Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday morning.
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday morning. We’ll have another update for you this evening.
“We must take this next step with a heavy dose of caution”, says Prime Minister Boris Johnson as coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Indoor eating and drinking at pubs, restaurants and cafes is back, and the ban on foreign travel has also been lifted and replaced with new rules. Millions of people will hug loved ones again and be able to socialise indoors. The rules vary in each of the nations but most people will be able to do more than they have been able to do for months. Northern Ireland will review its lockdown rules on Wednesday.
As the ban on foreign holidays is lifted, holidaymakers are expecting to jet off for some early summer sun. Travellers will now be able to visit 12 destinations on the government’s green list, including Portugal, without isolating on their return. But the vast majority of tourist destinations remain on the amber and red lists, meaning travellers would have to quarantine when they got back. This has hit demand for holidays, with online travel agent Thomas Cook saying the number of people booking to travel abroad is “still small”.
The international scheme to ensure equal access to Covid-19 vaccines is 140 million doses short because of India’s continuing Covid crisis. The Serum Institute of India, the largest single supplier to the Covax scheme, has made none of its planned shipments since exports were suspended in March. The UN children’s agency Unicef buys and distributes vaccines for Covax. It is urging leaders of G7 nations and EU states to share their doses.
YouTube has launched a multimillion-pound advertising campaign to encourage young people in the UK to get vaccinated against Covid-19. It said the partnership with the NHS would involve ads on buses, billboards, bus stops and YouTube, with the video-sharing site paying for them.
If just the thought of checking your bank balance is making you feel a little bit queasy right now then you’re not alone. Planning loads of nights out felt like a good idea when we were in lockdown, but it seems like we’ve forgotten they’re actually really expensive. Maddie Ainsworth tells Radio 1 Newsbeat “I just can’t believe how much I’m spending, I spent like £100 sat outside one bar”.
As lockdown restrictions ease, here are five ways to stay safe and reduce the risk of catching Covid.
Find further information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
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