The UK has recorded its highest number of Covid deaths in a single-day period since 24 March, Public Health England data shows. Some 96 people died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus as of 9am on Tuesday. It brings the nation’s death toll to 128,823, while there were also 46,558 new cases of Covid reported in the same 24 hours. It comes as the government said it remains “crucial” for people to self-isolate when they receive a “ping” from the NHS coronavirus app, overruling an earlier comment from business minister Paul Scully. He said on Tuesday morning that it was up to individuals to make an “informed decision” about whether or not to quarantine after getting an alert. Hours later, Downing Street scrambled to clarify its position, saying that self-isolation was an important means of preventing the spread of the virus. “It is crucial people isolate when they are told to do so, either by NHS Test and Trace or by the NHS Covid app,” a No 10 spokesperson said. The UK records almost 100 Covid deaths in 24 hours – highest since March Only a fifth of people are using Covid app properly, poll shows One million kids are out of school due to Covid – data UK vaccine passport plans condemned as ‘absolute shambles’ Businesses can disregard Covid app ‘pings’, minister suggests. Minister rules out vaccine passports for pubs. Emergency calls increased by a third compared to a normal day, with a sudden wave of more than 400 calls in a single hour during the early afternoon. The London Ambulance Service has been at the highest level of demand, previously known as a “black alert”, since 17 June. Seven out of 10 ambulance services across England are in a similar situation. Scheduled operations have been cancelled as an NHS Scotland Trust’s three acute hospitals experience unprecedented levels of pressure. NHS Lanarkshire said that increased Covid-19 cases, staff shortages due to annual leave or staff having to self-isolate as a result of contacts outside of work, were causing the pressure, along with trying to maintain and recover services – including planned operations. There are currently 81 Covid-19 cases across its three sites – University Hospital Hairmyres, Monklands and Wishaw – with seven people in intensive care, the board said. On Monday, 643 patients also attended the sites’ A&E departments. “The sustained pressure we are seeing across our three acute hospitals is showing no signs of easing,” NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, Judith Park, said. “In fact, the pressures on our hospitals are as severe as at any time in the whole pandemic.” Ms Park blamed non-Covid issues such as sunstroke for the steady rise in numbers, especially in recent days after the heatwave much of the UK has experienced. “Unfortunately, we have had to cancel a small number of planned surgeries over the last three weeks,” she added. “This is not a decision we take lightly and I would like to apologise for any upset caused.” Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, has issued a plea to the British public to continue taking coronavirus seriously.
She said while she understood people wanted to “get back to doing” what they loved most, it was important to remember that the virus’ risk is far from over.
“The past 18 months have been tough on us all. Now restrictions have lifted many of us want to get back to doing what we enjoy most,” she said on Tuesday. “However, we must do so with caution and remain sensible. We are in a wave of infections that has seen an increase of over 40 per cent in the past week, there is still a risk of severe illness for many people.” Offering some precautionary advice, she added: “We can all reduce the risk by getting both doses of the vaccine, testing ourselves twice a week at home and spending more time outside or in well ventilated rooms. Let’s all remain vigilant.” Fans were permitted entry to Wembley Stadium for the last rounds of Euro 2020 without needing to prove their Covid status, The Independent has learned.
The news comes amid reports suggesting large numbers of fans have contracted the virus since attending the final. So large have the anecdotal numbers been that some have taken to calling the virus surge among supporters “the Wembley variant”.
Ministers previously said attendance of the Events Research Programme matches would require proof of a negative test or full vaccination, but ticket-holding fans have told us they were allowed into the stadium without being properly checked. T he first exemptions for fully-vaccinated critical workers to isolate over coronavirus contacts have been granted under Boris Johnson’s plans to ease the “pingdemic”, according to Downing Street. No 10 said on Tuesday that NHS staff and workers in other sectors are among those who were granted approval to avoid quarantine for crucial work reasons as Covid-19 infections soar. In the face of widespread criticism from businesses over staff shortages, the PM announced a plan for a “small number” of critical workers to be able to continue. But he faced calls to clarify who would be eligible, after a government statement said it would not be a “blanket exemption for any sector or role”. Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “The first exemptions, I understand, have already been given in some critical sectors, that work is going on given the urgency. That’s in both wider sectors and the NHS as well.” But he added: “It’s not a blanket exemption and my understanding is we’re not going to be producing a list covering individual sectors, these business-critical areas will be able to apply for exemptions to their host departments.” The need for vaccine passports could be extended to venues such as pubs, Downing Street has implied.
The statement from No 10 comes just hours after business minister Paul Scully said pubs would not require customers to show proof of vaccination.
The correction came from Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson. “The prime minister talked about the sort of areas we were considering, and nightclubs are where there is significant evidence we have at the moment,” he said. “But we’re going to use the coming weeks to look at the evidence, particularly both in the UK and globally before making a specific decision.”