Summary

  • Health Secretary Matt Hancock hails data which shows a single shot of the main UK Covid vaccines cuts hospitalisations by 80%

  • Number of new cases is coming down, but rate of decline has slowed, he says, but number of hospitalisations falling faster

  • The number of Covid patients aged over 80 admitted to intensive care in the UK has dropped to single figures in the last couple of weeks

  • English health officials are tying to trace a person who tested positive for the Brazilian variant of Covid-19, but did not get their result

  • Dr Hopkins says Public Health England needs to trace a passenger who was on Swiss flight LX318 on 12 February

  • Six cases of the P1 coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil have been found in England and Scotland

  • Passengers complain of queues of up to seven hours long at Heathrow Airport's border control

  • African countries start mass Covid inoculation drives using vaccines supplied through a scheme set up to share doses fairly with poorer nations

  1. 'No specific thresholds for lifting restrictions'published at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Alasdair from Norwich asks if there are specific numbers of daily cases, deaths or hospitalisations that mean the government can lift restrictions.

    Matt Hancock says "the answer is no, there are not specific thresholds."

    This is because some of the four tests that the prime minister announced as conditions for easing each step of lockdown cannot be quantified in numbers, he says.

  2. Hancock asked about vaccine distributionpublished at 17:36 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    We now come to questions from the public. The panel are asked why some people are getting vaccinated before those in higher priority groups.

    Matt Hancock says he understands the concern but adds that the government wants to be sure that vaccines are not being wasted.

    He says it is about "balancing the need for speed with the need to stick by the rank for ordering".

  3. Vaccines can lead to 'a very different world in the next few months'published at 17:36 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Prof Jonathan Van-TamImage source, PA Media

    Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer, says public health agencies were now confident in reporting that both the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are 60% effective against illness after the first dose.

    The data applies to individuals over 70.

    He says that data from those who still become infected suggest both vaccines reduce the likelihood of being taken to hospital by 80%.

    The likelihood of death in the over-70s who have received the Pfizer vaccine is reduced by 85% after one dose.

    "It shows us how - if we are patient... the vaccine programme is going to take us into a very different world in the next few months," he says.

    But he stressed the importance of coming forward for both the first and second dose of the vaccine when called.

  4. Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80%published at 17:33 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Vial of vaccineImage source, PA Media

    As we've been hearing from Matt Hancock at the government briefing, a single shot of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab reduces the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 80%, analysis in England shows.

    The Public Health England data - based on people testing positive for Covid in hospital - follows similarly 'spectacular' results in Scotland.

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the findings were "very strong".

    More than 20 million people have had a first dose of Covid vaccine in the UK.

    That's more than a third of the adult population.

  5. Hancock: There will be brighter days aheadpublished at 17:29 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Hancock now turns to the news that six people testing positive for the Brazil variant.

    He confirms that one of those hasn't yet been traced and urges anyone who took a test on 12 or 13 February but who hasn't got their result back to phone 119 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 0300 303 2713 in Scotland.

    He finished by saying that as long as we follow the guidance "surely as spring follows winter there will be brighter days ahead."

  6. Hancock welcomes 'seriously encouraging news'published at 17:23 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Matt Hancock says this new data is "seriously encouraging" and "shows the power of science".

    He says the government is making sure the vaccine programme is getting all the funding it needs - including money to develop the next generation of vaccines which will work against new variants.

  7. Hancock: 80% reduction in hospitalisations after first dosepublished at 17:22 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Matt Hancock now turns to what he calls "exciting new data".

    He says new evidence shows that a "single shot of either the Oxford vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine works against severe infection in over 70s with a more than 80% reduction in hospitalisations".

    "The protection you get from catching Covid 35 days after a first jab is even slightly better for the Oxford jab than for Pfizer, albeit both results are very strong."

  8. Hancock: A vaccine gap is emergingpublished at 17:18 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Matt Hancock says the number of deaths fell much faster in first peak of the virus than the second.

    He adds that the numbers are falling faster in the over 80s.

    He says a "vaccine gap" is starting to emerge between the older and younger groups where the older groups were vaccinated first.

  9. Hancock: 94% willing to have the vaccinepublished at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Hancock also praises the British public.

    He says that 94% of those offered the vaccine say they will take it.

    But he adds: "We've got a long way to go and we need to stick at it."

  10. Hancock hails 'magnificent' vaccine achievementpublished at 17:14 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Matt HancockImage source, PA Media

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock begins by paying tribute to all those who have delivered "the largest and fastest vaccination programme in history".

    He says the "magnificent achievement" is down to "insight and hard work".

    Particularly he praises the regulator MHRA who he says have been both tough and flexible.

    He also name checks the civil service, private sector, scientists, army and NHS.

  11. UK Covid press conference startspublished at 17:10 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    The UK's Health Secretary Matt Hancock has started today's coronavirus press conference.

    He is joined by Public Health England's Dr Susan Hopkins and the UK's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam.

  12. Italy PM sacks Covid special commissionerpublished at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Domenico ArcuriImage source, Reuters

    Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has fired the country's special Covid-19 commissioner, Domenico Arcuri.

    In a brief statement, Draghi said he was replacing Arcuri with General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, an army general who has been head of army logistics since 2018.

    Draghi thanked Arcuri for his "commitment and dedication... in a moment of particular emergency for the country".

    The decision comes as Italy attempts to speed up its vaccine rollout, after weeks of delays caused by supply issues.

    The EU, which is running a union-wide vaccine purchase scheme, has been criticised for the slow pace of vaccinations in member states.

  13. Two things to look out for at the news conferencepublished at 16:56 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Chris Mason
    Political Correspondent

    Firstly, how much will the government be willing to acknowledge that its border controls weren't up to the job in keeping out this Brazilian variant?

    These cases relate to before the point in the middle of last month when the rules were tightened up.

    Or does the small number of identified cases suggest, broadly, that the systems - at the border and with testing - are working in the vast majority of cases?

    And secondly, given one of the conditions of the government sticking to its timetable for lockdown easing in England is there not being variants that change the calculation of risks, what tone will the Health Secretary Matt Hancock strike?

    Could this Brazilian variant mean we have to wait longer for the return of our liberties? It's unlikely Mr Hancock will say anything specific on this, but his tone and language will be worth listening to carefully.

  14. The day's headlinespublished at 16:54 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    We are going to turn our attention to a Downing Street coronavirus briefing shortly, but before we do, here's a quick round up of the day's news:

    • Boris Johnson has defended the government's measures to prevent new coronavirus variants being imported into the UK
    • Border restrictions were criticised after six cases of the P1 Brazilian strain were found in England and Scotland
    • Officials are trying to track down a person in England who tested positive for the new variant but did not give their details
    • The P1 strain is "concerning" and similar, in terms of its mutations, to the variant first detected in South Africa, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says
  15. Global Covid infections rise for first time in seven weeks - WHOpublished at 16:47 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    File photo of Dr TedrosImage source, Reuters

    The number of new Covid infections rose last week for the first time in seven weeks, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said in a press briefing.

    Dr Tedros also said the rise is "disappointing but not surprising", and urged countries not to become lax in their fight against the virus.

    However, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan then said the start of the Covax global vaccination campaign is "encouraging". Ivory Coast and Ghana have begun vaccinating people with vaccines supplied through the scheme.

    "This week marks the beginning of what we hope will be the start of a massive vaccination campaign," Dr Swaminathan said, adding that "this is the largest vaccination campaign the world has ever seen".

  16. More African nations set to receive Covax vaccinespublished at 16:36 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Workers load a shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in AbidjanImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ivory Coast will on Monday start mass inoculation using the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine

    Twenty-four African countries will soon receive Covid-19 vaccines from the UN-backed Covax programme.

    They include Kenya and Nigeria, that will receive the vaccines on Tuesday.

    Kenya will get 1.25 million doses of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine and vaccinations are expected to start immediately, according to health minister Mutahi Kagwe.

    Priority will be given to front line health workers and the elderly.

    Nigeria will receive 3.92m vaccine doses, becoming the third West-African country to benefit from the facility.

    The country expects to receive a total of 16m doses from Covax in the next few months.

    Ivory Coast on Monday became the first country to roll out vaccines offered by Covax programme.

  17. Download Festival hits buffers againpublished at 16:24 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    Iron MaidenImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Iron Maiden were due to headline the three-day festival in 2022

    This year's Download Festival has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have confirmed.

    The rock and metal event had been scheduled to take place from 4-6 June, headlined by Kiss, Biffy Clyro and System of a Down.

    Festival bosses said they were "heartbroken", but had concluded it was "not possible" to host this year's event.

    Ticket holders have been told they can retain a place for next year's festival on 10-12 June 2022, or receive a refund.

    In January, Glastonbury festival - which also takes place in June - confirmed the world-renowned event would not return until 2022.

    But a number of other organisers have said they are hopeful of being able to host festivals later in the year, after the government's roadmap indicated 21 June was the target date to remove all legal limits on social contact.

    Reading and Leeds Festival organisers say they are "very confident" the events will go ahead in late August, with Camp Bestival and Creamfields also planning to stage 2021 editions.

    And you can read Newsbeat's guide to where you can get out and get fabulous this summer, here.

  18. 'Booster shots' could protect against new variantspublished at 16:14 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    A vaccine dose being prepared (file image)Image source, Reuters

    Health officials in England are trying to trace one of six UK patients infected with a contagious coronavirus variant first found in Brazil.

    Three cases of the P1 variant were picked up in Scotland and three in England earlier this month.

    Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist from the University of Warwick, told BBC Radio 5 Live there was hope that current vaccines would protect against this variant.

    But, in the future, "booster shots of vaccines" could be given to protect against a multitude of variants, he added.

    "You could make a pan-variant vaccine within weeks," he said.

    He also said he had "been very concerned about border control from the off".

    "The only way to stop variants emerging is by stopping the spread of the virus - the more the virus is allowed to spread, the more it will change and generate variants," he said.

    It is important to get as many people vaccinated as possible, and as soon as possible, he added.

    Listen to the interview here, external or listen to 5 Live on the free BBC Sounds app.

  19. UK records 104 coronavirus deathspublished at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021
    Breaking

    A further 104 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, the government's daily figures show., external

    This takes the number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test to 122,953.

    There were also 5,455 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours.

    On Monday of last week, there were 178 deaths and 10,641 positive cases reported.

    The UK has given the first dose of coronavirus vaccine to 20,275,451 people, data from the government shows., external

    And 815,816 people have received their second dose.

  20. Covid is making world's poorest even poorer, warns DECpublished at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time 1 March 2021

    A healthcare worker in YemenImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Yemen, the centre of a long-running civil war, is one of the "fragile states" highlighted in the report

    People in the world's lowest-income countries are becoming even poorer because of the pandemic, warns a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) report.

    Covid-19 is adding to existing issues, such as conflict and climate disasters, and aid workers surveyed by the DEC say they believe humanitarian conditions are at their worst in a decade.

    Some "fragile states" are on the brink of famine as a result, which could lead to thousands of people starving, the DEC's Breaking Point report adds, external.

    "Many have little choice but to ignore stay-at-home orders designed to keep them safe. When faced with hunger, they have to go out to find work to feed their families, and masks may not be affordable," Mark Lowcock, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, and DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed say in the report.

    "Sometimes measures to guard against Covid-19, such as regular handwashing, force people to go out, as many homes and shelters do not have running water."