Babak Belurs

Kamis, 27 Mei 2021

Vaccine programme opens to all adults in Northern Ireland - Sky News

The vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is now open for everyone aged 18 and over, the Department of Health says.

More than 70% of the adult population of Northern Ireland have now had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 40% have had two doses.

On Wednesday, health minister Robin Swann said that the rollout would be extended to 18 to 24-year-olds "in the very near future.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

But on Thursday he said: "I am delighted that our vaccination programme is now open to all adults in Northern Ireland. I know this will be very welcome news for young people who have been waiting patiently for their turn to get the jab.

"Today's announcement is another important milestone in the drive to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we can, so that we can see a return to normality.

"The tremendous success of the vaccination programme has brought great hope and has helped to enable the recent further easing of restrictions.

"The expansion of the vaccination programme, well ahead of schedule, to everyone aged 18 and over is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those involved in delivering the vaccine throughout Northern Ireland."

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People aged 18 and over will be able to book their jabs from 8am, the Department of Health added.

On Wednesday, the vaccine rollout in England was extended to anyone over the age of 30.

In Scotland and Wales people over-18 can already book their jab.

In some areas of England where the Indian COVID-19 variant has spread rapidly, local health authorities are going against government guidance by offering doses to all over-18s.

This week in Northern Ireland waste water is now being tested to track COVID cases.

Sewage is being screened for the virus in a move which officials hope can track new outbreaks more effectively in light of the Indian variant.

An estimated 38% of the region's waste water is being tested at 13 different sites to indicate where the virus is present, including variants, which authorities plan to extend to 70% coverage at 40 sites in the coming weeks.

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2021-05-27 06:41:34Z
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Covid: Matt Hancock to face questions after Dominic Cummings attack - BBC News

Matt Hancock is due to face MPs a day after his handling of the pandemic was fiercely attacked by the prime minister's former senior aide.

Dominic Cummings described the health secretary as "completely incapable of doing the job" and said he "should have been fired" for lying.

He criticised Mr Hancock over PPE shortages and "stupid" testing targets.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: "We absolutely reject Mr Cummings' claims about the health secretary."

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told BBC Breakfast Mr Hancock and others had been "working round the clock to try to do the best they could for the country".

Mr Jenrick also said it was "sensible" for the independent inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic to begin in spring 2022, when the UK was out of the "response phase".

But Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the inquiry should begin immediately, saying Mr Cummings' claims were "incredibly devastating to hear".

She added that Mr Hancock was facing serious allegations and must "justify how we ended up in these circumstances".

The health secretary's spokesman said Mr Hancock had not seen the evidence session in full and would continue working closely with the prime minister.

Mr Hancock will appear in the House of Commons at around 10:30 BST to answer an urgent question tabled by Labour about the government's handling of Covid.

He is also expected to lead a coronavirus press conference later in the day.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said Mr Cummings' "very grave allegations" appeared to be "well-founded" and the health secretary would have to "give us an explanation" in order for the country to "maintain confidence in him".

Mr Cummings left his role in Downing Street towards the end of 2020 following a power struggle inside No 10 and has since been highly critical of the government.

The former Brexit campaigner used his lengthy evidence session to the health and science select committees on Wednesday to portray a government unprepared for the pandemic and slow to act when it hit.

He argued that mistakes meant "tens of thousands of people died, who didn't need to die".

Professor Neil Ferguson, whose modelling was crucial to the government's decision to go into the first lockdown, was asked whether he agreed with the claim.

Prof Ferguson reiterated his previous comment that locking down a week earlier in March 2020 would have saved around 20,000-30,000 lives. "I think that's unarguable. The epidemic was doubling every three to four days in the weeks 13-23 March," he told the Today programme.

During the seven-hour appearance, Mr Cummings was particularly scathing about Mr Hancock, arguing that he "should have been fired for at least 15 to 20 things including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the Cabinet Room and publicly".

On care homes, he said: "Hancock told us in the Cabinet Room that people were going to be tested before they went back to care homes... we only subsequently found out that that hadn't happened.

"Now the government rhetoric was 'we put a shield around care homes' and blah blah blah - it was complete nonsense."

Mr Cummings also attacked Mr Hancock for setting a "stupid" target of offering 100,000 Covid tests a day, saying it "hugely disrupted" efforts to "properly" establish a testing system.

"Hancock wanted to be able to go on TV and say 'look at me and my 100k target' - it was criminal disgraceful behaviour that caused serious harm," he said.

On PPE provision, Mr Cummings described the situation as a "disaster" with "hospitals all over the country" running out of supplies, despite assurances from the health secretary that "everything is fine".

He added that the head of the civil service said: "I have lost confidence in the secretary of state's honesty in these meetings."

Analysis box by Laura Kuenssberg, political editor

Not the prime minister, nor the health secretary, nor the government's top scientists, nor the Whitehall machine, nor even Mr Cummings himself, escaped the barbs today.

The hours of testimony gave a disturbing sense of an administration simply overwhelmed by the scale of the Covid crisis at the start of last year - scrambling, and failing to keep up on many fronts.

It is the first time that one of those involved in making the decisions during those risky months has admitted in public that so many mistakes were made.

It is the first time that some of Boris Johnson's most controversial alleged comments about Covid have been put on the record, despite the prime minister's denial.

And it is the first time, most importantly perhaps, that someone who wielded significant power has said publicly that tens of thousands of people lost their lives in this country unnecessarily.

Imagine what that must have felt like for a bereaved family, or care home staff to hear.

Rabu, 26 Mei 2021

Covid: Matt Hancock to face questions after Dominic Cummings attack - BBC News

Matt Hancock is due to face MPs a day after his handling of the pandemic was fiercely attacked by the prime minister's former senior aide.

Dominic Cummings described the health secretary as "completely incapable of doing the job" and said he "should have been fired" for lying.

He criticised Mr Hancock over PPE shortages and "stupid" testing targets.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: "We absolutely reject Mr Cummings' claims about the health secretary."

"The health secretary will continue to work closely with the prime minister to deliver the vaccine rollout, tackle the risks posed by variants and support the NHS and social care sector to recover from this pandemic," he added.

Mr Hancock later said he had not seen the evidence session in full, adding: "Instead I've been dealing with getting the vaccination rollout going, especially to over-30s, and saving lives."

Mr Hancock is set to appear in the House of Commons at around 10:30 BST to answer an urgent question tabled by Labour about the government's handling of Covid.

He is also expected to lead a coronavirus press conference later in the day.

Hancock accusations

Mr Cummings left his role in Downing Street towards the end of 2020 following a power struggle inside No 10 and has since been highly critical of the government.

He argued that mistakes meant "tens of thousands of people died, who didn't need to die".

On care homes, he said: "Hancock told us in the Cabinet Room that people were going to be tested before they went back to care homes... we only subsequently found out that that hadn't happened.

"Now the government rhetoric was 'we put a shield around care homes' and blah blah blah - it was complete nonsense."

Mr Cummings also attacked Mr Hancock for setting a "stupid" target of offering 100,000 Covid tests a day, saying it "hugely disrupted" efforts to "properly" establish a testing system.

"Hancock wanted to be able to go on TV and say 'look at me and my 100k target' - it was criminal disgraceful behaviour that caused serious harm," he said.

He added that the head of the civil service said: "I have lost confidence in the secretary of state's honesty in these meetings."

Committee chairman Greg Clark told Mr Cummings he should provide written evidence to back up his claims about Mr Hancock, who will be questioned by the committee in two weeks' time.

Speaking at a Politico Live event, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss defended Mr Hancock as "an excellent colleague who is doing a very good job in what has been a very tough global pandemic".

Mr Cummings also attacked Boris Johnson, describing his former boss as "unfit for the job" and claiming he had ignored scientific advice and wrongly delayed lockdowns.

Mr Johnson has denied making the comments.

Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson insisted the government's priority had always been to "save lives".

He added that "none of the decisions had been easy" but that his government had followed "the best scientific advice that we can".

He said those on the front line of the pandemic were like "lions" being "led by donkeys".

Banner image reading 'more about coronavirus'

A SIMPLE GUIDE: How do I protect myself?
AVOIDING CONTACT: The rules on self-isolation and exercise
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW How to understand the death toll
TESTING: Can I get tested for coronavirus?
LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area

Mr Cummings also told the committee:

A herd immunity strategy was dropped when the likely death toll became clear
His trip to County Durham during the lockdown "undermined public confidence"
The PM had offered to be injected "live on TV with the virus" to show the public there was nothing to fear
The running of the government "kind of collapsed" when Mr Johnson was hospitalised with Covid
The PM's fiancee Carrie Symonds "wanted to get rid of" him

More than 127,000 people have died in the UK with 28 days of a positive test since the start of the pandemic, according to the government's coronavirus dashboard.

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Matt Hancock says he didn't watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony because he was busy 'saving lives' - Sky News

Matt Hancock has said he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony to MPs because he was "dealing with getting the vaccination rollout going...and saving lives".

Mr Cummings, the prime minister's former chief adviser, had earlier repeatedly attacked the health secretary during a seven-hour-long committee hearing.

In response, Mr Hancock said: "I haven't seen his performance today in full.

"Instead I've been dealing with getting the vaccination rollout going, especially to over 30s, and saving lives.

"I'll be giving a statement in the House of Commons tomorrow (Thursday) and I'll have more to say then."

Mr Cummings had told the joint science and technology and health select committee: "I think the secretary of state for health should have been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the cabinet room and publicly.

"There's no doubt at all that many senior people performed far, far disastrously below the standards which the country has a right to expect. I think the secretary of state for health is certainly one of those people."

Mr Cummings said he had encouraged Boris Johnson to sack Mr Hancock, and claimed the cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill - the country's top civil servant - recommended the same course of action.

Mr Cummings said it took too long to get the test and trace programme set up, and that in April, the "system was too distracted by the Hancock pledge" to reach 100,000 tests a day, which the former adviser described as "stupid".

"I said: 'If we don't fire the secretary of state and we don't get testing into someone's hands, we are going to kill lots of people'."

Mr Cummings said Mr Johnson "came close to removing" Mr Hancock in April last year, "but just fundamentally wouldn't do it".

Mr Hancock also used chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance as "shields" to blame for his failures, Mr Cummings claimed.

Earlier on Wednesday evening a spokesperson for Mr Hancock said he had "worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives".

The spokesperson added: "We absolutely reject Mr Cummings' claims about the health secretary."

Downing Street did not deny that the prime minister considered sacking the health secretary in April last year but insisted Mr Johnson has confidence in him now.

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2021-05-26 21:27:16Z
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Matt Hancock says he didn't watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony because he was busy 'saving lives' - Sky News

Matt Hancock has said he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony to MPs because he was "dealing with getting the vaccination rollout going...and saving lives".

Mr Cummings had earlier repeatedly attacked the health secretary during a seven-hour-long committee hearing.

In response, Mr Hancock said: "I haven't seen his performance today in full.

"Instead I've been dealing with getting the vaccination rollout going, especially to over 30s, and saving lives.

"I'll be giving a statement in the House of Commons tomorrow and I'll have more to say then."

Mr Cummings had told the health select committee: "I think the secretary of state for health should have been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the cabinet room and publicly.

Mr Cummings said he had encouraged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to sack Mr Hancock, and claimed the cabinet secretary - the country's top civil servant - recommended the same course of action.

"I said: 'If we don't fire the secretary of state and we don't get testing into someone's hands, we are going to kill lots of people'."

Mr Cummings said Mr Johnson "came close to removing" Mr Hancock in April last year, "but just fundamentally wouldn't do it".

Mr Hancock also used chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance as "shields" to blame for his failures, Mr Cummings claimed.

Earlier this evening a spokesperson for Mr Hancock said he had "worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives".

The spokesperson added: "We absolutely reject Mr Cummings' claims about the health secretary."

Downing Street did not deny that the prime minister considered sacking the health secretary in April last year but insisted Mr Johnson has confidence in him now.

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UK Covid cases reach 3,000 for first time in a MONTH sparking calls for TIGHTER restrictions... - The Sun

UK Covid cases today hit 3,000 for the first time in a MONTH, sparking calls for tougher restrictions as the Indian variant continues to spread.

Daily infections grew by 18 per cent compared to last Wednesday's rise, reaching their highest level since April 12.

🔵 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest updates

A total of 3,180 positive infections were logged, meaning at least 4,470,297 people in Britain have now caught the bug since the start of the pandemic.

On April 12, the figure grew by 3,568.

Deaths, however, remained in single figures today, with another nine Covid fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, and the figure staying steady in recent weeks.

It means a total of 127,748 have now died within 28 days of a positive Covid test result since the start of the pandemic.

It comes as the Indian variant continues to spread across Britain with hotspots having faced chaos yesterday amid new Government rules.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps today apologised for the rules - which appeared to restrict freedoms in high affected areas - and said the Government would not be imposing any local lockdowns.

Meanwhile Professor Neil Ferguson, also dubbed Professor Lockdown, today said it was "impossible" to say whether restrictions in England could be fully lifted on June 21 as planned because of the worrying strain.

The Imperial College London epidemiologist said it would only be a problem for the roadmap out of lockdown if it is more than 60 per cent more transmissible than the dominant Kent strain.

Speaking at a press briefing this afternoon, Professor Ferguson said: "It's a matter of degree.

"If you hypothesise a situation where the virus is 60 per cent more transmissible then you could see a third wave the size we have just come out of but if it's 20 or 30 per cent it will be much lower.

"We can cope with a certain level of increased transmissibility and still continue with the roadmap - but if it's higher than that we have to reconsider."

A long queue of people wait outside the COVID-19 mobile testing station in Shiremoor, North Tyneside this morningCredit: NNP

He added if it goes beyond those levels, "then we need to reconsider the rate of reopening and maybe slow the next step".

"I think it's actually too early to say whether we will be able to go ahead with what was planned in the UK in mid June and the next step, basically a full relaxation of measures," Prof Ferguson said.

"Or whether that fourth stage of relaxation will need to be postponed or indeed, in the worst case, measures need to be tightened up.

"We're getting more and more data every week, but we hope to be in a position to be more definitive about these answers in the next two to three weeks."

A total of 61,995,062 jabs have been dished out across the UK so far, with 38.4million adults — or 72.9 per cent — having had at least one.

Meanwhile data from a major Government surveillance study today revealed three out of four people in England now have antibodies against Covid, the MailOnline reports.

Updated figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed 76 per cent of adults had signs of immunity in the week ending May 3.

It comes as a new Covid variant that emerged in Yorkshire shows how rapidly the virus is evolving to evade vaccines.

Named AV.1, there have been only 49 cases of the strain confirmed so far.

But this figure, to May 12, appears to have doubled to 99, according to data from the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium.

A new scientific paper revealed the characteristics of the variant for the first time using swabs from people in Sheffield - where cases are centred.

Researchers led by University of Sheffield said the Yorkshire variant has “several” mutations that are already seen in concerning variants from South Africa, Brazil and India.

“Some of these are associated with immune escape and with increased transmissibility”, Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, said.

He told the Sun: “The more we look, the more variants we will find as long as the virus continues to spread.

“The good news is that vaccines work against all the variants albeit with reduced efficiency in some cases.

“This all shows that we are not out of the woods and test and trace is more important than ever.”

Grant Shapps admits Govt could have communicated new local guidance for Indian Covid variant hotspots better but steps are not lockdowns

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2021-05-26 17:05:00Z
CAIiEBJ4KSKem80fMlWx4-x8AeAqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow0Ij8CjCRwIgDMMCBzAU

Matt Hancock says he didn't watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony because he was busy 'saving lives' - Sky News

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony to MPs today because he was dealing with the vaccination rollout and "saving lives".

Mr Hancock came in for repeated attacks by the prime minister's former adviser during a seven-hour-long committee hearing.

Analysis: Hancock fighting for his political life after brutal demolition job

Mr Cummings told how he believed the health secretary should have been sacked repeatedly, for "at least 15-20 things including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the Cabinet room and publicly".

He accused Mr Hancock of failing to protect people in care homes after saying he had a plan.

And Mr Cummings went on to say: "I certainly think Matt Hancock used Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance as shields for himself."

During his evidence, he said he had told the prime minister: "If we don't fire the secretary of state... we are going to kill people and it's going to be a catastrophe."

Earlier this evening a spokesperson for Mr Hancock said he "has worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives".

The spokesperson added: "We absolutely reject Mr Cummings' claims about the health secretary."

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Kamis, 27 Mei 2021

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Rabu, 26 Mei 2021

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