COVID-19: UK to share genomics know-how to help other countries identify new variants

The UK is to offer its genomics expertise to help other countries identify new COVID variants, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

Latest stories

  • Teachers and police officers won’t be prioritised as next phase of COVID vaccinations revealed

    The JCVI has revealed the priority list for phase two of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

  • BBC responds to complaints over 'rude' Saturday Kitchen guests Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt

    Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt left some viewers seriously unimpressed.

  • COVID cases now rising in 1 in 5 areas as Jonathan Van-Tam warns: ‘This is sobering’

    Jonathan Van-Tam has warned of 'sobering' coronavirus numbers as the latest figures revealed infections are rising in one in five UK areas.

  • GMB's Kate Garraway says she's not allowed to see husband Derek in hospital

    He's currently in hospital recovering from COVID-19.

  • Ted Cruz mocks AOC over Capitol attack fears in grievance-filled CPAC speech

    As president visits Texas following power crisis, senator invokes right-wing tropes mocking Covid-19 guidance, the Capitol assault and fear-mongering visions of an authoritarian left

  • University student dies from sepsis after ringing GP surgery 25 times only to be refused appointment

    A university student has died from sepsis after trying to get through to a GP surgery 25 times only to be refused an appointment, an inquiry has heard. Toby Hudson, 19, was unable to get through to anyone at the practice in Weymouth, Dorset because of a faulty phone system. But when he tried again the following day, he was told he could not have an appointment for at least 48 hours due to him being registered at another surgery in his university town of Southampton, Hants. The teenager then attended an urgent care walk-in centre, where he was wrongly diagnosed with tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics. Within 24 hours Mr Hudson's condition deteriorated rapidly and his parents eventually called emergency services when he became unconscious. He went into cardiac arrest but was delayed in getting to hospital because an ambulance initially attended the wrong address. Mr Hudson tragically died on July 4, 2019, two days after he first sought help at the Wyke Regis & Lanehouse Medical Practice in Dorset. A post mortem examination showed he died from multiple organ failure due to sepsis, which was due to infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever). It was heard that Mr Hudson was suffering from swollen glands, 'puffy' tonsils and a sore throat when his parents urged him to speak to a GP. Giving evidence, Dr Matthew Brook, a partner at the Wake Regis & Lanehouse Medical Practice, admitted issues with the phone system due to a high patient load. Dr Brook said: "We were having tremendous problems with our phone system which could not handle a much higher number of calls." He insisted that the correct procedures had been followed, as according to national guidelines, temporary residents should only be seen by a GP if they do not require urgent care. He added: "We have had a review since then and nobody recalled taking the call from Toby." The nurse who attended Mr Hudson in urgent care said she was "not remotely worried" about his symptoms upon examination, adding that "he did not show any signs of sepsis". She recalled: "He had a normal temperature of 36.1 degrees, a heart rate of 102bpm and rated his pain at an eight out of ten". Mr Hudson’s father, Peter, said: "I felt there was no urgency. I had to press for action to be taken and for our concerns to be heard. "We have a lot of concerns about his care." The inquest continues.

  • Salmond calls for string of resignations including Sturgeon’s husband

    Alex Salmond has called on senior members of the Scottish government and the SNP, including Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, to resign over allegations of a conspiracy against him. During a highly-anticipated appearance before a Scottish parliament inquiry, the man who led the SNP for 20 years claimed Scotland’s current leadership had failed. The list of those he said should resign or consider their position included the Scottish government’s permanent secretary, its chief law officer, Peter Murrell, the chief executive of the SNP who is also married to Ms Sturgeon, and the first minister’s chief of staff.

  • Football coach tortured, set on fire and beaten with sledgehammers in revenge attack

    Jordan Storey, 28, was tortured and subjected to a violent attack by a gang of four people at a flat in Newcastle, in February last year.

  • EU leaders pave way for vaccine passports ‘by the summer’ to allow people to travel in Europe

    EU leaders have paved way for the introduction of coronavirus vaccine passports by the summer. “Everyone agreed that we need a digital vaccination certificate,” Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, told reporters after an EU virtual summit. Greece already has digital vaccination certificates.

  • Pfizer vaccine ‘dramatically reduces’ Covid transmission risk after one dose, study shows

    Scientists hail ‘excellent news’ as findings reveal jab reduces asymptomatic infections

  • Why is Joe Manchin really causing trouble for Joe Biden? Not for the obvious reasons

    While the left wing of the party is asking who he thinks made him president and vowing revenge, veterans of the upper chamber aren’t so surprised by the Democratic Senator’s announcement that he won’t vote to confirm Neera Tanden

  • DUP accused of meeting ‘malignant forces’ in campaign to scrap Northern Ireland protocol

    Arlene Foster and senior DUP figures met with a group representing loyalist paramilitaries

  • Covid news - live: Cases still rising in 1 in 5 local areas as Hancock warns ‘this isn’t over yet’

    Follow the latest updates and statistics

  • SNP divisions grow as Sturgeon enrages former deputy leader by 'questioning Salmond trial verdict'

    Nicola Sturgeon was on Thursday struggling to contain a growing SNP rebellion after she was accused of using “weasel words” to question the innocence of Alex Salmond. Jim Sillars, a former deputy leader of the party, lodged a formal complaint that the First Minister had breached the ministerial code with comments she made in a press briefing on Wednesday. Ms Sturgeon launched an outspoken attack on her predecessor, claiming his conduct towards women, rather than the conspiracy he has alleged, were the "root" of claims against him She added that just because he had been cleared of criminality, “that doesn’t mean that the behaviour [women] complained of didn’t happen.”

  • Teachers should be prepared to ‘sacrifice their lives’, says ex-Ofsted head

    Children return back to school on 8 March

  • Footage Captures Moment Lady Gaga's Dog-Walker Was Shot

    Storyful has obtained and verified footage showing the moment Lady Gaga’s dog-walker was shot and her two French bulldogs were stolen in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, February 24.The dramatic footage, captured on a home security camera, shows a car stopping beside a man walking dogs on North Sierra Bonita Avenue near Sunset Boulevard. Two people get out of the backseat and try to take the dogs. A struggle ensues, with the man calling for help, while one of the assailants repeatedly shouts, “Give it up.”A gunshot is heard and the man falls to the ground, shouting that he has been shot and calling for help. The car drives away and one dog remains on the scene with the man.The video shows people arriving on the scene and telling the man they’re calling 911. He tells them he is bleeding from his chest and appeals for help.Dispatch audio from the Los Angeles Police Department, also verified by Storyful, shows local time authorities received a call reporting the shooting at around 9:40 pm. The audio reveals emergency responders found a man, “approximately 35 years of age, conscious and breathing, suffering from a gunshot wound.”In a statement to Storyful the LAPD confirmed the victim, aged 30, was shot with a semi-automatic handgun and taken to a nearby hospital.Police said two French bulldogs were taken by suspects in a white vehicle, described as a four-door sedan in dispatch audio. A third dog was recovered by authorities, reports said. No suspects had been detained at the time of writing.Police said they could not confirm the name of the victim nor the dogs’ owner at the time of writing.According to reports citing Lady Gaga’s representative, the star offered a reward of $500,000 for the return of the dogs. Credit: Anonymous via Storyful

  • Ursula von der Leyen issues Covid vaccine export warning at EU summit

    Ursula von der Leyen issues Covid vaccine export warning at EU summitCommission head reassures leaders she will ban vaccines leaving EU if suppliers fail to deliver againCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Ursula von der Leyen was put under pressure to speed up work on a common vaccination certificate. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/AFP/Getty Images

  • The walls are closing in on Trump. Soon he’ll be a prisoner of Mar a Lago

    Florida Governor DeSantis will be loyal to the president — but that doesn’t necessarily leave Trump in a good position

  • London Covid cases by borough revealed as coronavirus infections fall but at slower rate

    Cases are down 25% in a week but public health chiefs want Londoners to drive rates down further

  • In independence threat, Scotland's ex-first minister attacks government

    Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond accused the nation's government on Friday of acting illegally and lacking leadership in a bitter row with his successor that threatens to damage the Scottish independence movement. The feud between Salmond and his successor Nicola Sturgeon, has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, pitting the former friends against each other in a sparring match that could eventually put pressure on her to resign. Sturgeon has denied his accusations.