFD) test or a PCR test processed in a laboratory, is transferred to Test and Trace so their contacts can be traced and alerted.

02:28 PM

Thai authorities consider tighter curbs

Thailand's health ministry has proposed new travel curbs and tighter restrictions in high-risk areas to contain rising Covid-19 cases.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is due to consider the new restrictions in a meeting on Friday and said: "We may need to impose tougher restriction to limit travel, stop group activities, close more facilities and take other measures that are necessary."

The health ministry has proposed measures to limit people's travel from their home and a curb on inter-provincial travel as well as closing non-essential venues and areas that attract crowds. The rules would be in place for 14 days and would cover the Bangkok metropolitan area and "buffer zones".

Currently, Thailand has in place measures in "high-risk zones", including Bangkok and surrounding provinces, to close malls early and prohibit dining in at restaurants, but they have not been able to halt an acceleration of infections in the past month.

On Thursday the country reported 7,058 new coronavirus cases and 75 deaths, bringing the totals to 308,230 and 2,462 respectively.

02:08 PM

Face-to-face GP appointments plummeted during Covid

Face-to-face GP appointments have plummeted during the pandemic, while June saw the busiest month on record for A&E attendances - more than doubling compared to the same time last year, new data reveal.

Around half of patients had an in-person GP appointment between January and March this year, according to the NHS GP Patient Survey, down 40 per cent on last year’s figures.

The number of appointments carried out by phone increased from around one in 10 in 2020, to almost one in two (46 per cent) in 2021.

More than two in five people who needed to see a GP in the last year avoided making an appointment, the survey revealed, with the most common reason for avoidance being concern about the burden on the NHS (mentioned by 20 per cent of respondents).

• Lizzie Roberts has more on this story

01:52 PM

The mask row is in danger of descending into a very British culture war

Ella Whelan asks: to what extent do we let our inclination to be sticklers for courtesy override our common sense?

• Comment: Enough with the culture war over a blue cloth

01:43 PM

'Caution comes with costs'

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, has welcomed the UK Government's move to reopen travel but asks whether the sector will still require "significant sums" of public money.

The Forest of Dean MP adds: "Every bit of caution that people advocate comes with a price tag that has to be met by the taxpayer, and that debate is essential as we go forward."

Grant Shapps notes that the UK is leading the way in reopening domestically, saying that it is "time to learn to live with coronavirus".

The Transport Secretary says his conversations with the aviation sector suggests that many of the firms are ready to "upsize" as restrictions lift.

01:29 PM

Fans are banned from Tokyo Olympics

Organisers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics have agreed to ban spectators over fears about a surge of Covid-19 cases, Japanese Olympics minister Tamayo Marukawa has said.

Japan earlier declared a state of emergency for its capital and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, saying it was essential to prevent Tokyo becoming the source of another wave of infections.

The competition is set to run between July 23 and August 8 but controversy has sen domestic population is heavily opposed to it going ahead, some competitors have been forced to pull out.

With just two weeks until the July 23 opening ceremony, coronavirus infections are rising in the capital, and the spread of the more infectious Delta variant has spooked officials.

The rising cases threaten to derail plans to let up to 10,000 local fans into Olympic venues, and could mean Tokyo 2020 is the first ever Games held behind closed doors.

• Telegraph Sport have the full breaking story

01:10 PM

UK still 'cut off' from US, warns Heathrow boss

Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye has said "the job isn't done" in allowing travel to resume, despite the "excellent news" today.

"To really kickstart the UK's economic recovery, global Britain needs to get trading again," he said.

"US business can get to the EU, but the UK remains cut off. The UK should open up travel to fully vaccinated people from more countries - particularly our key partners in the US - by the end of July.

"If the EU can do it, so can the UK. We're working closely with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to demonstrate it can be done safely, with checks on departure, and no need for delays at immigration on arrival."

British Airways chief Sean Doyle welcomed the changes to travel rules, but said there is "more work to do", such as adding more countries to the green list and cutting down "unnecessary, expensive tests".

Recap on the Transport Secretary's Commons statement below.

12:57 PM

As global Covid deaths top 4 million, a tragedy

On the last day of Javier Vilca's life, his wife stood outside a hospital window with a teddy bear, red balloons and a box of chocolates to celebrate his birthday, and held up a giant, hand-scrawled sign that read: "Don't give up. You're the best man in the world."

Minutes later, Vilca, a 43-year-old radio journalist, jumped to his death - the fifth suicide by a Covid-19 patient at Peru's overwhelmed Honorio Delgado hospital since the pandemic began.

Vilca became yet another symbol of the despair caused by the coronavirus and the stark inequalities exposed by the virus on its way to a worldwide death toll of 4 million, a milestone recorded Wednesday by Johns Hopkins University.

At the hospital where Vilca died on June 24, a single doctor and three nurses were frantically rushing to treat 80 patients in an overcrowded, makeshift ward amid an acute shortage of bottled oxygen.

"He promised me he would make it," said Nohemi Huanacchire, weeping over her husband's casket on the outskirts of Arequipa, Peru's second-largest city. "But I never saw him again."

In a sign of hope, more than six months after vaccines became available, reported Covid-19 deaths worldwide have dropped to around 7,800 a day, after topping out at over 18,000 a day in January. The World Health Organization last week recorded its lowest weekly total since last October.

12:40 PM

'No evidence for Covid-19 lab leak' but plenty for natural origins

An international group of leading virus hunters have combed through all of the available evidence on the Covid-19 pandemic's origins and concluded that it is far more likely that it emerged naturally, rather than through an accidental laboratory leak.

In an origins debate which has grown increasingly political and polarised, the scientists assess the evidence for both sides in a bid to answer the question of where the virus came from.

These include Professor Eddie Holmes, who first shared the Sars-CoV-2 genome with Chinese colleagues in January 2020, University of Glasgow expert Professor David Robertson, Wellcome Trust director Sir Jeremy Farrar, and leading US virologist Dr Angela Rasmussen.

In their pre-print, which is set to be submitted to a journal this week, they conclude: "There is currently no evidence that Sars-CoV-2 has a laboratory origin... There is a substantial body of scientific evidence supporting a zoonotic [animal to human] origin for Sars-CoV-2."

• Jennifer Rigby has the full story

12:21 PM

NHS Covid app alerts soar 60pc as cases rise

The number of exposure alerts sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England has risen by more than 60 per cent, according to the latest contact tracing figures, as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

A total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the app in England in the week to June 30, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.

This is up from 219,391 the previous week - a jump of 62 per cent - and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.

It comes as the Government and health officials have suggested self-isolation rules could be adapted to take into account the number of people who have been vaccinated.

Ministers have been warned that millions of people could be "pinged" by the app or ordered to self-isolate by Test and Trace unless the app is tweaked, with infections expected to hit up to 100,000 cases a day in the summer.

12:10 PM

Lobby latest: What's the latest from the No 10 briefing to reporters this lunchtime?

• Downing Street has said employers who are able to should be flexible about allowing staff to go into work late on Monday or take the day off if England win Euro 2020. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We would want businesses who feel able to consider it if they can but we recognise it will vary depending on the business and company."
• The spokesman also confirmed that the exemption to quarantine for holidaymakers returning from amber list nations will only apply to those who have been vaccinated by the NHS, saying: "It does need to be a vaccine administered through the NHS rollout so you would need to have received your vaccine through the NHS rather than in a different country."
• Downing Street also ruled out increasing the number of fans allowed to attend Wembley and would set out any victory parade plans "in due course", adding: "There are no plans to extend the capacity."

11:49 AM

Changes could be made to NHS app to account for the vaccinated

Work is taking place to "tune" the NHS Covid app to take account of the fact increasing numbers of people have been vaccinated, the head of the UK Health Security Agency has said.

Giving evidence to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Dr Jenny Harries said that when the app was introduced vaccines were not available. The app alerts people to the need to self-isolate if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.

"We have a piece of work ongoing at the moment because it is entirely possible to tune the app to ensure that it is appropriate to the risk," she said.

"Working through what a vaccinated population using the app means is something that we are actively doing at the moment."

Asked by MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee whether some people were deleting the app, as The Telegraph reported this morning, Dr Jenny Harries said: "I am aware that people are choosing not to use the app."

Dr Harries said the app was there "for a purpose, not for annoyance" and stressed that a final decision on lockdown lifting in England - due to take place on July 19 - would not be taken until July 12. "It is very important given that the data is changing quite rapidly at the moment," she said.

11:34 AM

Grant Shapps challenged over border queues and risk of variants

Theresa May, the former prime minister, has welcomed the "first step in opening up Britain for business".

But in the Commons she asked about warnings of queues at the border, saying that in the past other staff have been redeployed to help Border Force.

She asked the Transport Secretary to ensure "every effort is made" to ensure a smooth flow through the borders and "we do not see inordinately long queues".

Grant Shapps said she was "absolutely right", and he has been working with Border Force on this issue. Checking will take place before people board the plane "so the queues at check-in, while you are abroad, may in fact be the place where those problems most exist".

Meanwhile Caroline Lucas, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, warned ministers were "in danger of repeating the same mistakes that allowed the Delta variant to take root in the UK".

"Urgent measures are needed to reduce queues at airports before international travel is opened up further, including upgrading e-gates and digitising test results," she said.

"We must also ensure test results of inbound travellers are checked for new variants, so that dangerous new Covid mutations do not slip through the cracks."

11:28 AM

Plenty of tests still to be taken - but no quarantine

Here's more from Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, in the Commons this lunchtime on how foreign travel rules are changing from July 19.

11:15 AM

'The summer season essentially starts here'

Reacting to the English Government's loosening of rules on foreign travel, Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, called it a "positive move towards the genuine reopening the sector has been looking for".

He said: "Opening up the market for the rest of the summer, this announcement will provide far greater opportunities to travel, do business and see family and friends, and enable many more of our customers to book with certainty.

"The summer season essentially starts here.

"Airlines look forward to working with ministers and Border Force to ensure measures are in place by 19 July to provide a safe and streamlined experience at the UK border.

"We now urge the Government to continue this momentum by adding many more countries to the green list next week and removing onerous testing requirements at its next review on 31 July, thereby opening up more non-quarantine travel to all."

11:09 AM

Freedom day 'not too far off', PM insists

Boris Johnson said he understands the public's frustrations about self-isolating after contact with a positive case, but added that August 16 is "not too far off" for those who are double jabbed.

During a visit to energy company Bulb's central London headquarters, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: "I know how frustrated people are about this and I know that people are obviously fed up with Covid restrictions.

"But we have to be prudent, we have to be cautious, and one of the ways of restricting the spread of the disease, as you know, is to ask contacts to self-isolate, it's been going on now for a long time.

"What we want to do is just keep going for a little bit longer so that we can get even more vaccinations into people's arms, give ourselves even more protection.

"But as the Health Secretary has said, we are moving now from self-isolation, from quarantine approach, to test and release approach. The day is not too far off."

10:52 AM

More than 30 countries recognise vaccine pass status

Grant Shapps thanks people who have taken part in clinical vaccine trials, and says "those on approved clinical trials" will also not need to isolate or take the day eight test.

Passengers will have to prove their vaccine status through the Covid pass - available on the main NHS app - or the "accessible letter" if people do not have access to a smart phone.

They will have to put this on their passenger locator form.

More than 30 countries recognise this, he says.

But Labour has used the phrase "the Johnson variant" yet again, this time in response to Grant Shapps' statement this lunchtime.

Attacking the delay in shutting the border to India, Jim McMahon, the shadow transport secretary, said "this led to the rapid spread of the Johnson variant, which he knows has delayed restrictions being eased here".

10:46 AM

Breaking: No quarantine for fully vaccinated adults from July 19

Grant Shapps has said he does not "underestimate for a second" how difficult the pandemic has been for those unable to travel or those who work in the sector.

"But protecting public health has rightly been - and will continue to be - the priority of this Government", he says.

Thanks to the vaccine, they are able to start thinking about how to adapt measures, the Transport Secretary adds.

"We must use these advantages to restore many of the freedoms we have lost," he says.

From July 19, fully vaccinated adults will no longer have to isolate, he confirms, although they will have to take tests.

10:37 AM

UK poised for next travel announcement

Millions of Britons could see their holiday horizons expand this summer with the Government expected to announce this morning that quarantine will be waived for double-jabbed Britons returning from amber destinations.

The change could come into effect as early as July 19, Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, is set to confirm this morning. Most major European destinations are currently in the amber category, which requires quarantine as well as an additional PCR test for returning travellers.

Some testing costs will remain for immunised Britons: the mandatory day two PCR test on return to the UK will still be required, regardless of vaccination status, for example. Children will be exempt from quarantine, but parents will still also need to pay for their tests on day two.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, has pointed out that self-isolation rules for those who’ve tested positive for coronavirus, or who have been in contact with someone who has, could further drive up costs for travellers this summer.

• More over on our travel live blog here

10:24 AM

Planet Normal: It's not enough to call children 'resilient' - we must put them first

Molly, Christine and Liz were ordinary working mums before the pandemic, but now they're part of the machine behind campaign group Us For Them, who have been battling for just over a year to place children more at the centre of pandemic decision-making.

Speaking to Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan on this week's Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, they expressed their dismay at the way they feel adults have been prioritised at children's expense. Does it - asks Allison Pearson - come down to the fact that children aren't voters?

"I think there is something in that, certainly," says mother-of-two, Liz Cole, "But I think there's more to it. I think there's this kind of persistent and insidious idea that children are resilient. And I think that's one of the worst things that's come through from this pandemic, this sense that children are so resilient that they can adapt to anything, that anything that we throw at them, they can bear."

"And they can't. And I felt for quite a long time that this phrase, this sense of 'resilience', has just been a way for adults to justify the fact that they haven't protected children when actually they should have done."

Meet the angry mums taking on the system over the treatment of the young during the pandemic on the latest Planet Normal podcast.

10:10 AM

More than two in five who needed to see a GP in last 12 months avoided it, new survey suggests

More than two in five people in England who needed to see a GP in the last 12 months avoided making an appointment, a survey suggests.

The most common reason was worry about the burden on the NHS (mentioned by 20pc of respondents), followed by worry about the risk of catching Covid-19 (17pc) and difficulties in making an appointment (11pc).

The figures are part of NHS England's annual patient survey and are based on responses from people aged 16 and over returned between January and April.

They suggest that while 42pc of people avoided making a GP appointment, more than two-thirds found it easy to get through to their surgery by phone, while 59pc said they saw or spoke to someone at a time they wanted to or sooner.

10:02 AM

Japan announces state of emergency in Tokyo just two weeks before the start of the Olympics

Japan's government on Thursday announced a new virus state of emergency stretching throughout the Olympics, as reports said organisers could bar fans from almost all events at the Games.

With just two weeks until the July 23 opening ceremony, coronavirus infections are rising in the capital, and the spread of the more infectious Delta variant has spooked officials.

The rising cases threaten to derail plans to let up to 10,000 local fans into Olympic venues, and could mean Tokyo 2020 is the first ever Games held behind closed doors.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the emergency measures - which are far looser than the harsh lockdowns seen in other parts of the world - will be in place until August 22.

But the government could lift the emergency earlier "if the effect of vaccines becomes clear and an improvement is seen in the situation of hospital beds", Suga said.

09:39 AM

NHS staff deleting Covid app as calls grow for doctors to be exempt from self-isolation

NHS staff are quietly deleting the Covid tracing app amid calls from hospital leaders for doctors and nurses to be exempted from self-isolation rules before August.

It came as business leaders warned the app was causing huge levels of staff absences, sparking fears that some companies will be unable to cope after "Freedom Day".

Healthcare workers are advised to "pause" contact tracing on the app while working in clinical settings, with personal protective equipment worn when required. But NHS managers said some staff were privately leaving the app off at all times or deleting it because they feared being forced to self-isolate.

One said: "I had Covid in the first wave, I've been double jabbed – I can't keep isolating every time the app pings. I switched it off ages ago, and I think a lot of staff who are double vaccinated have done the same."

• Read the full story here

09:22 AM

Cancer referrals made by GPs double since May last year, new NHS figures show

NHS England figures show a total of 207,188 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in May, nearly double the number in May last year, which was 106,741.

Additionally, nearly 300,000 patients in England had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in May.

A total of 297,471 patients were waiting for one of 15 standard tests, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy, NHS England said.

09:00 AM

'Still very important' to control the delta variant, says Sage member

Professor Andrew Hayward, from University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, which advises ministers, said it is "still very important" to try to control the delta variant and ask close contacts to isolate.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If we abandon general population social distancing measures as a means of control, then we will very likely see a massive peak of infections and, whilst the vaccines are excellent, they're not perfect.

"And so, if we get to a very small percentage of a massive number of cases getting hospitalised, that's still a very large number, and it risks putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS whilst it's dealing with a huge backlog of cases, so it is important to still not give up on control."

He said cases are "increasing very sharply" but added that contact tracing is "a highly imperfect system" and the "key thing is the human discussion with somebody who has Covid to identify who their contacts are, and to ask them to isolate as well".

08:46 AM

Number of patients waiting for routine hospital treatment rises to new 5.3 million high

The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.

A total of 5.3 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of May 2021, according to figures from NHS England.

This is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 336,733 in May 2021 - down from 385,490 in the previous month, but around 13 times the number waiting a year earlier, in May 2020, which was 26,029.

08:25 AM

Young people at risk of developing 'severe long Covid' as cases continue to rise, warns NHS boss

A "significant number" of unvaccinated young people are at risk of developing "more serious long Covid type symptoms" after having a mild form of the virus, the chief executive of NHS Providers has warned.

Chris Hopson said that there was "real nervousness" among NHS trust chiefs about the number of young people who are experiencing long Covid as cases in the UK continue to rise, hitting a six-month high of 32,548 new cases on Wednesday.

He told BBC Breakfast: "We just need to be careful about recognising the risks that we're running here. It's not just about hospitalisations, it's actually potentially people having really quite serious long-term conditions once they have caught Covid."

He added: "So there's a real nervousness here about we still don't fully understand what the long-term health consequences are if you catch Covid. So we all need to be careful and aware of the risks here."

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that nearly 400,000 people have suffered long Covid symptoms for more than 12 months. Reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches and difficulty concentrating.

08:10 AM

Mask rule change risks rise in abuse towards shop workers, trade body warn

Staff in shops could face an increase in abuse and violence in stores once restrictions are eased, according to the boss of the retail industry's trade body.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the Government must provide clear guidance to the sector over plans to end the legal requirement to wear masks in stores to avoid confrontations.

The boss added that retailers are expected to keep hand sanitiser and screens in stores to protect staff.

She said: "Our primary concern is that Government messaging is clear about what is regulation and what is advisory so that people understand what's expected of them, and that people are tolerant and allow others to make their own personal choices.

"There has been a big rise in violence and abuse against retail workers during the pandemic and colleagues cannot be put in the firing line because of this change in policy."

08:02 AM

'Moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity': WHO condemns UK Covid policy

A senior World Health Organization official has accused the UK of "moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity".

In a series of scathing comments, Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, said it was a "dangerous assumption" that high vaccination rates will prevent substantial surges in hospitalisations and deaths, amid increasing case rates across Europe.

When asked about the UK’s apparent strategy to let the virus circulate widely after restrictions are lifted on July 19, Dr Ryan added: "The logic of more people being infected is better, is, I think, logic that has proven it’s moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity previously."

The withering comments come amid a mounting backlash against plans to ease nearly all coronavirus restrictions in Britain on July 19 – dubbed “Freedom day” – ahead of a final call on Monday.

In a letter to The Lancet published late on Wednesday, 122 scientists and doctors condemned the Government’s strategy as a "dangerous and unethical experiment" and urged Ministers to pause plans to abandon all restrictions in a couple of weeks.

Sarah Newey has more details here

07:45 AM

NHS chief warns of 'very significant' pressure on hospitals if England eases restrictions this month

There are risks to the NHS if England eases coronavirus restrictions this month, the chief executive of NHS Providers said.

Chris Hopson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need to be realistic and we need to be open and honest about the fact that there are risks if we relax these restrictions and there will be consequences.

"The NHS won't be able to do everything given the demand pressures it has got and the fact that we have got reduced capacity in terms of both beds and staff numbers."

He said there would be "very significant" pressure on the NHS and "we will have to dial back on elective recovery".

07:36 AM

Mind the gap: the evidence behind the government's Covid-19 vaccine dosing strategy

When the UK first suggested a 12-week gap between Covid-19 vaccine doses, it was seen as a gamble.

The decision was taken in December 2020, when the vaccine campaign was just kicking off, with an aim of giving as many people as possible some protection in the face of rising cases and uncertain supply.

Yet the policy was enacted on somewhat shaky ground – particularly for the Pfizer jab, which had not tested the longer interval in clinical trials.

So far, though, the gamble seems to have paid off, with a rip roaring vaccination programme, falling mortality rates, and increasing evidence backing up the move.

But this week – in an effort to speed up Britain’s vaccination rollout in the face of the delta variant – the Government announced that the gap between vaccine doses will be cut from 12 weeks to eight for all adults, for all of the jabs being rolled out across Britain.

So what is actually the optimum time to leave between doses for the three vaccines currently being used in the UK – Oxford University/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna?

Our Global Health team takes a look

07:30 AM

Rishi Sunak defends decision to cut £20-a-week increase in Universal Credit

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended the decision to cut the £20 weekly increase in Universal Credit introduced during the coronavirus crisis.

He told Times Radio: "I think people understand what's right for a crisis, and what's meant to be temporary obviously is different when we get through that."

Mr Sunak also insisted he is on "exactly the same page" as Boris Johnson as he denied he has to refuse pleas for lavish expenditure.

07:21 AM

Mandatory vaccination of care home staff is unnecessary and misguided, say experts

Mandatory vaccination against coronavirus of care home staff is "unnecessary, disproportionate, and misguided", academics have warned.

Government plans to make Covid-19 jabs a condition of deployment for care home staff in England is a "profound departure from public health norms", according to experts writing in the British Medical Journal.

From October all people working in care homes registered with the Care Quality Commission must have two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, unless they have a medical exemption.

The move, which follows a public consultation, is subject to parliamentary approval and a 16-week grace period.

06:59 AM

Surgery backlog being exacerbated because 'large numbers' of NHS staff are stuck self-isolating

The backlog of over five million people waiting for non-Covid surgery in the NHS has been exacerbated by “large numbers” of staff having to self-isolate, the chief executive of NHS Providers has warned.

Chris Hopson said that as community infections rise and Covid restrictions ease, NHS trusts are warning that large numbers of their staff having to self-isolate will “increase”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “We just want people to be aware that as we release restrictions, what we will find is that we will probably have to go a bit slower on recovering care backlogs.”

He said that the NHS “won’t be able to do everything given the demand pressures” hospitals are facing and given the fact that there are “10 per cent fewer beds” due to infection control measures.

06:33 AM

Sajid Javid looking at 'appropriate' and 'balanced' approach to isolation when pinged by NHS app

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said Sajid Javid is looking at an "appropriate, balanced and proportionate" approach for isolation when people are contacted by the NHS app.

He told Sky News: "I've spoken to the Health Secretary about this and he's aware of the frustration that people have around this.

"We have two different systems for the test and trace: we have obviously the NHS one, and we also have the app. I know most people's concerns rest with how the app is working and the Health Secretary is aware of that.

"The app counts for the majority of the people who need to isolate, I understand, on the numbers and he's looking at what the most appropriate, balanced and proportionate approach to isolation is in these circumstances."

06:22 AM

'Real nervousness' about number of unvaccinated young people developing long Covid

There is a "real nervousness" about the number of unvaccinated young people who have mild Covid symptoms but go on to develop more severe long Covid, the chief executive of NHS Providers said.

Chris Hopson told BBC Breakfast he had spoken to the chief executive of an NHS trust about the issue.

He said: "The bit that was really striking for me yesterday... was they were saying they were really getting quite worried about the number of unvaccinated young people who were getting mild Covid symptoms because they caught Covid, but then quite quickly afterwards were developing much more severe long Covid-type symptoms.

"And we just don't know exactly how this is going to pan out so we just need to be careful about recognising the risks that we're running here. It's not just about hospitalisations, it's actually potentially people having really quite serious long-term conditions once they have caught Covid.

06:09 AM

Today's front page

Here is your Daily Telegraph for Thursday, July 8.

06:06 AM

Indonesia facing Indian-style crisis

Double vaccinated and wearing a hazmat suit, Dr Ahmad Syaifuddin had hoped he would be protected from the catastrophic Covid-19 surge sweeping Indonesia, but when the thumping headache hit and he began to cough, he knew the virus had caught up with him.

Fifteen colleagues at the Islamic Hospital of Sunan Kudus, central Java – one of the epicentres of the Southeast Asian nation’s latest outbreak – were also infected as they dealt with scores of patients flooding onto the wards.

“With such a high level of fatigue and almost all of them exposed to Covid, how can we survive this virus?” said Dr Syaifuddin. “The vaccine works to improve immunity, but immunity also depends on the condition of our body. If we are tired or unfit, our immunity will be low.”

Read the full story

05:39 AM

'Premature' Freedom Day 'dangerous and unethical'

More than 100 scientists and doctors have signed a letter to The Lancet accusing the Government of conducting a “dangerous and unethical experiment” and urging it to reconsider its plans to abandon all coronavirus restrictions.

The letter, signed by the chairman of the British Medical Association, the chairman of Independent Sage and scientists from Oxford University and University College London, says the decision to release restrictions is “premature”.

The “Memorandum Against Mass Infection,” signed by 122 medics and scientists says any strategy that tolerates high levels of infection is both “unethical and illogical”.

The group, backed by Dr Richard Horton, The Lancet's editor-in-chief, will hold an emergency summit on Thursday.

Read the full story.

04:54 AM

South Korea records highest daily infections as Delta hits

South Korea on Thursday reported its highest one-day number of new Covid-19 infections, as officials consider tightening social distancing restrictions.

The 1,275 cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, reported by the the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), exceeds the number of daily cases reported at the peak of the country's third wave in December.

The government warned on Wednesday it was considering raising movement restrictions to the highest level as the fourth wave was spreading rapidly, especially among unvaccinated people in their 20s and 30s. The rise of the Delta variant has also worried health officials.

Authorities said on Wednesday the virus was spreading rapidly, while a growing number of highly contagious Delta variant cases raised new worries.

04:23 AM

Recovery needs more women in key roles, UN urges

Global efforts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic are under threat because women are being excluded from critical decision-making roles, the United Nations said on Thursday.

Only 6 percent of coronavirus task forces, which are responsible for co-ordinating government responses to the deadly virus, have equal numbers of men and women, while 11 percent have no women at all, found the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

"The pivotal decisions being made today will affect the well-being of people and planet for generations to come," Achim Steiner, UNDP's administrator, said in a statement.

"Sustainable recovery is only possible when women are able to play a full role in shaping a post-Covid-19 world that works for all of us."

03:39 AM

US international travel restrictions to remain for now

The Biden administration will not immediately lift any international travel restrictions, even as it faces growing pressure from US business groups and lawmakers, a White House official said on Wednesday.

In June, the administration launched interagency working groups with the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico to look at how to lift restrictions and eventually resume travel.

"While these groups have met a number of times, there are further discussions to be had before we can announce any next steps on travel reopening with any country," the White House official said.

"We have made tremendous progress domestically in our vaccination efforts, as have many of these other countries, but we want to ensure that we move deliberately and are in a position to sustainably reopen international travel when it is safe to do so."

02:42 AM

Biggest daily rise as Sydney enters third week of lockdown

Australia's New South Wales has reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of Covid-19 for the year as officials struggle to stamp out a growing cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant in Sydney.

NSW reported 38 new local cases, up from 27 a day earlier, as its capital Sydney prepares for a third week of lockdown.

"We don't want to prolong the lockdown, we don't want to see Sydney or New South Wales going in and out of lockdown until we have the vast majority of our population vaccinated," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

She implored residents to limit visits to family as data suggested the virus was spreading during such meetings, and urged people with flu-symptoms to take their entire family for Covid-19 tests due to the highly transmissible Delta strain.

02:11 AM

State of emergency to cast pall over Olympics

Japan's government is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo through August 22 amid a new wave of infections, a key minister said on Thursday, casting a shadow over the Olympic Games.

Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is heading the government's coronavirus response, said the state of emergency is set to begin on July 12.

The Tokyo area is currently under slightly less strict "quasi emergency" curbs. Under the heightened restrictions, restaurants will be asked to stop serving alcohol, Mr Nishimura said.

The move is expected to be made official later on Thursday. Areas neighbouring Tokyo, such as Chiba and Kanagawa, are set to remain under "quasi emergency" through August 22.

01:02 AM

Poor and minorities 'hardest hit in pandemic'

Ethnic minorities, the self-employed and low-income families in Britain suffered greater deprivation levels during the coronavirus pandemic despite "surprisingly positive" living standards figures, a report published on Thursday found.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think-tank's annual report on living standards, poverty and inequality identified these groups as the hardest-hit, even as unprecedented state support mitigated the worst effects of the crisis.

The research follows other studies showing that Britain's ethnic minorities were more likely to suffer worse health and economic outcomes during the pandemic and less likely to accept vaccines.

"How fast and to what extent these groups recover as the economy reopens will be a key determinant of the pandemic's legacy," said report co-author Tom Wernham.

11:58 PM

Appeal to young adults to help tame Spanish surge

Spain's health minister has warned that young people can develop severe cases of Covid-19 and asked for their cooperation in taming an infection rate that has more than doubled in a week, as the Delta variant tears through unvaccinated younger adults.

"One in every 100 cases in 20 to 24-year-olds is admitted to hospital," Carolina Darias said on Wednesday, adding that the majority of recent outbreaks were linked to end-of-term student parties.

"Interactions between young people are multiplying ... it is very important to ask them for responsibility but not to hold them responsible," she said.

The national infection rate as measured over the past 14 days soared to 252 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday from 117.2 a week ago, ministry data showed, putting the country back above the 250-case extreme risk threshold.

11:28 PM

Delta variant fuels jump in infections, study finds

Covid-19 infections in England have quadrupled in a month since early June, a large prevalence study showed on Thursday, ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to fully re-open the economy in two weeks' time.

Mr Johnson said he aimed to end most legal restrictions on July 19, even though models suggested cases would rise, saying that he was reconciled to more deaths from Covid-19 but that life needed to return to normal.

According to the research, led by Imperial College London, cases were estimated to be doubling every six days as a new wave fuelled by the Delta coronavirus variant picks up pace.

The study, one of Britain's largest with 47,000 people returning tests from June 24 to July 5, found national prevalence was 0.59 percent, or 1 in 170 people, compared with 0.15 percent in the last round between late May and early June.

10:52 PM

Today's top stories

• Boris Johnson has said he believes extending the school day is "the right thing to do" as he admitted on Wednesday that disruption caused to pupils by Covid had been "debilitating".
• NHS staff are quietly deleting the Covid tracing app amid calls from hospital leaders for doctors and nurses to be exempted from self-isolation rules before August.
• Children must be allowed to practise music in schools again after 16 months of Covid regulations, Andrew Lloyd Webber has said, as leading arts figures warned that the young were missing out on a vital part of their education.
• The Duchess of Cornwall has revealed she is looking forward to ditching her face mask, telling a Welsh college student “I can’t wait to get rid of these”.
• Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday night admitted Scotland's Freedom Day could be postponed again, after two more major health boards were pushed to “breaking point” by a coronavirus surge and NHS staff shortages.