Ireland's ban on travel to and from Britain has been extended to 31 December, as countries around the world shut their borders due to fears over a new coronavirus variant. The restrictions have been announced by at least 40 countries. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 3:47 3:47 France has stopped all travel and freight from the UK Here is a list of countries that have imposed restrictions so far. EUROPE The EU Commission has urged member states to lift any travel bans to the UK to allow for essential journeys and to minimise trade disruption. With Brexit talks still ongoing and lorries piling up at the UK border, EU leaders said in a statement: "Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to … 阅读全文

Anyone entering Greater Manchester or the West Midlands from Tier 4 areas and Wales should self-isolate for 10 days and "assume" they have the new COVID-19 variant, health officials have said. There are fears that travellers will spread the more infectious variant across the country, which has been blamed for a surge in coronavirus cases. Director of public health for Greater Manchester's Tameside, Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, said the rapid spread of the new variant is extremely worrying and backdated the self-isolation advice to anyone who arrived in the region since Saturday. Image: The discovery of the variant's spread has led to tougher rules Image: The discovery of the variant's spread has led to tougher rules "It is incredibly infectious and if you come in to contact with someone with … 阅读全文

Another 33,364 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK in the latest 24 hour period. It follows a record daily high of 35,928 new infections reported on Sunday. There have been 215 more deaths confirmed within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, down from Sunday's figure of 326. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:49 0:49 There are deep concerns about the new coronavirus strain The new figures bring the UK's total number of confirmed coronavirus-related cases to 2,073,511, with 67,616 deaths. In hospitals in England, 190 deaths were reported among patients aged between 41 and 103, and each had tested positive for coronavirus. Eight other deaths were reported with no positive COVID-19 test result. Wales has reported 10 new deaths, Northern Ireland … 阅读全文

An Australian beach has taken the form of a 70x40 metre Christmas card, with a heartfelt message addressed to British people. Etched in sand, it reads "We will meet again" - the same words spoken by the Queen in her national address to the UK in early April, days after the country entered its first COVID-19 lockdown. The message on Raafs beach near Geelong, Victoria was directed at those in both countries who are unable to travel to the other to visit family and friends during the pandemic. Image: The sand message echoes the Queen's reference earlier this year to Dame Vera Lynn's famous song We'll Meet Again Image: The sand message echoes the Queen's reference earlier this year to Dame Vera Lynn's famous song We'll Meet Again The sand … 阅读全文

Boris Johnson has been holding talks with his Cabinet amid warnings from scientists over the new strain of COVID-19 and surging infections. The prime minister hosted a cabinet call and will hold a news conference at 4pm with England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Downing Street has said. Sky News understands the PM is expected to announce a new set of measures for London and the South East with those regions being put into a new Tier 4, with further restrictions around Christmas. Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around world Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:27 0:27 UK could face a third lockdown after Xmas Government advisers have warned ministers they believe the new variant … 阅读全文

Government scientists looked into mass coronavirus testing of almost everyone in the UK - before concluding that a more targeted approach would be more effective. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) group held a number of discussions about the potential impact of a programme in which a large proportion of the population were given one-off COVID-19 tests, newly released documents show. But the experts decided the plan would probably be less successful at reducing the spread of coronavirus than "focused, more frequent testing of people who are at higher risk of being infected and of infecting others". Live coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 3:31 3:31 COVID-19 cases and R rate rise in UK The document, … 阅读全文

Approval of the Oxford vaccine starts the race between injections and infections. The surge in COVID cases, driven by the rapid spread of the new variant of the virus, means as many vulnerable people need to be protected as quickly as possible. And this vaccine is a big deal. Image: The UK government have pre-ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford jab Image: The UK government have pre-ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford jab There are 100 million doses on order, enough for the UK's adult population. And it can be stored and transported at fridge temperatures, making it much easier to distribute at speed than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. GPs and nurses will be able to visit care homes without concerns about the temperature spoiling the jab. Significantly, the … 阅读全文

UK holidaymakers on the Canary Islands have hit out at new quarantine rules which have disrupted their Christmas plans. Travellers arriving in the UK from the popular Spanish islands from 4am on Saturday must self-isolate for two weeks. Tour operator TUI said it has around 5,000 UK holidaymakers on the islands, with a further 800 booked to fly out on Friday morning. Image: Lanzarote is a popular beach destination Image: Lanzarote is a popular beach destination The Canary Islands were removed from the UK's travel corridors list on Thursday amid a growing positivity rate of COVID-19 tests. Most people returning to the UK from destinations not on the list must self-isolate for 14 days at the moment, although that will change to 10 days from Monday. This period can be … 阅读全文

The US government advisory panel has authorised the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, marking a turning point in America where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine for emergency use for people aged 16 and older, with healthcare workers and nursing home residents expected to be the main recipients of a first round of 2.9 million doses. President Donald Trump said the first inoculation would take place "in less than 24 hours". In a video message posted on Twitter, Mr Trump said that Pfizer had "passed the gold standard of safety" and hailed the vaccine as "one of the greatest scientific accomplishments in history". X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To … 阅读全文