The UK is on track to vaccinate tens of millions of people by February 15, Matt Hancock said today.
A quarter of care home residents have been vaccinated already. In total 2.6 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to around 2.3 million people, the Health Secretary told Monday's press conference.
While February's target, which will see everyone in the top four priority groups offered their first vaccine doses, is "ambitious", he said he was "confident we're going to do it" thanks to the seven newly opened mass sites.
These national centres will shortly be joined by vaccination sites in pharmacies later this week, which will soon give the Government more than 1,200 settings for administering the jab.
By the end of January, everyone in England will be within 10 miles of a vaccination site or, for a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccine will be brought to them via mobile teams, he said.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:43 PM
WHO says China mission will not play blame game
The World Health Organization insisted Monday that the international investigation into the Covid-19 pandemic's origins, set to start this week in China, was not looking for "somebody to blame".
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the delayed mission - finally given the green light by Beijing - was about science, not politics.
Ten international experts will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of the new coronavirus, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations that Beijing has tried to thwart the investigation.
"Understanding the origins of disease is not about finding somebody to blame," Ryan told a press conference in Geneva.
"It is about finding the scientific answers about the very important interface between the animal kingdom and the human kingdom.
"It is an absolute requirement that we understand that interface.
"We are looking for the answers here, not culprits and not people to blame."
Experts say solving the mystery of how the virus first jumped from animals to humans is crucial to preventing another pandemic.
The mission will visit Wuhan in China, where the first cluster of cases was detected in December 2019.
06:35 PM
PM accused of hypocrisy over weekend bike ride in East London
Boris Johnson has been accused of hypocrisy by a Labour MP following reports the Prime Minister went cycling seven miles from his home after imposing sweeping Covid restrictions on others.
Mr Johnson was seen at the Olympic Park in east London on Sunday afternoon cycling with members of his security detail, it was claimed.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock sidestepped a question referencing the controversy at a Downing Street coronavirus press conference on Monday.
Official regulations brought in by Mr Johnson say that exercise is limited to once a day and you should not leave your local area, in a bid to halt the surge in coronavirus cases.
A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on the matter when asked about it at a Westminster briefing.
London Evening Standard journalist Sophia Sleigh Tweeted that she believed she had seen the Prime Minister in the park.
Labour MP for Hammersmith in west London Andy Slaughter condemned the Prime Minister.
Mr Slaughter said: "Once again it is do as I say not as I do from the Prime Minister.
"London has some of the highest infection rates in the country. Boris Johnson should be leading by example."
06:21 PM
UK reports 46,169 cases and 529 deaths
Britain recorded 46,169 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, government statistics showed, with 529 more deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
06:17 PM
Are you a frontline health worker? We want to hear from you
Tell us what life is like on the floors of Britain's hospitals and how the challenge compares to last year
Jessica Allen (left) and Eliza Moore were stopped by officers from Derbyshire Police while they were enjoying a socially distanced walk at a Derbyshire beauty spot - Jessica Allen
06:13 PM
WHO hopes to start vaccination in poorer countries in Feb
The World Health Organization hopes to be able to launch Covid-19 vaccines in poor and lower middle-income countries in February through its COVAX programme, WHO Senior Adviser Bruce Aylward said on Monday.
"Over 40 countries have now begun vaccinating against Covid-19. However all of that vaccination, or virtually all, was in high income or middle income countries so far," he said. "We have got to see vaccines going into arms in lower and lower-middle income countries."
He said the COVAX programme could begin vaccinating people in February, and there was an effort to speed it up so some vaccinations in poor countries could take place this month.
06:11 PM
WHO says it was notified of new Covid-19 variant found in Japan
Moving on from the UK press conference: The World Health Organization says it has been notified by Japan of a new variant of the coronavirus discovered there.
Japan's health ministry said on Sunday it had detected a new coronavirus variant in four travellers from Brazil's Amazonas state. The variant featured 12 mutations, including one also found in highly infections variants discovered in England and South Africa.
05:52 PM
Support bubbles will not be cancelled, says Hancock
Matt Hancock says he can rule out the cancellation of support bubbles, which has been suggested as a way of cutting the transmission rate of Covid.
"I know how important they are to people, and they are an important part of the system we have go to support people," he says.
"The bubbles are there for individual specific people...if there is someone in your bubble, you are essentially part of the same household."
05:45 PM
'Incredibly difficult few weeks ahead': Hancock
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", he tells the press conference.
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.
05:44 PM
You can go on a walk with one other person, but only one person: Hancock
Matt Hancock has confirmed that you can go and exercise in the park with one other person, but stressed that that means only one other person, spaced two meters apart, and groups are "not acceptable."
However, if people continue to break the rules, then they may need to be reviewed, he said.
"We keep these things under review and we have demonstrated that we're willing to tighten the rules if they need to be tightened," he told the press conference.
"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.
05:38 PM
Hancock: A flex to the rules can be fatal
Matt Hancock is asked whether he thinks the rules need to be tightened.
He says: "The most important thing about the rules is that people follow them."
The Health Secretary adds that he welcomes greater enforcement by police and actions by supermarkets to turn away people who are not wearing masks.
"A flex to the rules can be fatal," he says.
"If people push the boundaries of these rules or do not take them seriously, that can lead to more cases and that can lead to more deaths."
05:35 PM
Can we vaccinate 12.5 million people in five weeks?
Fergus Walsh at the BBC asks Matt Hancock whether the Government's target, to vaccinate 12.5 million people in five weeks, is "doable".
Mr Hancock replies: "Yes. We are on track to meet that target. It is an ambitious, stretching, but achievable target but I am confident we are going to do it."
He adds that the new mass vaccination centres will expand the Government's vaccination capability. On average, 210,000 people are being vaccinated every day, he says.
Prof Stephen Powis says he is confident the target will be met and the NHS will "steam through those high priority groups".
05:30 PM
When will the restrictions be released?
A member of the public asks Matt Hancock when the restrictions will be released.
Mr Hancock explains that the Government must first vaccinate the most vulnerable groups, which make up nearly nine in ten deaths.
Then the NHS will look to the over 60s, the remaining vulnerable population.
He says a decision will be taken when the outcome and progress of the vaccination programme are known.
Mr Hancock adds that ministers still don't know whether the vaccine prevents people from transmitting the virus. The Government is testing people who have been vaccinated to determine whether the vaccine stops transmission.
05:28 PM
Vaccines are not a 'free pass', warns Powis
Vaccine "cannot be seen as a free pass" to ignore the guidance in place, like social distancing and staying inside, Mr Powis stresses.
"We have to keep focus and resilience as a country," he says.
05:26 PM
Two sprints and then a marathon to full vaccination, says Powis
Prof Stephen Powis, the National Medical Director of NHS England, said he had also been to a new mass vaccination sit in Epsom this morning.
Seven mass sites will be joined by vaccination sites in pharmacies later this week, which will give the Governmetn more than 1,200 settings for administering the jab.
Prof Powis says the NHS is then in a "sprint" to mid-February, to vaccine the most vulnerable groups. There will then be another sprint to April, when the rest of the vulnerable people will be given the jab.
Then there will be a "marathon" to the Autumn, when the rest of the country will receive it.
05:26 PM
'Extremely serious moment for the country': Powis
This is an "extremely serious moment for the country," NHS England national medical director Professor Stephen Powis says, pointing to the number of people in hospital with Covid-19.
There are 13,00 more patients in hospital with Covid-19 less than a fortnight into 2021, and the number of people in hospital with Covid has already gone up by a third (a rise of around 8000), he tells the press conference.
"We're seeing stubbornly high levels of infection, and unfortunately death to, which is the sadly inevitable consequence of the rapid spread of the virus in recent weeks, he says.
"Hospitals throughout the country and are seeing significant and sustained pressure from those rising numbers of Covid-19 patients – even the Southwest has more people in hospital now than the entire country combined it at the end of September."
With hospital admissions typically occurring around two weeks after transmission of the virus, we're still to see the full impact of the Christmas, he says.
number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in the UK is higher than ever
05:19 PM
Matt Hancock sets out Government's vaccination strategy
We already took you through a few pages of the Government's newly published vaccine acceleration programme (see posts at 4:04pm and below), but here's how Mr Hancock summarised the latest update:
The Health Secretary says the Government's vaccine strategy has four pillars:
Supply. UK science is well equipped to produce vaccines because of work on MERS and Ebola in previous years, Hancock says. The Government has also bought up a lot of vaccines from foreign companies, like Pfizer (in Germany). But the supply is still the rate-limiting step, he says.
Prioritisation. Hancock says the top four priority groups account for 88 per cent of the deaths from Covid. Vaccinating those people first by Feb 15 will allow the restrictions to be lifted, he says. Two-fifths of over 80s and almost a quarter of older care home residents have had the vaccine.
Location. Hancock says 96 per cent of people live within ten miles of a vaccination centre. The Government has vaccines in GP practices, mass vaccination centres like a new venue in Epsom, and mobile vaccine vans.
People. The Government has recruited and trained 80,000 people to work in vaccination in the last few months. They come from the NHS, flight crews, St John Ambulance and a range of other professions.
05:12 PM
Hancock: 2.3 million people have been given the vaccine
Hancock says he wants the country to have "that great British summer", and is working as fast as he can to deliver the vaccine.
He reveals the NHS has administered 2.6 million doses of the vaccine to 2.3 million people.
"We have protected more people through vaccinations than all the other countries in Europe put together," he says.
Matt Hancock leads downing street presser
05:12 PM
On average more than 900 people died from Covid-19 in the UK every day last week
The average number of deaths reported each day over the past week was 926, Matt Hancock has told a press briefing.
The number of people newly infected with Covid-19 is also worryingly high.
On Sunday, 46,169 positive cases of coronavirus were recorded across the whole of the UK, the Health Secretary said.
In addition, 32,294 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus across the UK – a sharp increase of 22 per cent from last week, he said.
05:06 PM
Countries break away from EU bloc to secure own vaccine deals
The EU is struggling to keep countries aligned with its Covid vaccine strategy, as governments start to break rank and seek side-deals for extra jabs. The European Commission’s president is now officially urging ministers to stick to the plan, Sam Morgan reports
Germany first prompted outrage last week as it emerged that Berlin negotiated 30 million extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine on top of its allocation from the EU’s haul of 600 million jabs. Countries are not supposed to negotiate bilaterally with pharmaceutical firms.
EU member Cyprus has also reportedly asked Israel for additional doses. President Nicos Anastasiades said he had contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about extra support, adding “within days we will have the answer”.
Mr Anastasiades denied that the Cypriot request breaches EU rules, insisting in an interview that “there would definitely be a problem if those vaccines had not been approved by the EU”. The Commission would not comment on what it called a “hypothetical question”.
These side-deals have nevertheless prompted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to task her top health official with writing to EU governments, asking them to stick to the joint-buying and negotiating strategy and to be more transparent.
“The letter will ask them to provide all the necessary transparency on the ways in which they are complying with the provisions of our strategy in terms of lack of contacts with those pharma companies we have or are currently negotiating with,” a Commission spokesperson said.
05:05 PM
Bangladesh to begin Covid-19 vaccinations next month
Bangladesh will begin inoculating people against Covid-19 in the first week of February as it hopes to get the vaccine by end of this month, a senior health ministry official said on Monday.
The South Asian country of more than 160 million in November signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India to buy 30 million doses of the vaccine developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The vaccine will arrive in the country by Jan. 25, Abul Bashar Mohammed Khurshid Alam, head of the Directorate General of Health Services, told a news conference.
"The vaccine will be first applied on the health workers and it will be monitored for the next seven days. After that, we'll begin the vaccination across the country in the first week of February," he said.
Frontline workers like health service providers and police will be given priority, health ministry officials said.
Bangladesh, with patchy healthcare facilities, has 523,302 confirmed cases, including 7,803 deaths.
05:03 PM
Matt Hancock press conference at 5pm
Matt Hancock will be taking a Downing Street press conference at 5pm.
Watch him speak live on the video stream at the top of this blog.
04:58 PM
Morrisons to ban shoppers without masks
Morrisons have announced they'll ban shoppers who won't wear a mask unless they are medically exempt, the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg has tweeted.
The supermarket chain joins London's Borough Market in acting ahead of the Government in independently introducing safety measures.
Morrisons have announced they'll ban shoppers who won't wear a mask unless they are medically exempt - govt reluctant right now to make any further changes to lockdown laws... wouldn't be surprising however to see more of this kind of thing with individual biz taking own action
The head of a global travel organisation on Monday opposed making Covid-19 vaccinations a requirement for travellers in the fight against the pandemic, despite scepticism about reaching herd immunity this year.
Several health experts said during the Reuters Next conference that the mass roll-out of coronavirus vaccines would not result in enough people having immunity to be able to effectively stop Covid-19 from spreading.
Some policymakers have proposed immunisation should be compulsory for air travel as the world steps up the battle to curb the spread of Covid-19, and Australia's Qantas Airways has said it plans to introduce such a requirement.
But Gloria Guevara, chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said such moves would be similar to workplace discrimination.
"We should never require the vaccination to get a job or to travel," Guevara, whose organisation represents a sector that has been badly hit by the pandemic and accounts for as much as 10% of global employment, told a panel at Reuters Next.
"If you require the vaccination before travel, that takes us to discrimination."
04:40 PM
Egypt expects Covid-19 vaccines from GAVI within weeks
Egypt expects to start receiving Covid-19 vaccines through the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance in the coming weeks, the health minister said on Monday.
"GAVI will provide us with 20 per cent of our needs. It will give us the urgent needs during the first quarter," Hala Zayed said in a televised briefing.
"Within two or three weeks maximum there will be the beginning of the influx of GAVI vaccines, which largely will be AstraZeneca (vaccines)," she added.
GAVI and the World Health Organisation have set up the COVAX initiative to secure fair vaccine access for lower and middle income countries.
Zayed said Egypt also expected to sign a bilateral contract with AstraZeneca once a local drug regulator approves the company's vaccines, and that approval was expected within a week.
Egypt has asked Pfizer to send data for its vaccine to the local regulator, Zayed said.
Egypt received its first shipment of vaccines developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in December, but further shipments have been delayed.
04:34 PM
Haemorrhaging of the nation's health service has already started
A drowning person closes off blood oxygen supplies to their extremities in a bid to survive, and so it is with health systems that are struggling to cope.
The NHS will not all of a sudden topple over, says a seasoned observer. It’s not what happens to overstretched health systems, not least a national service which can, for a time at least, transfer weight from one limb to another. Much more likely is that it will gradually “bleed out” over a period of a month or more if large parts become overwhelmed.
That moment has not yet arrived and may still be avoided but, be in no doubt, the haemorrhaging has already started. In London, you would be ill-advised to climb a stepladder, let alone get on a motorbike given the level of demand in the capital’s hospitals.
More people blame the public than the Govt for virus spread, poll shows
A YouGov poll has shown that Britons hold the public most responsible for the surge in coronavirus cases in the last month, writes Dominic Penna.
Overall, 58 per cent of respondents said that they hold the public mostly responsible for the rise in infections, while 28 per cent said the Government.
Four in five (80 per cent) of Conservative voters blame the public, according to the survey of 2,743 adults, while 54 per cent of Labour voters feel the spread is predominantly the fault of the Government.
All age groups above 25 attributed the exponential growth of Covid to the general public.
Eight per cent said neither the public nor the Government were to blame, while a further five per cent went with 'don't know'.
More people blame the public than the Govt for virus spread, YouGov poll shows - YouGov
04:29 PM
Aesthetic doctors offer to swap Botox for administering coronavirus vaccine
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has expressed strong interest in using cosmetic doctors and nurses in the vaccine roll-out, the Telegraph can reveal.
One of the UK’s leading luxury surgical and non-surgical aesthetics chain, The Private Clinic and Cosmetics Skin Clinic, have offered up their teams to help as volunteers to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine, with 16 sites regionally employing 100 surgeons, doctors and nurses.
Aesthetic doctors and nurses are currently unable to perform non-medical treatments such as filler and Botox, due to lockdown three. It is estimated that there are over 10,000 healthcare professionals within the aesthetics field that could be available and an estimated 6,000 locations.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) January 11, 2021
04:26 PM
Convalescent blood plasma treatment trials halted in severely ill patients
An international trial testing convalescent blood plasma on Covid-19 patients with moderate and severe illness has halted enrolment of severely ill Covid-19 patients requiring intensive care after it found no benefit, trial investigators said on Monday.
The decision was made by the REMAP-CAP trial leaders came after an initial analysis of more than 900 severely ill trial participants in intensive care showed that treatment with the product - an antibody-rich plasma taken from people who have recovered from the pandemic disease - did not improve outcomes.
“There was no evidence of harm associated with the administration of convalescent plasma” (and) the trial is continuing to recruit hospitalised Covid-19 patients who are moderately ill but not in intensive care, scientists leading the trial said in a statement.
“It is biologically plausible that patients who are not producing antibodies at the time of convalescent plasma therapy and those patients with excess virus may benefit more than others. Our additional analyses will explore this,” said Manu Shankar-Hari, a clinician and professor of critical care medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital, who is co-leading the trial.
04:23 PM
Portugal reports record daily increase in Covid-19 deaths
Portugal reported a record daily increase in the number of deaths from the coronavirus on Monday as the country geared up for a new lockdown this week to tackle the third wave of the pandemic.
Health authority DGS said the death toll registered over the last 24 hours reached 122, bringing the total to 7,925, while new infections rose by 5,604 from Sunday to a total of 489,293.
04:22 PM
England reports 489 additional deaths
A further 489 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 56,069, NHS England said on Monday.
Patients were aged between 26 and 103. All except 33, aged between 26 and 97, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between November 25 and January 10, with the majority being on or after January 8.
There were 16 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
04:18 PM
Twelve week gap between Covid jabs was right decision, says mandarin
The Department of Health and Social Care has defended its decision to extend the gap between giving the first and second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from three weeks to 12 weeks.
Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the department, told the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC): "This is the delay to the second dose that we introduced.
"We followed the advice of the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation ) and the chief medical officers that the best public value in public health terms was to get the first dose to the maximum number of vulnerable people as quickly as possible.
"As opposed to the alternative strategy of giving second doses to the same people.
"It is better to have a larger number of people with first dose protection than a much smaller number with double dose protection."
04:17 PM
Tracking UK vaccinations: Are we on target for easing lockdown?
The Prime Minister has set a goal of offering 13m doses by mid-February before lifting lockdown, but how far away are we from meeting that target?
You can track how many first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been given in the UK and whether the NHS is on target using our tool below.
In the face of growing vaccine hesitancy and the rise of misinformation on social media, scientists are fighting back.
Dr Anna Blakney, Dr Morgan Noc and Dr Karan Rajan are just a handful of experts who have been using their spare time to educate young TikTok users on the reality of Covid-19.
BioNTech ups vaccine production target to 2bn doses this year
German company BioNTech, which developed the first coronavirus vaccine approved in the West, said Monday it expects to produce two billion doses in 2021, up from the 1.3 billion previously forecast.
“We now believe that we can potentially deliver approximately 2 billion doses in total by the end of 2021, which incorporates the updated six-dose label,” said the company, referring to an additional dose that could be extracted from each vial of the vaccine.
European regulators last week approved doctors drawing six doses from each vial, boosting dosage capacity by 20 percent.
German company BioNTech, which developed the first coronavirus vaccine approved in the West, said Monday it expects to produce two billion doses in 2021, up from the 1.3 billion previously forecast.
“We now believe that we can potentially deliver approximately 2 billion doses in total by the end of 2021, which incorporates the updated six-dose label,” said the company, referring to an additional dose that could be extracted from each vial of the vaccine.
04:06 PM
Boris Johnson warns of 'perilous moment' as he urges people to follow rules
The United Kingdom is at a perilous moment in the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, adding that there were oxygen shortages in some places.
"It's a race against time, because we can all see the threat that our NHS faces, the pressure it's under, the demand in intensive care units, the pressure on ventilated beds, even the shortage of oxygen in some places," Johnson said, of the national health service.
04:04 PM
Mobile vaccine units to deliver vaccines to care homes and remote communities
In certain instances, where vaccines cannot be made available within 10 miles of people's homes, the UK Government plans to role out a fleet of roving mobile vaccination units.
The mobile model (where “roving” vaccination teams bring the vaccine directly to individuals) will be used to support the vaccination of care home residents and workers could be extended to more groups in time such as those experiencing homelessness, those escaping abuse in refuges, or communities with lower vaccination rates, Government plans suggest.
Mobile models will also take the vaccine to those in the detained estate and help more remote rural communities, particularly those at risk of isolation where public transport is limited, access the vaccine.
03:45 PM
PHE launches vaccine surveillance programme
A new surveillance strategy to investigate whether coronvirus vaccines interrupt transmission has been launched by PHE today.
The surveillance strategy will monitor vaccine coverage, symptomatic disease, asymptomatic infection, and seroprevalence (the prevalence of immunity in the population).
The real-world data will eventually reveal how the vaccine works in people with underlying conditions, how long protection lasts and whether the changes in the circulating virus affect the protection received from the vaccine on a grand scale.
03:37 PM
UK to set up National Vaccines Research database
The UK's Vaccine Taskforce will team up with the National Institute for Health Research and NHS Digital to develop and launch the world’s first National Citizen Registry database.
The National Institute for Health Research is already supporting five vaccine clinical trials in the UK: Oxford/AstraZeneca, Imperial College London, Novavax, Valneva and Janssen.
The new registry, which will be hosted on the NHS website, will allow the British public to sign up and register their interest in being contacted about future vaccine trials taking place across the UK.
According to the Government report, more than 367,000 people have already registered their interest, while more than 120,000 people have been contacted by the registry to take part in a vaccine clinical trial.
03:32 PM
How the UK plans to support vaccine programmes in lower income countries
In a global pandemic, it's important to remember that no one is safe until everyone is safe, and it looks as if the UK has stepped up to the mark to help lower income countries meet their vaccination needs.
According to the latest vaccines delivery plan, the UK has already committed £548m for vaccines for lower income countries within the World Health Organization's COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC).
The international initiative was set up last year to help support the discovery, manufacture and fair distribution of vaccines for both lower and higher income countries.
The UK is one of the largest donors of the scheme, and at the United Nations General Assembly in September, the UK announced that it would match every $4 pledged to the COVAX AMC by other donors with £1 in UK funding, up to £250m.
Since then, other countries including Canada, Japan and Germany have committed funding to the scheme, combining to reach the landmark target of $1bn.
03:22 PM
How many vaccines does the UK actually have?
Well there is a big difference between what has been reserved and what has already been delivered and is ready to use.
So far the UK has secured access to 367 million doses from seven vaccine developers across four different formats, with an expected cost of £2.9bn across the five final contracts signed to date.
The Government has also made available more than £6bn in total to develop and procure additional Covid-19 vaccines.
Some vaccines, Janssen and Novavax have not yet met approval. While Moderna, which has, will not be available in the UK until the Spring.
The UK has secured 367 million doses of several vaccines so far - gov.uk
03:08 PM
Who will be vaccinated first?
As the UK Government looks to accelerate its vaccine delivery programme, here's a recap of who is first in line for the fabled jab.
By 15 February the Government has set its sights on at least offering a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
These include:
All residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
All those 75 years of age and over
And all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
Currently, 96 per cent of the population in England lives within 10 miles of a vaccine service.
By the end of January, everyone will live within 10 miles of a vaccination centre and in a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccination centre will be a mobile unit.
02:59 PM
How the Government plans to vaccinate millions of people in England
Every at-risk person is expected to have easy access to a vaccination centre in England, regardless of where they live, by the end of January, according to newly released Government plans. So what will these sites look like?
The rapid expansion of the UK's vaccination programme will include:
206 active hospital sites
50 vaccination centres
And around 1,200 local vaccination sites - including primary care networks, community pharmacy sites and mobile teams.
The Government and the NHS have also mobilised a workforce of over 80,000 health professionals to help in the delivery of the programme across the different vaccination sites, with over 200,000 additional members of the public expressing their interest in helping with the non-clinical elements of the rollout - such as administrative support, logistics, stewards and first aiders.
02:52 PM
2.4 million vaccines administered in the UK, says Boris Johnson
About two million people have been vaccinated with around 2.4 million jabs across the UK, the Prime Minister has said.
During a visit to a vaccine centre in Ashton Gate stadium, Bristol, the Prime Minister told reporters: "As I speak to you today we've done about two million people, maybe a bit more.
"We're at about 2.4 million jabs all in across the whole of the UK."
The new centres will operate 8am to 8pm, and will be joined later this week by hundreds more GP-led and hospital services as well as the first pharmacy-led pilot sites. This takes the UK's vaccination sites to around 1,200, NHS England said.
02:45 PM
Government sets out UK Covid-19 vaccine delivery plan
Tens of millions of people will be immunised by the spring at over 2,700 vaccination sites across the UK, the Government has announced today as part of comprehensive plans to rapidly scale up the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
By the end of January, everyone in England will be within 10 miles of a vaccination site or, for a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccine will be brought to them via mobile teams.
There will also be capacity to deliver at least two million vaccinations in England per week by the end of January and all residents and staff in over 10,000 care homes across the country will be offered a vaccine by the end of the month.
In total, 206 active hospital sites; 50 vaccination centres; and around 1,200 local vaccination sites - including primary care networks, community pharmacy sites and mobile teams – will be set up to ensure every at-risk person has easy access to a vaccination centre, regardless of where they live.
“It’s taken a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to make such an incredible start to this ambitious deployment programme. Our vaccine deployment plan sets out exactly how we will harness these efforts to expand the programme quickly and safely," Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said in response to the news.
“Our UK Covid-19 vaccines delivery plan maps our route back to normality, but it does not mean we can be complacent and it is mission critical that everybody abides by the restrictions in the coming weeks.
“The next few months will present a significant opportunity to turn the tide of battle against Covid – I am looking forward to watching these plans bring more reassurance and hope back to people’s lives after a difficult year.”
02:42 PM
Borough Market becomes first outdoor space to legally enforce face masks
Borough Market in London has become the first outdoor space in the UK to legally enforce the wearing of face masks.
From Monday, customers and vendors at the food and drink market will face a £50 fine if they do not wear a face covering in and around the stalls.
The rule can be enforced thanks to the market’s own set of bylaws passed in Parliament, which date back to before the Victorian era and have been updated to reflect the pandemic.
“We’re open as an essential retailer but we want to keep it safe for everybody," Kate Howell, director of development at the central London venue, said in response the news.
“Whilst we’ve done everything we can to politely encourage people to wear masks and keep to social distancing and keep the space safe, now is the time to really show our intent.”
The normally bustling Borough Market in south London was especially quiet on Saturday as England continues with its third national lockdown - Tony Hicks / AP
02:37 PM
UK at perilous moment, PM says
The United Kingdom is at a perilous moment in the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, adding that there were oxygen shortages in some places.
"It's a race against time, because we can all see the threat that our NHS faces, the pressure it's under, the demand in intensive care units, the pressure on ventilated beds, even the shortage of oxygen in some places," Johnson said, of the national health service.
"This is a very perilous moment," Johnson said. "The worst thing now for us is to allow success in rolling out a vaccine programme to breed any kind of complacency about the state of the pandemic."
He said roughly 40 per cent of 80-year-olds in the country had been vaccinated already as well as 23 per cent of the elderly residents of care homes.
"It's a huge ask," Johnson said of the vaccine target. "There's no doubt that it's a massively stretching target."
"We believe it is achievable," Johnson said.
When asked if he would tighten lockdown rules, he said people had to follow the rules. If people failed to observe them, they may need to be tightened, he said.
"Where we have to tighten them, we will," he said of the rules.
02:36 PM
North York Moors urge visitors to stay away
Motorists and families have been urged to stay away from the North York Moors after long queues of cars packed its roads over the weekend, reports Dominic Penna.
While leaving home for exercise is permitted under current guidance, this must be limited to once a day and people should not travel outside of their local area.
A video shared by the North Yorkshire Moors Moorland Organisation on Sunday (January 10) showed a long line of motorists queuing up along Blakey Ridge in the snow.
Tina Brough from the Organisation said that there was a “mass influx” of vehicles, with people out sledding, walking and parked on the side of the road.
“The local shop said they’d been so busy with non-local people,” she said. “I would say people had travelled at least 20 miles.
Health chiefs told to keep quiet about UK vaccine supply deals
Vaccine manufacturers could potentially divert supplies away from the country if the UK does not stop shouting from the “from the rooftops” about how many jabs it has already bought, NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens and deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam told NHS leaders last night.
The comments were made on an “urgent webinar” organised at short notice on Sunday evening, the Health Service Journal reported.
Concerns were raised about the issue of transparency, with ministers suggesting that disclosing the true number of vaccines within the UK's arsenal could potentially affect negotiations with manufacturers, who are desperately trying to meet worldwide demand for the products, the HSJ suggested.
It follows on from repeated accusations that richer countries, including the UK, have already procured more than their fair share of initial supplies, with the World Health Organization warning that vaccine nationalism may only prolong the pandemic.
02:15 PM
Test and Trace changes 15-minute 'close contact' rule
The definition now refers to a close contact as anyone who has been within two metres of someone for more than 15 minutes, whether in a single period or cumulatively over the course of one day.
Previously the definition was just a single period of at least 15 minutes.
02:10 PM
Covid vaccinations underway at seven new regional hubs
02:08 PM
Oxygen demands run precariously high in London hospitals
A doctor at a London hospital said colleagues had been asked to conserve oxygen to ensure they did not run out.
"We've been told to stagger breaks off of the non invasive ventilation and make sure we're aiming for correct O2 targets to conserve (it)," she told the PA news agency.
01:52 PM
Wear a face mask outside, Welsh government says
Wales' health minister has called for people to wear a face mask when in "public places", putting their advice at odds with advice from the UK Government.
Vaughan Gething told a press conference in Cardiff that people should stay at home as much as possible, but "if we do have to go out, wearing a face mask when we're in public places."
He added: "Vaccination is life-saving and in this pandemic it could be life-changing for all of us. This is a race against the virus to save as many lives as possible.
"As we speed up the rollout of vaccines across Wales, it's more important than ever that we follow the rules to keep all of us safe.
"That means staying at home and working from home wherever possible, keeping our distance from others, washing our hands often, good ventilation and air circulation."
01:49 PM
Downing Street attempts to excuse Stanley Johnson's vaccination
Downing Street has attempted to explain why the Prime Minister's father, Stanley Johnson, has received both doses of the vaccine before many people in the top two categories have even received one.
Boris Johnson's press secretary Allegra Stratton said: "This is a matter for the Prime Minister's father.
"It's not something I've spoken to Stanley Johnson about but by way of explanation, in the early days of the vaccination programme it was the case that GPs were doing two jabs, a first one followed a few weeks later by a second one.
"It appears that Stanley Johnson was one of those people who was in that first wave. It's been true of a number of individuals around the country and Stanley Johnson appears to be one of them."
01:47 PM
Coming up: Matt Hancock to front press conference at 5pm
Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a Downing Street press conference on coronavirus alongside NHS England national medical director Professor Stephen Powis at 5pm, Downing Street has said.
01:43 PM
Lebanon mulls stricter lockdown measures
Lebanon is considering a “complete, strict and firm closure of the country”, its caretaker prime minister said on Monday as he warned the country had entered a “very critical zone” with coronavirus cases surging and hospitals nearing capacity.
Outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab blamed Lebanese for failing to adhere to previous restrictions to limit the spread of the virus, saying tighter measures were needed “to protect the Lebanese from themselves due to the recklessness of a large part of them”.
Lebanon re-imposed a 25-day lockdown on Thursday, its fifth since the pandemic began, in a bid to contain infections that are soaring following relaxed restrictions over the Christmas and New Year period.
New infections reached an all-time high of over 5,000 last week and have remained above 3,000 new cases each day in a country with a population under six million.
A man checks his mobile phone as he sits near the emergency entrance of the coronavirus testing center at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon - Bilal Hussein / AP
01:40 PM
Zimbabwe bans traditional funeral customs over Covd fears
Zimbabwe has banned families from transporting their dead relatives between cities, as part of new measures stop traditional funeral rites that are believed to be increasing the spread of coronavirus.
The announcement stops the custom where families take the dead to their areas of birth for ceremonies and burial. Police have also banned public viewing of bodies and the tradition of having a corpse stay overnight in the family’s home before burial.
“Police will only clear body movements for burial straight from a funeral parlor/hospital mortuary to the burial site,” police spokesman Paul Nyathi said Monday in the state-run Herald newspaper.
Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, initially recorded low numbers of Covid-19 but has recently experienced a spike in cases.
There are fears that a new, more infectious variant of the virus arrived from South Africa when scores of thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa returned home for the festive season.
A woman cries as she waves at a hearse carrying a relative who died of Covid-19, outside a funeral parlour in Harare, Zimbabwe - AARON UFUMELI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
01:28 PM
Over 80s will also be offered vaccines closer to home
Downing Street has said that the over 80s who have been invited to mass vaccination centres if they live within 45 minutes of the sites can wait for closer appointments in the future if they prefer.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman: "Those who receive the letter do not have to take one of those appointments if it is too far to travel and can wait for a local appointment if they would prefer."
Discussing GPs, hospitals, vaccination centres and pharmacies, Boris Johnson previously said: "If all goes well, these together should have the capacity to deliver hundreds of thousands of vaccines per day by January 15 and it is our plan that everyone should have a vaccination available within a radius of 10 miles."
On Monday, his spokesman was pressed on whether the 10-mile target is to be achieved by February after it was suggested some people have been told to travel 20 miles.
"The PM was clear that as we ramp up that is what we will aim to ensure but we're opening the first seven mass vaccination centres this week with more expected to be up and running by the end of the month and the Prime Minister has been clear that's our desire to try and ensure people don't have to travel too far for a vaccine," the spokesman said.
01:21 PM
Vaccine centres to run 24 hours a day as seven new sites open
The UK could start administering vaccines 24 hours a day when enough coronavirus jabs become available, Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said.
"If we need to go to 24-hour work we will absolutely go 24 hours a day to make sure we vaccinate as quickly as we can," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Hancock declines opportunity to commit to daily press briefings
Health Secretary Matt Hancock declined to say whether the Government will be holding daily press conferences to boost public compliance with lockdown restrictions as in the March lockdown.
Speaking at Epsom racecourse in Surrey, which is one of the seven mass vaccination sites to open on Monday, Mr Hancock said: "What matters in terms of communications is we just try to be as straightforward as we possibly can be about the facts on the ground, you know, the fact that the NHS is under significant pressure and what people have to do to play their part in getting this under control.
"So, that's obviously a decision for communications colleagues at Number 10, exactly the frequency of the press conferences.
"My view is the most important thing is to be out and about answering the questions trying to explain what everybody needs to do because we are all in this together."
01:07 PM
Lunchtime round up
If you're just joining us, here are your top headlines...
The UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infection, with the next few weeks being "the worst" of the pandemic for the NHS, England's chief medical officer has warned.
He also told Radio 5 Live that there is a "reasonable chance" that people will need to be re-vaccinated for coronavirus.
A minister has warned members of the public to follow existing lockdown rules, or face tougher measures, amid concerns that people are not taking the current wave of coronavirus seriously.
France should consider closing its borders with the UK and other countries that have a strong presence of the UK variant, a French epidemiologist and government adviser has said.
Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases in over five months on Monday, prompting officials to place more than half a million people under lockdown in Beijing.
Indonesia is the first country outside of China to grant emergency use approval to Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine on Monday amid surging infections and deaths.
12:45 PM
Coronavirus world news - in pictures
A girl is tested for Covid-19 on the staircase of her family's home in Gaza City
A healthcare worker in protective gear collects a swab sample from a girl to be tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the staircase of her family's home in Gaza City - SUHAIB SALEM / Reuters
A street artist wears a painted protective facemask to match her makeup in Bangkok
A street artist wears a painted protective facemask to match her makeup in Bangkok - MLADEN ANTONOV / AP
A student holding a smoke flare protests over the decision to keep high schools closed in Rome, Italy
A student holding a smoke flare protests over the decision to keep high schools closed as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy - GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE / REUTERS
12:30 PM
Don’t make us toughen lockdown rules, minister warns public
A minister has warned members of the public to follow existing lockdown rules, or face tougher measures, amid concerns that people are not taking the current wave of coronavirus seriously.
This weekend saw scenes of people socialising in parks and other outdoor spaces across the country, despite rules only allowing for one-to-one mixing during exercise. Boris Johnson held a meeting with Cabinet colleagues on Sunday evening to discuss stricter new measures and initiatives to boost adherence.
Nadhim Zahawi told the Today programme they were reluctant to go any further, but that additional restrictions might be required if compliance did not improve, saying the pictures had "worried" him. He also pointed to compliance in supermarkets, where people must wear face masks and follow a one-way route, as an area of concern.
"We don't want to toughen measures - lockdown is tough, the schools are shut - but this virus loves social interactions," he said. "We are reviewing all the restrictions."
He told Sky News: "Our plea is to everyone - these rules are not boundaries to be pushed against, they are to bring the virus under control and reduce pressure on the NHS and save lives. Just think that every social interaction you could have could be an instant of transmission."
12:28 PM
China reports biggest daily Covid-19 case jump in over 5 months
Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases in over five months, the country's health authority said on Monday, as new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continued to rise.
A county in northeastern Heilongjiang province on Monday moved into lockdown after reporting new coronavirus infections, state television also reported separately.
Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on Jan. 10, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement, with Liaoning province also reporting two new cases and Beijing reporting one new case. The country also saw 18 new imported infections from overseas.
The total number of new Covid-19 cases stood at 103, the highest since 127 cases were reported on July 30.
A medical worker collects a throat swab from a villager for nucleic acid testing at Kangping County - VCG
12:15 PM
Greece reopens some schools after two-month shutdown
Greece reopened thousands of primary schools and nurseries on Monday for the first time in two months, and prepared to launch a campaign to vaccinate the over-85s against coronavirus.
More than 850,000 children under 12 returned to education, officials said, following a mass closure on November 16.
Greece has been under a nationwide lockdown since November 7 following an infection spike in the autumn.
More than 4,000 of Greece's 5,263 reported virus deaths have been registered in the past two months.
On Friday, restrictions that were supposed to end on January 11 were extended for another week.
Five year-old Niki wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus arrives with other students at a kindergarten, in Athens - Petros Giannakouris / AP
12:06 PM
On this day...
January 11 marks the anniversary of China confirming its first death from Covid-19, a 61-year-old man who was a regular at the now-notorious Wuhan wet market.
Nearly two million deaths later, the pandemic is out of control across much of the world, leaving tens of millions ill, a pulverised global economy and recriminations flying between nations.
An independent team of scientists from the World Health Organization is set to land in China on Thursday to begin an investigation into the origins of the virus.
Temporary mortuaries open to cope with rising UK death toll
A tented temporary mortuary facility (lower) has opened in the grounds of the former RAF rehabilitation hospital at Headley Court near Leatherhead in Surrey.
Hospital mortuaries are at full capacity as the UK coronavirus count spirals.
A tented temporary mortuary facility (lower) has opened in the grounds of the former RAF rehabilitation hospital at Headley Court near Leatherhead in Surrey. Hospital mortuaries are at full capacity as the death rate from the covid-19 pandemic increases - Peter Macdiarmid/LNP
11:41 AM
Malaysia hospitals at 'breaking point'
Malaysia will impose strict new curbs in over half the country to fight a coronavirus surge, the prime minister said Monday, warning the country's healthcare system was at "breaking point".
It joins other Asian nations, from Japan to Australia, which kept their outbreaks under control in the early stages but have been forced to introduce new measures in recent days.
Malaysia had relaxed restrictions as infections fell to almost zero last year but cases have crept up again, hitting record highs in recent days.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a two-week partial lockdown will be imposed in the worst-hit parts of the country from Wednesday, with all non-essential businesses to close.
"Our healthcare system is at breaking point, the situation today is indeed very alarming," he said in a nationally televised address.
The curbs will be imposed in the capital Kuala Lumpur and five of the country's 13 states, home to around 20 million of the country's 32 million inhabitants.
Medical personnel collect swab samples from a man for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing at Ajwa clinic in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - FAZRY ISMAIL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
11:32 AM
Half a million placed under lockdown in Beijing
More than half a million people were placed under lockdown in Beijing on Monday as the Chinese government imposed strict measures to stamp out a handful of Covid-19 cases.
China has largely brought the virus under control, but is tackling a number of local infections with lockdowns and mass testing.
Authorities are keen to stem any outbreak in the capital - home to over 20 million people - particularly ahead of a week-long national holiday next month.
All rural villages in Shunyi district on the outskirts of Beijing are locked down until a fresh round of mass testing has been completed, district official Zhi Xianwei said at a press briefing Monday, AFP reported.
The move means around 518,000 residents will not be permitted to leave their villages until they have undergone testing.
Officials also said locals would be under “closed management”, suggesting they will be barred from leaving their residential compounds.
Experts have not yet identified the source of the outbreak, but one asymptomatic case confirmed on Sunday was a driver for an online ride-hailing service, and the government has suspended all taxi-hailing services in the district.
A health worker walks past residents as they line up to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Beijing - GREG BAKER / AFP
11:12 AM
China says WHO coronavirus experts to visit from Thursday
Ten World Health Organization scientists will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of Covid-19, authorities said Monday, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations Beijing has tried to thwart the investigation.
The WHO team "will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of Covid-19 with Chinese scientists", the National Health Commission said in a statement that provided no further details.
A last-minute delay to the mission earlier this month earned China a rare rebuke from the head of the WHO.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" China had not authorised the team's entry - especially as two members were already en route.
But on Monday he tweeted his approval of China's announcement on a "critical mission" to identify the origins of the virus and how it jumped to humans.
Beijing sought to downplay the tension, however, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying calling it a "misunderstanding".
The WHO experts will have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival, but are expected later to visit Wuhan - the city where the deadly virus was first detected in late 2019.
We welcome #China's announcement regarding the intl. team examining the origins of virus that causes #COVID19. We look forward to working closely with our 🇨🇳 counterparts on this critical mission to identify the virus source & its route of introduction to the human population.
The UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infection, with the next few weeks being "the worst" of the pandemic for the NHS, England's chief medical officer has warned.
Professor Chris Whitty said the vaccine rollout offered hope that lockdown restrictions could be lifted in the coming months, but described the current UK death rate as "appalling".
During a BBC phone-in on the current high case rates, he said: "I don't think we're yet at the peak, I'm afraid.
11:01 AM
Hospital's oxygen supply at 'critical level' due to surge in Covid patients
An NHS hospital's oxygen supply has reached a "critical situation" as staff treat a rising number of Covid-19 patients.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said in a letter to staff that the amount of oxygen used to treat patients at Southend Hospital should be reduced.
Police ‘may get it wrong when enforcing coronavirus regulations’
Police bosses have acknowledged some officers "may get it wrong" when enforcing England's coronavirus regulations as people are becoming "fed up" with ongoing national lockdown restrictions.
Hardyal Dhindsa, police and crime commissioner of Derbyshire Police, said on BBC Breakfast that officers had a "very difficult job in really trying circumstances" due to the "ever-changing" Covid-19 restrictions.
It comes after the force handed out £200 fines to two women who drove separately to go for a walk at a remote beauty spot situated around five miles from their homes.
Mr Dhindsa said the incident "could have been dealt with differently" and that the force was "big enough to apologise" and rescind fines if a review found that the officers had acted in error.
"It's no wonder that in circumstances like this, sometimes when they are trying to do the best job they can they may get it wrong," he said.
10:41 AM
Picture Editor's photo of the morning
Thousands of people take part in the Buddha Amitabha's memorial ceremony held at the Hoang Phap Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Trung Anh/Solent News
10:38 AM
Malaysian PM announces new coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announces a new two-week limited lockdown for Malaysia set to begin on Wednesday.
The fresh lockdown will be implemented in the capital Kuala Lumpur and five states.
The new restrictions include the reinstatement of the ‘two per car’ rule, restaurants operating for takeout only and a ban of inter-state and inter-district travel, the PM announced in a Monday news conference.
Additionally, Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Melaka Penang, Johor, Sabah and Labuan will come under a movement control order (MCO) for two weeks.
Five essential economic sectors, including manufacturing, trading, agriculture and commodity services will continue to operate under strict regulations.
Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Melaka Penang, Johore, Sabah, Labuan will come under MCO for two weeks beginning midnight Jan 13 Wednesday . Inter-state and inter-district travel will be banned. Roadblocks will be set up once again : PM Muhyiddin pic.twitter.com/A5izNc8nY3
NHS Nightingale at ExCeL London becomes vaccine hub
A couple pose for the press as they arrive at the NHS Nightingale at the ExCeL centre as it opens as a mass vaccination centre - Tolga Akmen/AFP People arrive at the NHS Nightingale - Tolga Akmen/AFP
10:23 AM
Indonesia first country to approve Sinovac Biotech vaccine outside China
Indonesia is the first country outside of China to grant emergency use approval to Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine on Monday amid surging infections and deaths.
According to public health experts, a lack of data and varying efficacy rates reported for the vaccine from different countries could undermine public trust in the rollout.
Interim data from a late-stage human test of CoronaVac showed it is 65.3 percent effective, Indonesia's food and drugs authority BPOM said - lower than figures in Brazil and Turkey which have yet to launch mass vaccinations.
"These results meet the requirements of the World Health Organization of minimum efficacy of 50%," BPOM head Penny K. Lukito told a news conference.
President Joko Widodo is set to get his first dose on Wednesday in a sign of the priority placed on immunisation in a country of 270 million people that has done far less than Southeast Asian neighbours to contain the virus.
But some public health specialists question how effective the rollout will be given the limited number of doses available, logistical challenges across thousands of islands and scepticism over the vaccine.
10:12 AM
Hospital admissions by age
Our data team has pulled together this chart on the hospital admissions by age.
10:04 AM
Reinfection possible after vaccination
Professor Chris Whitty told BBC Radio 5 Live that it would be possible to be reinfected with Covid-19 after people had been vaccinated but that cases would occur at a "much lower rate".
"The risk of getting Covid a second time if you've had it a first time are substantially reduced, probably between 80% and 90% at least over the first six months," England's chief medical officer said.
"We are confident it reduces the risk but it doesn't reduce it to zero, so reinfection is a possibility and the same will be true after vaccination.
"Reinfections will occur but at a much lower rate."
He added that while the virus does not often last as long as an infection, symptoms such as a cough could persist for a very long time.
10:02 AM
Covid around the world, in pictures
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray in a divided section during nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic at the Western Wall - Oded Balilty/AP Twenty-year-old women dressed in kimonos gather outside Todoroki Arena during the 'Coming-of-Age Day' celebration ceremony in Kawasaki, Japan - Behrouz Mehri/AFP Devotees wearing face masks pray during the cremation of Myanmar's popular monk Wai bu La's in Thanlyin, Yangon - Ye Aung Thu/AFP
09:49 AM
Chancellor to give statement to Commons this afternoon
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will give an economic update in an oral statement to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, according to the Labour whips' office.
09:48 AM
Oxford vaccine 'a lot easier to use'
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Professor Chris Whitty said the new AstraZeneca vaccine is "a lot easier to use" and will help facilitate home vaccinations for vulnerable people.
But he urged people to not bombard their local GPs with calls to arrange vaccination appointments and to be patient.
09:43 AM
'One does of the vaccine is remarkably effective'
Watch Professor Adam Finn from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation tell BBC Breakfast that the delayed second dose going to somebody else is "good news".
“One dose of the vaccine is remarkably effective“ Professor Adam Finn from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation tells #BBCBreakfast it’s ‘good news’ the delayed second dose is going to somebody else.https://t.co/RR1VL5hDHipic.twitter.com/uUaVcw6z7t
Watch: Don’t make us toughen lockdown rules, minister warns
Here's Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi.
09:37 AM
Newcastle vaccine centre, in pictures
A healthcare workers fills a syringe with a Covid-19 vaccine at the NHS vaccine centre that has been set up at the Centre for Life in Times Square, Newcastle - Owen Humphreys/PA Syringes of Covid-19 vaccine at the NHS vaccine centre that has been set up - Owen Humphreys/PA Tom Kelbrick of the North East ambulance Service - Ian Forsyth/Getty
09:30 AM
Whitty hopeful of no restrictions next winter
Professor Chris Whitty told BBC Radio 5 Live he hopes that restrictions will not be necessary next winter but that society is "quite a long way" from returning to normal life.
"If we have a very effective vaccination programme, if the vaccine works for a long period of time and prevents transmission, and in particular if everybody takes it up as they're offered it, then my hope is that we will need minimal or no restrictions in due course," England's chief medical officer said.
"There will be at some point a small enough risk that as a society we say 'Look, we're just going to get back to normal life', but we're quite a long way away from that at the moment. We'll just say 'This amount of risk we will tolerate'."
09:24 AM
Shielding rules this lockdown slightly more relaxed than in March
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, acknowledged that some people felt “imprisoned” by previous shielding rules in the first lockdown.
He said that was not the intention and that "there’s a recognition that we needed to adjust that".
"And, for that reason, some of the shielding rules have been slightly relaxed," he said.
"But the general principle (is) that people who are on the shielding list need to take real care at the moment, because of this very high rate of the virus."
09:21 AM
'Wear your mask properly, not as a fashion accessory', says Whitty
Professor Chris Whitty said face masks are extremely important and should not just be worn "as a fashion accessory".
"It's absolutely there to protect other people," England's chief medical officer told a Q&A on BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I really would encourage people - if they are going on buses or on the Tube or to the shops - and do it properly over the nose and mouth and not just as a fashion accessory.
"In terms of outdoor situations, the only risk outdoors is if you're in a crowded environment. Outdoors is much lower risk than indoors."
09:18 AM
Vaccine Minister: 'UK authorities have learned from Israel'
Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the UK authorities have learned from Israel’s experience of getting coronavirus jabs deployed in as quickly as four minutes.
"One of the things we have learned is the speed at which they can actually vaccinate people through the mass vaccination centres," he told ITV's Good Morning Britain.
"We want to make sure that we get to similar speeds of being able to vaccinate through mass vaccination centres.
"They are doing it (at) about four minutes per patient and that's the sort of target we want to make sure we deliver on.
"At this stage it's a race against time. The more vaccine I can get into arms, quicker, the better."
09:07 AM
Stephen Powis: 'We all have a part to play in preventing deaths'
NHS England national medical director urges public to follow the rules
"The vaccine programme isn't going to have an impact on COVID for a few months yet."
NHS England's National Medical Director Stephen Powis says the pressure on the NHS is "potentially going to get worse" so we must stick to social distancing rules.https://t.co/U3jnSmqB8rpic.twitter.com/Y3Grxq8ALL
Professor Stephen Powis urged the public to continue to follow the rules while the coronavirus vaccines are rolled out.
He told Sky News: "The vaccine programme is not going to have an impact on Covid for a few months yet.
"The NHS is under intense pressure - that's potentially going to get worse - so it's really important that, while we roll out the vaccines, everyone remembers to stick to those social distancing rules that are in place.
"I know it's been a long 12 months and it's easy to get tired of these restrictions but I really can't overemphasise enough the danger that the NHS is in."
09:03 AM
Lockdown needs to be reviewed, police and crime commissioner says
Derbyshire's Police and Crime Commissioner said the current national lockdown in England needed to be reviewed, stating there was much more traffic and activity than in the previous lockdown in March.
When asked on BBC Breakfast if police being "overzealous" could put people off complying with coronavirus restrictions, Hardyal Dhindsa said: "It could be. But, in the main, when police are engaging with the public, the public are very compliant and are following guidance.
"If you think of the hundreds and thousands of calls to police on Covid-19, the number of fixed penalty notices given out are small.
"The problem is how are the lockdown rules and regulations in place, and the review of them is something that needs to be looked at.
"This lockdown is not the same as the lockdown that happened in March. If you look at traffic on our roads it's still quite high, because people are still going to work. The activity on your roads and in our spaces is much more than the lockdown we had in March."
08:59 AM
Delaying second dose doubles number of people
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said delaying the second dose of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines by up to 12 weeks is "about doubling the number of people that we can vaccinate (with) the first vaccine in the first 12 weeks".
"And what we have seen on the science of this is that the great majority of the protection - not absolutely all of it but the great majority - comes from that first vaccination.
"So, if you can get the majority, by far the majority protection, well over 50% for both the vaccines that are currently available, in two people rather than slightly increased protection to just to one person, you're clearly getting a significant public health gain."
08:54 AM
'Reasonable chance' people will annual Covid jab
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, told a Q&A on Radio 5 Live there is a "reasonable chance" that people will need to be re-vaccinated for coronavirus.
"I don't think we'll have anything on this scale that we're going to have to do over the next several months but I think there is a reasonable chance that, rather like with flu, we have to vaccinate every year - we may well have to re-vaccinate for Covid," he said.
08:52 AM
Should nurseries be open?
Asked about nurseries being open, he said: "I think that the reason that nursery schools are open is to allow people who need to go to work or need to do particular activities to do so, and we all do know that children are at very, very low risk of this virus relative to other ages.
"The fact that nurseries are open, it's not a risk to the children.
"But what people should be trying to do, and I just can't reiterate this enough, is just minimise the number of unnecessary contracts they have with other households."
08:52 AM
Contact with passing jogger 'extremely low risk'
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that fleeting contact, such as a jogger running past, is "extremely low risk".
But he added: "It's the much longer contacts in close proximity that can still happen outdoors - if people, for example, are crowded together in a queue ... if they're really huddled together around a market stall or something, that is a risk with this virus.
"And people in that situation, there might be some logic to people thinking about wearing masks, but a much better thing to do is to minimise going out for an unnecessary trip in the first place."
He said "most people will accept that there are quite a lot of regulations at the moment" but "the most important thing is actually people's individual choices".
08:50 AM
First jab delivered at Newcastle super hub
The first patient to receive his Oxford jab at Newcastle's mass vaccination centre at the Centre for Life was 81-year-old Nana Kwabena Edusie.
Nana Kwabena Edusie, aged 81 from Heaton, receives his vaccination from Staff Nurse Caroline McGuinness - Ian Forsyth/Getty
Originally from Ghana, Mr Edusie has been in the UK for 55 years and lives in the Heaton area of the city.
08:46 AM
Whitty: 'Every winter there are problems. This is different league'
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, told BBC Breakfast that this winter "is in a completely different league" for the NHS.
"We will get through together, but at this point in time we're at the worst point in the epidemic for for the UK," he said.
"There are always going to be noises of people coming up with absurd theories, and suggestions of things that are either obviously not true, or a misunderstanding of what's going on.
"But I think anybody who looks at some of the reports that the BBC and other news outlets done from hospitals, anyone who talks to a doctor or a nurse, working in the NHS, anybody who actually reads any newspaper, they will know this is a really serious problem - this is not a typical winter.
"Every winter there are problems. This is in a completely different league."
08:41 AM
Ministers consider tightening lockdown
Tighter coronavirus restrictions are being considered by ministers, The Telegraph understands, amid concerns the latest lockdown is not being followed strictly enough, write Lucy Fisher and Martin Evans.
Rules banning people from different households who are not in a support bubble from exercising together are under discussion, in a move that would bring the restrictions more closely in line with the first lockdown in March.
The introduction of rules on face coverings in offices is also being mooted in government circles, as some businesses are feared to have become lax.
Boris Johnson held a meeting with Cabinet colleagues on Sunday evening at which they discussed whether the current lockdown rules were working to reduce spiralling coronavirus cases at a sufficient rate.
England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the UK toll of more than 80,000 deaths from Covid-19 is "shocking".
He told BBC Breakfast: "I think it is a shocking figure, and I think anybody who is not shocked by the number of people in hospitals who are seriously ill at the moment, and who are dying over the course of this pandemic, I think, has not understood this at all.
"This is an appalling situation.
"We are now very close to the point, with vaccination, that we're going to be able to get on top of this, but it's not yet.
"And what we really have to do if we want the numbers not to go up still further is everybody has to minimise the number of unnecessary contacts they have in their day."
08:36 AM
Track and Trace needs to be fixed, says NHS Confederation chief
The chief executive of the NHS Confederation said the UK's Test and Trace system does not work effectively and needs to be fixed, as he warned of high infection rates.
Speaking to Sky News, Danny Mortimer said: "We need the rate of infection to go down well in advance of the benefit of the vaccination programme.
"We still, for the last few weeks now, have seen growing incidences of infection in our communities.
"We've struggled as a country to have a test, trace and isolate system that works effectively - it just doesn't work as well as it does in countries like Australia and various other parts of the world. That has to be fixed."
He added "we may well need further restrictions" but echoed Professor Chris Whitty's message of encouraging people to follow the rules.
08:34 AM
Ministers looking to adjust restrictions, but not relax them, Whitty says
Professor Chris Whitty said that even within the current rules people should be looking to cut out any unnecessary contacts.
"Ministers are always looking at whether they should adjust restrictions in either direction but at this moment, obviously, definitely not relaxing them," he told BBC Breakfast.
"The most important thing is that people take the current rules very, very seriously and do the minimum contacts they can.
"The most important thing now is for people to actually say 'look, these are the rules, they're really clear and we shouldn't do anything that's outside them, but we should actually, even within them, we should be doing our level best to minimise the amount of unnecessary contact with people who are not from our house'.
"I can't emphasise that enough. When you think about the pressures there are on the NHS at the moment, that is the thing that all of us can do to help relieve the pressures over the next few weeks."
08:25 AM
First jab at Surrey super hub for
Moira Edwards, 88, became the first person to receive a coronavirus jab at Epsom racecourse in Surrey - one of seven mass vaccination sites opening in England on Monday.
Moira Edwards receives an injection of the Oxford vaccine
Ms Edwards, from Cobham in Surrey, who received her first dose beside her daughter Clare Edwards, said it was "extremely important" to get the vaccine.
She said: "Having this vaccine makes it a step closer to being with my family again and giving them a big hug."
08:24 AM
Some measures will be needed 'until spring'
Professor Chris Whitty suggested that measures could be needed until "some time in the spring" to stem the spread of the virus.
"We've got to make this sustainable because we got to be able to maintain this for several more weeks now," England's chief medical officer told BBC Breakfast.
"We're really going to have to do a significant action for all of us for several more weeks until probably some time in the spring for very much of what we have to do.
"So, we do obviously need to be able to do essential work which they can't do from home. We fully accept that that's necessary to keep society going because you've got to be able to do it over a period of time.
"So, the three things that people can leave home for are essential work where they can't do it from home, when they are doing exercise - which is very important for people's physical health, their mental health - and for essential things like shopping or medical intervention."
08:22 AM
'If you meet someone, the virus has an opportunity to be transmitted'
Prof Whitty said: "The virus can be passed on in any place where people from two different households meet together.
"So, it can be passed on, and very often is passed on, in households when people invite people into their home and meet them who are not from their household.
"Of course, it can be passed on in any other environment: outside, in shops, in any kind of environment, and an indoor setting.
"The key thing to understand is that when you meet people from another household under any circumstances - and they're very often your friends, your family - but those are the kind of situations where the virus is passed on.
"It doesn't care who you are, it doesn't care whether they're your friends. If you meet someone from another household, the virus has an opportunity to be transmitted."
08:21 AM
Whitty: 'Double down' and stop 'unnecessary contacts'
England's chief medical officer has urged people to "double down" and stop any "unnecessary contacts".
Professor Chris Whitty told BBC Breakfast: "What we need to do before the vaccines have had their effect - because it's going to take several weeks before that happens - is we need to really double down.
"This is everybody's problem, any single unnecessary contact with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person.
"We've all got to, as individuals, help the NHS, help our fellow citizens, by minimising the amount of unnecessary contacts we have."
08:20 AM
Should teachers be vaccinated as a priority?
Asked if teachers should be vaccinated, Prof Whitty said that the elderly were the most at risk.
He said: "Teachers are a critical part of society, they're not at more risk than anybody else in society."
He added that when the vulnerable have been jabbed, ministers will "have a decision" to make.
08:17 AM
'If you don't need to use it, don't use it'
It was put to the Chief Medical Officer that more things are open now than there were in March, despite the new strain of the virus being more transmissible.
"The most important thing is people's individual decisions," he said.
Told that playgrounds and nurseries were still open, Prof Whitty said: "If you don't need to use it, don't use it."
08:14 AM
Whitty rules out masks outdoors
Asked if people should be wearing masks outdoors, Prof Whitty said: "I think the much more important thing is that people should only leave their homes if they absolutely have to and if they do then to keep their distance if they do."
08:13 AM
Whitty: 'If you meet someone, there is a high chance they have Covid'
The Chief Medical Officer told Today: "We're at the worst point of the pandemic in the UK.
"In the UK as a whole, one in 50 are positive, in London one in 30 are positive and in parts of London it's one in 20.
"There's a very high chance if you meet someone unnecessarily, they will have Covid."
08:09 AM
Next few weeks will be 'worst of pandemic', Whitty warns
England's chief medical officer has warned the next few weeks will be the "worst weeks of the pandemic" for the NHS.
Professor Chris Whitty told BBC Breakfast: "The peak we had back in April last year, we had about 18,000 people in the NHS. We currently, as of yesterday, have over 30,000 people in the NHS.
"A week ago, all the four chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said: 'This is going to be a significant crisis for the NHS unless we take evasive action'.
"This new variant is really pushing things in a way that the old variant - which was already very bad - was not able to. So, we have a very significant problem ... this is a serious problem and it is rising in every part of England.
"The next few weeks are going to be the worst weeks of this pandemic in terms of numbers into the NHS."
08:08 AM
Restrictions may get tougher, minister suggests
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was unable to assure that the current "tough" lockdown restrictions are sufficient and raised concerns of people not sticking to the rules in supermarkets or when exercising outside.
Pressed on whether the current restrictions are enough, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We don't want to use tougher measures, the lockdown is tough, schools are shut, but it is important to remember this virus loves social interactions.
"We're reviewing all the restrictions, but these are pretty tough at the moment. I am worried about supermarkets and people actually wearing masks and following the one-way system, and making sure when it's at capacity they wait outside the supermarket.
"I'm worried about some of the pictures I've seen of social interactions in parks, if you have to exercise you can go out for exercise only."
08:06 AM
Vaccine super hubs open, in pictures
The Covid 19 vaccination hub at the Epsom Racecourse in Surrey, as mass vaccinations start across the UK today - Stephen Lock/i-Images A car enters the Surrey hub - Stephen Lock/i-Images
07:57 AM
'These rules are not boundaries to be pushed at'
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said there had so far been "higher compliance" with coronavirus restrictions than in November but urged people to resist social interaction.
"Where I am concerned - we don't want to introduce tougher measures, we've already locked down pretty severely," he told Times Radio.
"The one message is that this virus loves social interaction. We are all very sociable animals ... (but) we've got to continue to be vigilant.
"It is those social interactions that are helping the virus that we need to avoid.
"These rules are not boundaries to be pushed at, they are rules to help all of us bring down the death rate, bring down the pressure on the NHS and help us, help me, keep vaccinating so that we can actually get ahead of the virus."
07:53 AM
Whitty: 'Life will get back to normal in months'
Asked if life will return to normal, Prof Chris Whitty said: "I'm confident that we will go back to life as normal that we had before.
"That's not in doubt."
On a timescale, the Chief Medical Officer suggested that people meeting en masse in pubs will happen in months, not years.
"Hopefully your life will go back to exactly the same as it was before," he said. "But we're a long way from that at the moment."
07:48 AM
Vaccine 'greatest invention known to humankind'
Nadhim Zahawi, the minister in charge of vaccine deployment, said vaccinations were "the greatest invention known to humankind" but said they would not be made compulsory.
"You don't want to have to go down the route of mandating vaccines because that would be completely wrong, we don't have those sorts of values in the UK," he told Times Radio.
"We want them to see the value ... to themselves and to the community. This is the greatest invention known to humankind.
"But the moment you say it is mandatory there will be those that say 'well, I don't want to be vaccinated', hence why we have used the word offered."
07:46 AM
Red tape still surrounds jab rollout
The Government has been criticised for the red tape that surrounds volunteers who want to help with the vaccine rollout.
Asked on the Today programme, Mr Zahawi was asked if those administering jabs needed a qualification which meant they could work with children.
He conceded that despite jabbing people who were in their 80s that this was needed, but that terror training had been removed.
07:44 AM
Police officers and teachers next in line for vaccine
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has suggested that police officers, teachers and other critical workers will be in the "highest category of phase two" of the vaccine rollout.
He told Sky News that currently the programme is prioritising those most vulnerable at death from coronavirus.
He added: "Some police officers, of course, and teachers will actually get the vaccine (in phase one) because they are in those categories, but we will very quickly move onto those other critical workers in the economy and, of course, those who are doing an incredible job, like our policemen and women in protecting us and enforcing the rules at the moment, will also be in that highest category of phase two."
07:43 AM
Vaccine centres not open 24-hours a day due to lack of jabs
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was pressed hard on the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme about why centres were not open 24 hours a day.
Having initially said it was not convenient for older people to visit them outside their current opening hours of 8am to 8pm.
But he later conceded that when there was enough vaccines available to them, the centres would be open longer "if that is what's needed".
07:40 AM
Today's front page
Here is your Daily Telegraph on Monday, Jan 11.
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07:39 AM
Minister hints at tougher measures in supermarkets
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has urged the public to follow the rules and wear masks and observe one-way systems in supermarkets.
He told Sky News: "We are concerned that, for example, in supermarkets, we need to make sure people actually wear masks and follow the one-way system rule, and when they are at capacity to operate safely for people to wait outside supermarkets.
"We don't want to go any tougher because this is a pretty tough lockdown, but what we need is people to behave as if they've got the virus so we can bring this virus under control whilst we vaccinate."
07:32 AM
Vaccine target - offered or delivered?
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said that 15 million people will be told a vaccine is ready for them by mid-February.
He told Sky News: "The top four categories, actually, for the UK is 15 million people, in England it's about 12 million people, so we will have offered a vaccination to all of those people."
Pressed on the difference between being offered a jab and being vaccinated, he said: "When you offer a vaccination it doesn't mean a Royal Mail letter, it means the vaccine and the needle and the jab are ready for you.
"What you will see us publishing is the total numbers of people being vaccinated, not being offered a vaccine, and that's the number to hold us to account to."
07:28 AM
Police called to pubs and a gym in Lancashire
A Detective Chief Constable in Lancashire has taken to Twitter to bemoan some of the public's "blatant breaches" of the lockdown rules.
Sadly busy weekend concerning blatant COVID breaches.Hundreds of incidents reported by the public.Reports of pubs,a gym & even someone filming staff at testing centre.Summary-not enough people staying home,some stretching excuses meanwhile NHS & public services are creaking folks pic.twitter.com/sgolp1BSax
Heathrow's passenger numbers were down 72.7% in 2020, with 22.1 million people travelling through the London airport.
In December, demand fell by 82.9% to 1.1 million amid a new strain of Covid-19.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "The past year has been incredibly challenging for aviation. While we support tightening border controls temporarily by introducing pre-departure testing for international arrivals, as well as quarantine, this is not sustainable.
"The aviation industry is the cornerstone of the UK economy but is fighting for survival. We need a road map out of this lockdown and a full waiver of business rates.
"This is an opportunity for the Government to show leadership in creating a common international standard for pre-departure testing that will allow travel and trade to restart safely so that we can start to deliver the Prime Minister's vision of a global Britain."
07:18 AM
Oxygen supply in Essex hospital 'critical'
The BBC has seen documents that suggest Southend Hospital is at breaking point.
🚨 BREAKING: Southend Hospital's oxygen supply has "reached a critical situation" according to an internal document seen by @BBCEssex.
Hospital boss says in statement there is “high demand for oxygen" because of rising #COVID19 patients and they "are working to manage this."
Cases worldwide surpasses 90 million as new variants spread
Worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed 90 million on Monday, according to Reuters tally, as nations around the globe scramble to procure vaccines and continue to extend or reinstate lockdowns to fight new coronavirus variants.
The new variants discovered initially in the United Kingdom and South Africa are rapidly spreading globally.
The novel coronavirus has picked up pace in the past few months with about one-third of total cases registered in the last 48 days, according to a Reuters tally.
Europe, which became the first region to report 25 million cases last week, remains the worst-affected area in the world, followed by North and Latin Americas with 22.4 million and 16.3 million cases respectively.
Europe has reported around 31 per cent of about 1.93 million coronavirus-related deaths globally.
06:35 AM
Seychelles starts Sinopharm vaccination rollout
Seychelles has started vaccinating its population against Covid-19 with doses from China's Sinopharm vaccine, President Wavel Ramkalawan said.
Mr Ramkalawan's office said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday that the initial target was for the vaccine to reach 25,000 people and first priority was for healthcare workers.
The statement said the Indian Ocean archipelago had received 50,000 doses of the vaccine as a donation from the United Arab Emirates.
Ramkalawan's office said he and former president Danny Faure and other senior government officials were vaccinated as part of efforts to bolster confidence among the population to take part in the exercise.
05:40 AM
China says WHO arriving to investigate origins of pandemic
China says a group of experts from the World Health Organisation are due to arrive Thursday for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
A one-sentence announcement from the National Health Commission on Monday said the experts would be meeting with Chinese counterparts but gave no other details.
It wasn't immediately clear whether they would be traveling to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.
Malaysia sign deal for 12.2m additional does of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
Malaysia on Monday signed a deal to buy an additional 12.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by U.S. and German drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech, the health ministry said in a statement.
The deal brings the total amount of the Pfizer vaccines procured by Malaysia to 25 million doses, enough to cover 39 per cent of its population, the ministry said.
05:26 AM
India readies colossal vaccine rollout
India aims to begin vaccinating its 1.3 billion people against coronavirus from Saturday, a colossal and complex task compounded by safety worries, shaky infrastructure and public scepticism.
In one of the world's biggest rollouts, the planet's second-most populous nation hopes to inoculate 300 million people - equal almost to the entire US population - by July.
First to get one of two vaccines granted "emergency approval" will be 30 million health and other frontline workers, followed by around 270 million people aged over 50 or deemed high-risk all over the vast nation.
About 150,000 staff in 700 districts have been specially trained, and India has held several national dry runs involving mock transportation of vaccines and dummy injections.
A health official performs yoga next to a Covid-19 awareness exhibit during a dry run or a mock drill for the coronavirus vaccine delivery at a government hospital, in Chennai - AFP
05:05 AM
Pacific's Micronesia records first case of virus
The remote Pacific nation of Micronesia recorded its first case of Covid-19 on Monday, ending its run as one of the few places on Earth without the coronavirus.
President David Panuelo acknowledged the development was "alarming" for the country's 100,000 inhabitants but said the case had been contained at the border.
"For this reason, citizens across the nation should remain calm," he said in a televised address. "Do not panic because the situation is contained."
Mr Panuelo said the positive test came from a crewman on a government ship "Chief Mailo", which had been in the Philippines undergoing repairs.
03:08 AM
Australia closes hospital emergency unit over virus case
A hospital emergency department in Sydney was closed after a patient tested positive for Covid-19, Australian authorities said on Monday, as the city of Brisbane made face masks compulsory at public venues.
A man in his 40s tested positive for the virus on Sunday after coming to Sydney's Mount Druitt Hospital, prompting it to close its emergency unit for cleaning, with media reports saying ambulances were diverted to other hospitals.
Although the unit reopened on Monday, health officials said they would investigate the man's movements to determine where he contracted the illness and whether it was linked to a highly-contagious strain that was first detected in Britain.
02:36 AM
Biden to receive second dose of vaccine
US President-elect Joe Biden will receive his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, his office announced, three weeks after his first injection was broadcast live on TV to boost public confidence in the jab.
Mr Biden, 78, told Americans "there's nothing to worry about" when he got his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware on December 21.
His team said that his second jab would also be done in front of the media, without giving further details.
More than 374,000 people have died from the coronavirus in America, and Mr Biden on Friday slammed President Donald Trump administration's troubled distribution of vaccines as a "travesty".
About 6.7 million Americans have so far received their first shot - far short of the target of 20 million by the end of 2020.
02:07 AM
Mexican president's spokesman tests positive as new variant detected
The spokesman for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, the same day the country detected its first case of a potentially more contagious variant that is spreading in the UK.
Spokesman Jesus Ramirez Cuevas wrote on his Twitter account, "I am in good health and I will be working from home."
There was no word on whether the president had been tested. Lopez Obrador is 67 and has high blood pressure, but almost never wears a mask.
On Sunday, health authorities in the northern border state of Tamaulipas detected a case of the UK variant, known as B.1.1.7. That strain has also been found in the United States, Canada, Italy, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Paramedic of the Mexican Red Cross Jesus Carmona poses for a photo after having transferred a Covid-19 patient to an emergency room in Toluca - AFP
02:02 AM
China's daily infections at five-month high
Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases in more than five months, the country's national health authority said on Monday, as new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continued to rise.
A county in the northeastern Heilongjiang province on Monday moved into lockdown after reporting new novel coronavirus infections, state television also reported separately.
Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on Jan. 10, the National Health Commission said in a statement, with Liaoning Province also reporting two new cases and Beijing reporting one new case. The country also saw 18 new imported infections from overseas.
The total number of new Covid-19 cases stood at 103, the highest since 127 cases were reported on July 30.
People stand around a giant 3D screen on Jianghan street in Wuhan on the eve of the first anniversary of China confirming its first death from Covid-19 - AFP
01:57 AM
South Korea cases drop to fewer than 500
South Korea reported fewer than 500 new coronavirus infections on Monday for the first time since record high daily case numbers over the Christmas holiday period.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 451 new cases as of midnight on Sunday, driven by a lull in testing as well as an apparent easing in infections.
The country reported a record 1,241 cases in one day during the Christmas holiday, the peak of the country's largest wave of infections yet.
South Korea stopped short of a complete lockdown or stay-at-home order, but has imposed unprecedented restrictions for weeks, including banning private gatherings of more than four people.
A street in Myeongdong, a popular tourist and shopping district, is deserted amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and a cold wave crossing the country, in Seoul - YONHAP/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
12:01 AM
Teen arrested, 38 fines issued over Bristol rave plans
Police arrested a teenager and issued 38 fines over plans to hold an illegal rave in Bristol, as constabularies continue to crack down on lockdown rule-breakers.
Avon and Somerset Police said officers prevented the "Bristol Freerave" event from going ahead on Saturday after receiving intelligence it would be held at Oldbury Court in the Fishponds area of the city.
Officers issued 38 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid-19 regulations after a "significant" number of people arrived in the area by car and on foot, the force said.
A 19-year-old man was arrested shortly after 7pm on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance, while police also gave "advice" to around 30 minors at the scene.
Vulnerable people suffering from rare diseases are being forced to wait for a coronavirus vaccine because of an algorithm used to determine the risks, according to a member of the expert committee that advises the health department.
Germany has come in for criticism over a bilateral vaccine deal with Pfizer/Biontech to secure an extra 30 million doses of its vaccine at a time when talks between Brussels and the pharma firms were still ongoing.
The Queen might have dined on some of the finest food in the world - but she was still partial to the occasional takeaway, and would send a footman to collect it
A driver who had been parking in a neighbour's space for three years was left fuming after his car was towed away - and the whole thing was caught on camera.
Scotty Kilmer, who has been a mechanic for over 50 years, has shared a simple tip that could help drivers to prolong the life of their vehicle's engine - and it's all to do with a common feature
Harper Beckham stunned this weekend as she celebrated her Spice Girl mum Victoria's 50th birthday, looking all grown up as she donned a satin gown for the occasion
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