Covid: Police send PM questionnaire, and court orders end to trucker blockadeon February 12, 2022 at 7:33 am

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow morning.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received a questionnaire from the Metropolitan Police as part of the inquiry into parties at Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid restrictions. Police are sending the questionnaire – which has the same status as information given in an interview under caution – by email to more than 50 people. Scotland Yard said the questionnaires will ask what happened and “must be answered truthfully”. The force said on Wednesday its email must be responded to within seven days. Read more about what rules were in place at the time. And here is exactly what the police are investigating.

For five days truckers protesting Canada’s vaccine mandate have blocked a bridge which provides a vital trade link with the US. Now, a Canadian judge has granted a court order to end the truckers’ blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan. The injunction approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice came into effect at 19:00 local time (midnight GMT) on Friday. It has been estimated by those who filed the injunction that as much as $50m ($39m; £29m) per day was being lost because of the convoy. So, is Justin Trudeau losing his fight against truckers? Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, France’s Emmanuel Macron has called for calm as another so-called “Freedom Convoy” of lorries nears Paris for a protest against restrictions.

On Saturday, Wales welcomes Scotland for the first of three Six Nations home games. Each game is thought to attract about £20m to the city, and for those who run the Welsh capital’s pubs, bars and restaurants, they are seen as a “commercial lifeline”. Fans are now allowed back in stadiums due to falling case rates, and plans for the end of face coverings and Covid passes have been announced. Read more about what the rules are in Wales.

Fully-vaccinated people travelling to the UK now no longer need Covid tests – either before departure or on arrival – and the joy felt by those arriving in Birmingham was evident. Sheila Langford, from Worcestershire, met her son-in-law for the first time as the newlyweds arrived from Australia. Mrs Langford said it felt “surreal” to see her daughter after three years. Read more about the latest rules surrounding Covid tests for travellers.

And with people in the UK able to travel abroad easier than at any time since the start of the pandemic, it is easy to lose track of the regulations. The BBC has compiled a handy list of some of the key things to know about when travelling to popular destinations, so you aren’t caught off guard.

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If you’re heading for a half term break in the UK here are the Covid rules in each nation.

You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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