Priti Patel to lead briefing as council uses drone to enforce social distancing – follow live

The government said a further 1,243 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, which brings the UK total to 81,960.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 99,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The government also said, as of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 45,533 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 3,118,518.

A coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac showed “general efficacy” of 50.38 per cent in a late-stage trial in Brazil, the company’s local partners have said, revealing a more modest figure after pressure for more transparency.

On Thursday, Butantan officials had celebrated results showing 78 per cent efficacy against mild Covid-19 cases, a rate they have since described as “clinical efficacy.”

Ricardo Palacios, medical director for clinical research at the Butantan biomedical center in Sao Paulo, said the new figure included infections that were so mild or asymptomatic that they did not need clinical care.

Waitrose has joined rival supermarkets Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda by confirming staff will stop customers from shopping who refuse to wear a mask in stores, unless medically exempt.

Bosses at Waitrose’ parent company, the John Lewis Partnership, also revealed it would end click-and-collect services based within John Lewis department stores to avoid non-essential travel and in-home services will be carried out only if “essential” to customers’ wellbeing.

Andrew Murphy, group operations director at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We’ve listened carefully to the clear change in tone and emphasis of the views and information shared by the UK’s governments in recent days.

“While we recognise that the detail of formal guidance has not changed, we feel it is right for us – and in the best interests of our Partners and customers – to take proactive steps to further enhance our Covid security and related operational policies.

“By insisting on the wearing of face coverings, over and above the social distancing measures we already have in place, we aim to make our shops even safer for customers.”

‘People were asking what my kids wanted for Christmas and I just said a decent meal,’ one mother tells Tom Batchelor:

Portsmouth City Council has deployed a drone to check if residents are following social distancing rules alongside a seaside promenade and identify problem areas.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat council leader, said the drone revealed that people were mostly obeying the two-metre distancing rules, but there were “pinch points” near cafes and the entrance to the pier.

He said the council wanted a better look at the situation at the seafront as “we have lots of people saying that there were too many people on the seafront”.

“What it showed was people were behaving very sensibly and very well but there were some pinch points where there were groups of people and we needed to work on a strategy so those pinch points are not dangerous so people can continue to use the promenade to get their exercise all the way down its length,” said Mr Vernon-Jackson.

“When you stand on the prom it looks much more full than if you are looking from above where you can see the distances and people were keeping the two metres apart.”

He said the drones did not invade the public’s privacy because “we can’t identify people, we can’t see anyone up close, it was just to get an idea of how safe or unsafe it was for people”.

The council would remove a “couple” of benches next to cafes to enable more compliance with the rules, but “thousands” of other benches will remain in use. he added.

Doctors have raised concerns that the seven new vaccination hubs in England are diverting Covid vaccine supplies and resources away from local GP-led sites and causing confusion among some patients.

The seven sites – one in each region of England – will operate alongside more than 1,000 GP surgeries and hospitals that are already offering vaccinations. But many doctors have described the hubs as “white elephants” and “wasted investment” from the government.

Ministers in Scotland would consider running 24/7 vaccination clinics to protect people as quickly as possible, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The Scottish first minister did not rule out younger people being offered vaccinations appointments on a 24/7 basis – a programme that the UK government is being pressured to implement.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We will look at anything and everything that allows us to get this vaccination programme done as quickly as possible.”

She said supplies of the vaccine were still “relatively limited” and the government’s focus is currently on getting care home residents and people over 80 inoculated.

But when asked if Scotland could run vaccinations around the clock, she said: “Once we get into the general population, yes, if that is going to help us get through them faster then we will look at that.”

However, Ms Sturgeon stressed that there would need to be a large enough workforce available before it was committed to a 24/7 because “you can’t have the same people working right round the clock”.

She said during her daily coronavirus briefing: “This is the kind of work and thinking and modelling… that is ongoing all the time.”

TV presenter Joan Bakewell has launched a legal challenge against the government’s decision to delay the second dose of coronavirus vaccine for up to three months.

Baroness Bakewell, who is 87, received her first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last month and was told she would receive the second dose 21 days later – but the government’s decision to delay the second dose has left her and other elderly people “in limbo”, she said.

Read the full story by our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock below:

Chairman of the Commons Health Committee and Tory former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the NHS was on an “absolute knife-edge” due to the surge in Covid cases as he urged people to obey coronavirus restrictions.

He told the BBC: “There is the danger of a large number of additional, avoidable deaths, because of this horrible new strain.

“And, indeed, the strain from South Africa, which seems also to be taking root a little bit in the UK.”

Mr Hunt added: “I think the NHS will in the end find intensive care, critical care, beds for all those who need it. But it is on an absolute knife-edge.”