Coronavirus latest news: One in eight had Covid antibodies in December, ONS figures suggest

• Fears of ‘vaccine apartheid’ as countries mull immunisation passports

• Getting jab could prompt public to abandon rules, say scientists

• Analysis: Why the second wave is nothing like the first

• One in four young people feel unable to cope with lockdown

• Sturgeon under pressure over 400,000 unused vaccine doses

An estimated one in eight people in England had had Covid-19 by December last year, up from one in 11 in November, new figures show.

Antibody data on infection in private households suggests that one in 10 in Wales had also been infected by December, alongside one in 13 in Northern Ireland and one in 11 in Scotland.

The figures come from the Office for National Statistic's Covid-19 Infection Survey in partnership with the University of Oxford, University of Manchester, Public Health England and Wellcome Trust.

Last week, the Medical Research Council (MRC) Biostatistics Unit Covid-19 Working Group at Cambridge University said it believed the proportion of the population who have ever been infected was 30% in London, 26% in the North West and 21% in the North East. This dropped to 13% in the South East and 8% in the South West.

Follow the latest updates below.

03:06 PM

Russia's second vaccine '100% effective', watchdog tells media

A candidate Covid-19 vaccine known as EpiVacCorona, Russia's second to be registered, proved "100 per cent effective" in early-stage trials, Russian consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has told local media.

The data, based on Phase I and II trials, were released before the start of a larger Phase III trial which would normally involve thousands of participants and a placebo group as a comparison.

"The effectiveness of the vaccine is made up of its immunological effectiveness and preventative effectiveness," the TASS news agency reported, citing Rospotrebnadzor.

"According to results of the first and second phases of clinical trials, the immunological effectiveness of the EpiVacCorona vaccine is 100 per cent."

The Phase I and II studies tested the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the potential vaccine in 100 people aged 18-60, according to the state trials register.

02:52 PM

Scotland: 80% of care home residents have received their first vaccine dose

Eighty percent of care home residents in Scotland have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Updating MSPs in Parliament, the First Minister said a number of local authorities had vaccinated all care home residents with the first dose.

Ms Sturgeon also said that 70 per cent of care home and other heath and care staff had been given their first jab.

Three million people in Scotland, the majority of the adult population, will have received their first dose of the vaccine by early May, Ms Sturgeon said.

"That means that in around three months' time, around three million people in total will have received at least the first dose of the vaccine - this is, of course, the majority of the adult population and includes everyone over the age of 50, and many younger people with an underlying health condition," she said.

"The rest of the adult population will follow after that just as quickly as supplies allow."

02:43 PM

Scotland extends lockdown

Scotland is to remain in lockdown until at least the middle of February, Nicola Sturgeon also confirmed

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister said: "It is for all these reasons that the Cabinet decided this morning to maintain the restrictions which are currently in place.

"That means that the lockdown restrictions - including the strict stay-at-home requirement - will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February."

The Island of Barra will also be placed into a fresh lockdown from midnight on Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon said, after 10 per cent of the island's population had been forced to self-isolate.

02:42 PM

England toll rises by 842

A further 842 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 62,295, NHS England said on Tuesday.

Patients were aged between 28 and 104. All except 35, aged between 54 and 94, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between December 4 and January 18, with the majority being on or after January 11.

There were 37 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

02:41 PM

Schools in Scotland to remain closed until mid-February

Schools in Scotland will remain closed until mid-February, the First Minister has said.

Updating MSPs in Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said the risks of community transmission of Covid-19 had forced the Cabinet to delay the opening.

Initially, schools were meant to emerge from Scotland's second lockdown on February 1.

Ms Sturgeon said: "The Cabinet decided today that - except for vulnerable and key worker children - school and nursery premises will remain closed until mid-February."

The situation will be reviewed on February 2, the First Minister said, adding: "If it is at all possible, as I very much hope it will be, to begin even a phased return to in-school learning in mid-February, we will."

02:35 PM

Differences in vaccination rates across the devolved nations are already showing

There is a 13 per cent difference in the number of people vaccinated in England compared to Wales, the Welsh Parliament has heard.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, health spokesman for Plaid Cymru, told the Senedd that First Minister Mark Drakeford had tried to "brush off" suggestions that Wales was "lagging behind" other parts of the UK in its vaccination programme.

"But whilst the 6.6% of the population vaccinated in England may not sound much bigger than 4.8% vaccinated in Wales or Scotland, that's a 13% difference in the number of people vaccinated, and that needs to be addressed right now," he said.

Mr ap Iorwerth said it was "crucial" that regular updates were provided detailing how much of each of the two vaccines available - Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca - had been given to each UK nation.

"We need to be absolutely sure that we are getting our share of the easier-to-use AstraZeneca vaccine, for example," he said.

02:20 PM

England deploys 4.1m vaccines

A total of 4,118,342 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 18, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 170,900 on Monday's figures.

Of this number, 3,687,206 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 167,150 on Monday's figures, while 431,136 were the second dose, an increase of 3,750.

02:19 PM

Indigenous nurse kicks off Manaus' vaccine drive

Vanda Ortega Witoto, of the Witoto people, nurse and resident of the Parque das Tribos indigenous community, was the first person to be vaccinated in Manaus, Brazil.

She is also the first indigenous person to be vaccinated in the state of Amazonas.

02:14 PM

More than 200,000 devices delivered to remote learners

More than 200,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered or dispatched by the government to help with remote learning since the start of this term, PA Media reports.

New figures from the Department for Education (DfE) suggest that 239,103 devices have been sent to councils, academy trusts, schools and colleges across England since January 4 - when the latest lockdown was announced.

A total of 801,524 laptops and tablets have been delivered or dispatched to support pupils to access remote education since the start of the scheme.

01:50 PM

Downing Street rejects suggestion Hancock should skip vaccine queue

Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Matt Hancock should receive a vaccine early because he is leading the response to the pandemic after the Health Secretary went into self-isolation over a close contact.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The PM and the rest of the Cabinet will take the vaccine when it's their turn to do so based on the priority lists that have been published.

"We don't think it's right that the PM or other members of Cabinet take the vaccine in place of somebody who is at higher clinical risk."

He said that Mr Hancock was following the rules and exercising when the Cabinet minister was seen in a park in London over the weekend.

"We've been clear that everybody needs to follow the guidance and it remains the case that people are allowed outside to exercise which is what I believe Matt Hancock was doing," the spokesman said.

01:41 PM

Sweden registers 9,779 new Covid-19

Sweden, whose unorthodox pandemic strategy has placed it in the global spotlight, registered 9,779 new coronavirus cases since Friday, health agency statistics showed on Tuesday.

The figure compares to 17,395 cases the corresponding period last week.

The country of 10 million inhabitants registered 268 new deaths, taking the total to 10,591. The deaths registered have occurred over several days and weeks with many from the Christmas period being registered with a significant delay.

Sweden's death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours' but lower than in several European countries that opted for lockdowns.

01:31 PM

School reopenings remain 'priority': PM

Downing Street said Boris Johnson wanted schools to open "as soon as possible" after deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries suggested that a regional approach may be taken in deciding when England's pupils return.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson has previously stated "the priority is to get schools open as soon as possible, but whether that is after the half-term break depends on a number of things" including progress in the vaccination programme and the possibility of a new coronavirus variant emerging which resists the jab.

The spokesman said: "You have got the Prime Minister's desire and intention to try and open schools as soon as it is safe to do so and that remains our position."

Asked whether regional disparities in vaccination rates could slow the reopening of schools in some areas, the spokesman said: "We will continue to look at the latest scientific evidence and data."

01:23 PM

Wales reports 1,106 new cases

There have been a further 1,106 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 182,599.

Public Health Wales reported another eight deaths, taking the total in Wales since the start of the pandemic to 4,302.

01:22 PM

Wales delivers 161,932 doses of vaccine

Public Health Wales said a total of 161,932 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been given, an increase of 10,195.

The agency said 265 second doses were also given, an increase of 64.

01:11 PM

Afternoon recap

If you're just joining us, here are your top headlines from the day so far....

• An estimated one in eight people in England had had Covid-19 by December last year, up from one in 11 in November, new figures show.

• The number of deaths involving Covid-19 that have occurred inside UK care homes has passed 25,000, new analysis shows.

• Angela Merkel and leaders of Germany's 16 states are expected today to extend and tighten a partial lockdown beyond January, as fears grow over virus variant strains believed to be more contagious.

• Malaysia has said it will extend lockdown restrictions across most of the country as it grappled with a rise in coronavirus infections.

• The President of Rwanda has ordered a major lockdown of Kigali, the country’s capital, to combat the ‘unprecedented rise in cases, deaths and transmission rates'.

• Three new cases of the fast-spreading UK variant of Covid-19 have been discovered in Japan, with officials admitting they have not been able to determine how they were infected.

01:02 PM

NHS Test and Trace still has 900 consultants on the books on £1,000 a day

NHS Test and Trace is still employing 900 consultants on an average rate of £1,000 per day, it has emerged, as the Conservative peer in charge of the programme insisted it was now having a “material impact” on tackling the pandemic.

Insisting that the £22bn programme had now turned a corner, Baroness Harding on Monday argued that it was “appropriate” to call on external expertise in “extreme emergency circumstances.”

Appearing before the Commons public accounts committee, she told MPs that it was now performing “substantially better” than the targets it was initially set by the Government’s scientific advisory group.

More than 7.5 million people had been tested in the first two weeks of January, while 1 million people had been reached by contact tracers in the first seven days of the year, she added.

However, Baroness Harding came under pressure over the staggering costs associated with the programme, as health officials at the hearing revealed that 900 consultants from the firm Deloitte were still “on the books” on an average four-figure day rate.

Henry Yorke has more.

12:53 PM

Russell T Davies: Covid pandemic repeating 'marginalisation' of Aids crisis

Britain’s handling of Covid has parallels with the Aids crisis, according to Russell T Davies, writer of a new Channel 4 drama about the lives of gay men in the 1980s.

It’s A Sin, which begins on Friday, illustrates the prejudice that young men faced when they were diagnosed with HIV/Aids.

A drama about a virus has obvious resonance today, with patients put into strict isolation and medical staff wearing PPE to treat them.

But Davies said there were other similarities. In a discussion recorded for the BFI’s YouTube channel, Davies said: “It’s still the old, rich, white people in charge, and even now I think you can see the same patterns recurring - of the Home Counties being protected, and if you’re on a minimum wage or no wage at all, you’ve had it. It’s the same process of marginalisation, really.”

Anita Singh has more here.

12:44 PM

Malaysia expands lockdown measures

Malaysia has said it will extend lockdown restrictions across most of the country as it grappled with a rise in coronavirus infections.

Last week, capital Kuala Lumpur and six states went into a two-week lockdown. Essential sectors including manufacturing, plantations and construction were allowed to stay open, but a nationwide travel ban was implemented.

Security minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday said the lockdown will also be imposed on six other states from Friday for two weeks. Only the eastern state of Sarawak will not see a full lockdown, though some restrictions are in place.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said the lockdown measures were necessary as the healthcare system was at a breaking point.

The total number of coronavirus infections in Malaysia stood at 165,371, including 619 deaths.

12:30 PM

Italian doctors to investigate breast milk as a possible treatment for Covid-19

A substance found in breast milk is being tested as a possible treatment for Covid-19 in an Italian hospital, Richard Evans reports.

Lactoferrin, one of a group of natural molecules called glycoproteins, has been found in past studies to boost immune defences and reduce inflammation. In the past few days the first coronavirus patient has been enlisted into a trial at a hospital in Biella, near Turin, to see if it has any effect on Covid-19.

The doctor in charge described the trial as "innovative and ambitious".

12:18 PM

Sputnik-AstraZeneca vaccine trials to start in February, says Russian drugmaker

Human trials of a coronavirus vaccine combining Russia's Sputnik V shot with that developed by Britain's AstraZeneca and Oxford University are expected to start in early February, the chairman of Russian drugmaker R-Pharm told Reuters news agency.

AstraZeneca first announced plans to explore the possibility of working with Russian scientists on a combined vaccine in December, interpreted by Moscow as a vote of confidence in its vaccine.

There have been few details on where and how the trials will be run, but R-Pharm Chairman Alexei Repik, whose company will produce both Sputnik V and AstraZeneca shots, said human trials of a combined vaccine are expected to begin early next month.

The trials will take place in Azerbaijan, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Belarus, Russia and elsewhere, he said.

A source close to Sputnik developer Gamaleya Institute also said the trial's first inoculations will be in early February, adding that Ukraine will be among the countries taking part.

AstraZeneca did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.

12:09 PM

North Korea on brink of famine as secretive state further cuts itself off from the world

No one knows if the family of four who died in November in the square outside Musan train station were victims of the cold or of starvation but the bodies were reportedly removed by North Korean security officials.

Other accounts from within the North’s borders tell of gangs of orphans stealing from outdoor markets to stay alive and hunger finding its way into the normally relatively plentiful enclave of Pyongyang.

Diplomats and all but two international aid workers have in recent months been either evacuated or ordered out of the country by the regime of Kim Jong-un, meaning that the United Nations and other aid and human rights organisations are relying on a tenuous network of North Koreans who operate as “citizen reporters” for dissident media outlets in South Korea and Japan.

Organisations that previously had a degree of access to those most at risk in the North say the reports, relayed over the border into China by mobile phone, have proved to be consistent and reliable. And now, they say, they are painting a particularly bleak picture of a nation on the brink of a food crisis that is comparable to the four-year famine in the mid-1990s - a time that North Koreans refer to as the Arduous March.

Some put the death toll from that tragedy - brought on by drought, flooding and chronic economic mismanagement - as high as 3.5 million of the north’s 22 million people. And the experts warn that those conditions are once again stalking the nation, but have been made significantly worse by a global pandemic that has forced the regime to close its borders to outside trade, including food.

Julain Ryall has more detail on this story.

11:57 AM

UK's care home death toll passes 25,000

The number of deaths involving Covid-19 that have occurred inside UK care homes has passed 25,000, new analysis by the PA news agency shows.

A total of 21,621 Covid-19 deaths in care homes in England and Wales had been registered up to January 8 2021, according to figures published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics.

Separate figures published last week by the National Records of Scotland showed that 2,768 care home deaths had been registered in Scotland up to January 10.

And in Northern Ireland, 619 care home deaths had been registered up to January 8, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Taken together, these totals mean there have now been 25,008 deaths in care homes in the UK where Covid-19 appeared on the death certificate.

11:49 AM

Metropolitan police commissioner calls for police officers to be bumped up vaccine priority list

In an interview with LBC this morning Dame Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said she was “baffled” as to why police officers are not getting priority for the vaccine.

Police officers in the UK are not included in the first run of vaccination priority groups, but "in many other countries, police officers and law enforcement colleagues are being prioritised," she told the radio station.

She said there have been 97 incidents where someone has mentioned or threatened Covid before coughing at an officer, with 48 spitting attacks. Some 126 people have been charged, with nearly two-thirds receiving a custodial sentence.

11:37 AM

Thailand defends royal company's role in vaccine strategy

Thailand’s government defended its coronavirus vaccine strategy on Tuesday against opposition criticism that it is too reliant on a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The attack by banned opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit came as Thailand battles its biggest rise in infections and after months of youth-led protests that brought a rare challenge to the monarchy. Criticising the royal family is illegal.

"These baseless and inaccurate accusations shouldn’t be linked to the work of the institution we revere and love," said Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, referring to the monarchy.

He said that royally-owned Siam Bioscience had been the most obvious choice of many companies considered for technology transfer from pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to make 200 million vaccine doses each year for Thailand and other nations.

Thailand has ordered 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be ready from June, as well as 2 million doses from China's Sinovac, to be administered from next month.

Mr Thanathorn made no accusations of impropriety against AstraZeneca but said the crown's Siam Bioscience lacked vaccine-making experience and the government was relying on it too heavily.

11:25 AM

Love thy neighbour and get a Covid jab, says Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, received a Covid-19 vaccine and urged people across the world to accept the jab, saying that getting vaccinated was part of the Christian commandment to love our neighbour as ourselves.

The leader of the Anglican Communion, which includes 85 million people in about 165 countries, tweeted a picture of himself receiving the shot and described the rapid development of vaccines against the new coronavirus as an answer to prayer.

"Jesus Christ calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Getting the vaccine is part of that commandment: we can show our love for each other by keeping each other safe from this terrible disease," he said in a statement.

"To everyone in this country and across the world, I want to say please, please accept the invitation to get the jab when it comes -- and encourage everyone around you to do the same."

Welby, 65, received the vaccine as part of the priority group of frontline healthcare workers, because he volunteers at St Thomas' Hospital, across the road from his London residence at Lambeth Palace, as part of the hospital's chaplaincy team.

He said that healthcare workers in Britain's National Health Service and across the world were under immense pressure on the front lines of the pandemic, and getting the vaccine was something people could do to help relieve the burden on them.

11:10 AM

Rwanda’s capital goes into strict lockdown

The President of Rwanda has ordered a major lockdown of Kigali, the country’s capital, to combat the ‘unprecedented rise in cases, deaths and transmission rates', Will Brown reports.

The government has banned movement into and out of the city, citing a jump in the number of cases found in a given sample of tests, known as the positivity rate. Rwanda has said the number of tests returning positive results for Covid-19 has tripled to 7.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent at the start of this month.

Like much of Africa, Rwanda has been spared the devastation the virus wrought on the US and Europe. So far the Central African nation has recorded some 11,259 cases of the coronavirus and just 146 deaths.

Experts say this is partly due to the strict health measures put in place by President Paul Kagame's government and a very young population. However, in recent weeks many officials across the continent have been alarmed by the new, more infectious South Africa variant of the virus which has led to a surge of infections and hospital admissions across Southern African nations. It is not yet known whether or not the variant has spread to Rwanda.

10:52 AM

More than 106,000 Covid deaths in UK

More than 106,000 deaths involving Covid-19 have now occurred in the UK, new figures show.

A total of 99,813 deaths have so far been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to the latest reports from the UK's statistics agencies.

This includes 90,720 deaths in England and Wales up to January 8, which were confirmed by the ONS on Tuesday.

Since these statistics were compiled, a further 6,447 deaths have occurred in England, plus 146 in Scotland, 260 in Wales and 181 in Northern Ireland, according to additional data published on the Government's coronavirus dashboard.

Together, these totals mean that so far 106,847 deaths involving Covid-19 have taken place in the UK.

10:39 AM

Singapore national airline aiming for all crew to be vaccinated

Singapore's national airline hopes to be the first in the world to get all of its crew members vaccinated against Covid-19, reports Ben Farmer.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has offered all public facing staff, including pilots, gate agents and flight attendants, free shots from the government, CNN reported.

"We are grateful to the Singapore government for making the aviation sector a priority in the country's vaccination exercise," the airline's chief executive said to employees.

"This reflects the sector's importance, and the crucial role we play in both Singapore's economic recovery and the fight against the pandemic." Some 5,200 SIA employees have already signed up for jabs, which will ease the burden of coronavirus restrictions and tests.

10:24 AM

Biden to block Trump's plan to lift Covid-19 UK travel restrictions

Joe Biden is to block Donald Trump's plan to lift the Covid-19 travel restrictions between the US and the UK as soon as he takes office, it has emerged.

Mr Trump signed an order Monday lifting the restrictions he imposed early last year in response to the pandemic after winning support from coronavirus task force members and public health officials.

Soon after Mr Trump's order was made public, Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted "on the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on Jan 26."

She added: "With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel."

10:15 AM

One in 10 Welsh households likely to have had Covid antibodies in December

The ONS also estimated one in 10 people in private households in Wales are likely to have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies in December 2020, up from one in 19 in November.

In Scotland the estimate is one in 11 in December, up from one in 15 in November.

In Northern Ireland the estimate is one in 13, up from one in 29.

10:00 AM

Doctor 'disappointed' by lack of vaccine supply

Dr David Holwell said it is "disappointing" that the number of vaccines being given in his area has fallen because of a lack of supplies.

The GP told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday that, in his part of West Sussex, they had been doing 2,000 vaccinations a week but had only received 300 doses last week.

He said: "We were doing an average of about 2,000 vaccines a week, then last week we got 300 and this week we will get 800, so it's disappointing.

"We just want to keep on vaccinating, we have got to a great point, we have certainly started to eat into the sub-80s patients.

"But we are limited by the vaccination supply."

09:57 AM

No complacency with my patients, says GP

Dr Zoe Norris said that the people being vaccinated in her area were not being complacent about continuing to follow restrictions.

When asked on BBC Breakfast about concerns people being vaccinated would become complacent over following rules, the GP from East Yorkshire said: "I haven't seen that at all from our patients.

"They have been very compliant when we have asked them to come in, they have been still very aware and very anxious about social distancing, about face masks, even to the extent of being very keen to get out of the vaccination centre even though we are absolutely happy that it is safe and following all guidance."

GP Dr David Holwell added: "I think everyone who is coming in when they come down for the vaccine sometimes that's the first time they have been out since the first lockdown so they are acutely aware of the risk they run and they just feel very grateful."

09:56 AM

UK tops poll for vaccine uptake

Asked if they agreed with the comment "If a COVID-19 vaccine were made available to me this week, I would definitely get it," the UK came out on top.

09:46 AM

'Call police on your neighbours', Cressida Dick says

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said Londoners should call police if their neighbours persistently break Covid-19 rules.

She told LBC radio: "If you do have concerns that somebody is persistently not complying with the restrictions, with the regulations, then, yeah, you should talk to us.

"If you feel comfortable to do so, then talk to us."

Dame Cressida said the force is receiving "hundreds of calls a day" from concerned people, with fines handed out to those who are "completely reckless", having house parties or keeping a restaurant, pub or cafe open.

09:43 AM

Care homes: 70% in Wales to get jab by end of this week

Seventy per cent of care home residents and staff in Wales should have received the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this week, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.

Mr Gething told BBC 5Live that 70% of the over-80s in Wales should also have had their jab by the end of this week, and there has been a "significant effort" to vaccinate frontline health and social care staff.

"We're really working through the population now we've got a combination of Pfizer and AstraZeneca," Mr Gething said.

"I'm expecting later this week to publish figures giving more detail about how it's being done but we do know that every frontline paramedic in Wales has either had a jab or been offered one."

Mr Gething said he expected that the over-70s in Wales would be invited for their vaccinations "in the near future".

09:39 AM

One in eight people had Covid in England by December

An estimated one in eight people in England had had Covid-19 by December last year, according to antibody data from the Office for National Statistic’s Covid-19 Infection Survey.

09:38 AM

Cressida Dick 'baffled' why officers aren't a vaccine priority

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she was "baffled" why frontline officers are not closer to the front of the queue to receive the vaccine.

She told LBC radio: "In cohort five to nine you have people in what I might call my age group and I am baffled really why, but obviously this is a decision that the Government's made so far on the basis of something called the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation), who are experts.

"But in many other countries, police officers and law enforcement colleagues are being prioritised and I want my officers to get the vaccination."

Dame Cressida said there have been 97 incidents where someone has mentioned or threatened Covid before coughing at an officer, with 48 spitting attacks.

Some 126 people have been charged with nearly two thirds receiving a custodial sentence.

The commissioner said three colleagues, none of whom were police officers, have died after contracting Covid-19, including a police community support officer last week.

09:36 AM

'I don't think it's helpful to try to become Mystic Meg', says Welsh health minister

Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething said coronavirus measures in the country - including school closures - are reviewed every three weeks.

"The next one will be at the end of this month, we'll then be able to look forward, we'll also then be in a position to review again during the half-term," he told BBC 5Live.

"If there's going to be changes to school openings and to face-to-face teaching, we want to give both our staff and parents as much notice as possible.

"I don't think it's helpful to try to become Mystic Meg and to forecast months and months into the future."

09:33 AM

Matt Hancock self-isolating

The Health Secretary is self-isolating after receiving a track and trace alert.

09:31 AM

Coronavirus around the world, in pictures

09:17 AM

'We can't patrol and we won't be patrolling all supermarkets', says Met Commissioner

Asked about people refusing to wear face masks in shops, the commissioner said staff should call police if someone is "very rude or violent".

But she added: "We can't patrol and we won't be patrolling all supermarkets - that will be impossible and not appropriate.

"I think there is a responsibility on stores and store owners and store managers. I don't under-estimate that on occasion it can be a difficult job."

09:17 AM

Cressida Dick: 'Small minority' not complying with lockdown

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said a "small minority" of people are failing to comply with Covid-19 regulations.

Speaking on an LBC radio phone-in, Dame Cressida Dick said: "I think it's quite right that my officers are out there dealing with people, the small minority who are failing to comply, and on occasion issuing tickets, or if they refuse to give their names and addresses, and some people do, then of course they can be arrested."

It comes after the Met issued more than 140 fixed penalty notices (FPNs), totalling £39,000, over the weekend in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney alone, while 14 seafood hauliers protesting over the Brexit fishing deal at Whitehall were fined on Monday.

09:14 AM

Many ICUs 'already overwhelmed'

Alison Pittard, dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, said many intensive care units are "already overwhelmed".

She told Sky News: "There are many intensive care units and hospitals around the country that are already overwhelmed - seeing unprecedented numbers of cases, large numbers of very, very sick people, many of whom are dying.

"And there are staff who are almost on their knees, having been going through this non-stop for months and months and months.

"I think healthcare professionals who hear their situation described as not being overwhelmed is unfair."

She added: "We're nowhere near out of this at the moment", and said intensive care units are expecting further increases in patients over the next seven to 10 days.

09:04 AM

'In order to keep things flowing and moving we will see some overlap'

Asked about some of the oldest patients in some areas having not received their coronavirus jab yet, when the Government had given the go-ahead to start vaccinating the next priority group, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said "there will be an overlap".

He told LBC: "We're very clear that areas should be getting through the majority of the first cohort before they move on to the second cohort, but there will be an overlap.

"The reality is as you're moving through these, as you start to bring the second cohort in, there will be a bit of an overlap.

"So while they're still finishing cohort one some people from the second cohort will be having their vaccines and being contacted.

"That's understandable because the other alternative is you get through cohort one and you pause before you can start getting cohort two in and that would be wrong."

He added: "In order to keep things flowing and moving we will see some overlap, but areas should be getting through the majority of cohort one before they start moving to cohort two."

09:02 AM

Tracker: Will the UK reach its vaccine target?

Here is your daily check-in on how the UK is faring against its vaccine goal.

08:55 AM

'Carrying a virus is like carrying a loaded gun that can go off accidentally'

Professor Julian Savulescu, director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, compared having the virus to "carrying a loaded gun" but said that those who had proven immunity should not be restrained.

"There's a serious ethical issue that you're only entitled to restrict people's liberty in a liberal society if they represent a threat to other people," he told the Today programme.

"Carrying a virus is like carrying a loaded gun that can go off accidentally.

"We're entitled to restrain people and check whether they have a gun, but if they don't have a gun to restrain them, that's false imprisonment."

Prof Savulescu added that lockdown had "life or death consequences" and that efforts should be made to allow those with "certain immunity" to return to work and normal life, and "not just the pub".

08:14 AM

Scientist: Jab isn't passport to freedom

Responding to a survey about public compliance with coronavirus regulations after having received a vaccination, Prof Lord continued: "That's the worrying thing about the idea of a (coronavirus immunity) passport.

"People might think (it is a) passport to freedom and even those who haven't been vaccinated will see those changing their behaviours and think, 'Well why should I bother if no one else is either?'

"That's the real worry we've got at the moment."

08:06 AM

'Don't hug your grandchildren yet', warns scientist

Professor Janet Lord, director of the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham, urged ongoing caution even as numbers of those vaccinated increased.

Asked whether people who had received the jab could hug their children, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I would certainly advise not to do that at the moment because as you probably know with the vaccines they take several weeks before they are maximally effective.

"It's really important that people stay on their guard even if they've had that first vaccination. If people do relax what they're doing then it reduces the benefits of the vaccination."

08:04 AM

'Too early' to say how lockdown will be eased, says minister

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has said it is "too early" to outline how the national lockdown will be eased in England.

He told BBC Breakfast: "I'm afraid it's still a bit early to outline that at the moment. The Prime Minister said when we put these restrictions in place that we'd have a review point in mid-February, we're still some weeks away even from that review point.

"I think we've got to wait until we get to that point and see where we're at, see how the vaccine programme is rolling out, see how the restrictions have worked and then we can look at what the next steps are.

"But whether that's in February or whether we move forward in March it's just too early now in relatively early January to give an outline to that."

07:49 AM

'A shout out to all the early morning dads'

As more and more people are working from home, juggling childcare with office duties, it's safe to say many can empathise with MP Johnny Mercer.

07:38 AM

Getting vaccine could prompt public to abandon rules, say scientists

Ministers have been warned that millions of people are likely to begin ignoring Covid restrictions once they have been vaccinated, reports our Health Editor Laura Donnelly.

Government scientists are concerned that those who receive jabs are likely to relax their attitude towards social distancing and lockdown rules, according to papers seen by The Telegraph.

Minutes of meetings held by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) cite a survey which says that 29 per cent of people will adhere to restrictions less strictly once they have had a vaccine, while 11 per cent will "probably no longer follow the rules".

Papers released by Sage reveal concerns that changes in the behaviour of those who get the jab could more than "offset" the benefits of the vaccination programme over the next few months.

07:30 AM

Over-80s 'should be vaccinated before lower-priority groups'

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the "vast majority" of the over-80s and care home residents should be vaccinated before areas move on to lower priority groups.

He told Sky News: "Different local areas will look at their local needs and how they're moving through that and the decisions they make, but we're supplying everybody on an equal basis to ensure that people across the country get the vaccinations in good time.

"We're very clear that the areas should be going through and treating the people and only moving on to the second cohort when the vast majority of the first cohort have been vaccinated."

He said there will be a "bit of an overlap" in order to avoid a risk of a "gap and a pause" when moving between groups.

07:05 AM

Today's front page

Here is your Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, Jan 19.

06:35 AM

Pfizer vaccine 'may prevent transmission'

Pfizer vaccine recipients are unlikely to transmit the virus to others, according to the author of an Israeli study.

Participants in the survey developed up to 20 times more antibodies within a week of receiving the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The survey, which reviewed data from 102 of about 1,000 of the Sheba Medical Centre’s medical staff who have received both shots, showed that only two subjects have developed low amounts of antibodies - one of the subjects suffered from a compromised immune system.

There was no explanation for why the second person did not develop antibodies, and the hospital said it was investigating the matter.

The rest - 98 per cent - have developed levels of antibodies that were even higher than patients who have recovered from a serious coronavirus-induced condition, the hospital said in a statement released on Monday.

Read more: Pfizer vaccine 'may prevent transmission of coronavirus to others'

06:04 AM

Japan fears UK strain may be spreading

Three new cases of the fast-spreading UK variant of Covid-19 have been discovered in Japan, with officials admitting they have not been able to determine how they were infected, writes Julian Ryall.

The three people live in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west of Tokyo, and have not travelled to the UK, the ministry of health said on Monday.

Officials also said there was no evidence that any of the three came into contact with any of the 42 people in Japan who have been diagnosed with the UK strain of the virus, raising the possibility that it is already spreading in the general population.

Read more: Japan fearing spread of UK Covid strain

03:51 AM

Germany set to tighten lockdown

Angela Merkel and leaders of Germany's 16 states are expected today to extend and tighten a partial lockdown beyond January, as fears grow over virus variant strains believed to be more contagious.

Germany closed restaurants, leisure and sporting facilities in November, then expanded the shutdown in mid-December to include schools and most shops to halt a growth in new coronavirus infections.

The measures ordered until the end of January have brought about a "flattening of the infections curve", said the Chancellor's spokesman Steffen Seibert, noting also that the number of patients in intensive care had also fallen slightly.

"This trend is cautiously positive and a success of the restrictions of the last weeks," he said. "But it only brings us to the point where we still have a long way to go before we can say we have the infections under control."

03:34 AM

Lockdown hits young people's mental health

One in four young people feels unable to cope with life, a Prince's Trust survey has found, as the charity reveals the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the under-25s.

The crisis has taken a "devastating toll" on teenagers and young adults, with the unemployed more likely to feel depressed, it says.

Many are losing hope for the future because of a disrupted education, a shrinking jobs market and isolation from their friends and loved ones.

The charity, founded by the Prince of Wales in 1976, said its survey of 2,180 people aged 16 to 25 across the UK indicated that that more young people are feeling anxious than at any point in the last 12 years.

Read more: One in four young people feeling unable to cope

02:36 AM

Today's top stories

• Ministers have been warned that millions of people are likely to begin ignoring Covid restrictions once they have been vaccinated

• One in four young people feels unable to cope with life, a Prince's Trust survey has found, as the charity reveals the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the under-25s

• The Welsh government has come under fire for its "truly bewildering" policy of delaying the coronavirus vaccine rollout, with the British Medical Association and Number 10 leading the criticism

• Nicola Sturgeon is facing mounting anger over Scotland's slow vaccine roll-out after it emerged her government has more than 400,000 unused doses and England's deployment was almost twice as fast last weekend

• Business executives and millionaire entrepreneurs are to be forced to quarantine after losing their exemption from doing so even if they have a multi-million pound investment to make in the UK

• Britain could be spared a massive tax raid if the economy bounces back strongly as vaccines are rolled out, a Treasury minister has said

• California has overtaken New York for the most Covid deaths and hospitals are reaching capacity, with health officials warning the toughest weeks are yet to come