Coronavirus latest news: 'Very little' social distancing as revellers gather to eat and drink in Soho

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Global Health Security Team
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Revellers drink in Soho  - Getty
Revellers drink in Soho - Getty
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

Revellers have tasted the first signs of freedom with a pint in London's Soho, as crowds of people gathered in the heart of the West End - but some warned of "very little" social distancing.

Police officers patrolled busy areas in London on Monday night as hordes of people flocked to Old Compton Street and neighbouring areas to enjoy al fresco dining and drinks after coronavirus restrictions eased in England.

Several West End streets were closed to traffic between 5pm-11pm to create outdoor seating areas as part of measures implemented by Westminster City Council to support hospitality businesses.

Pictures and videos being shared online show people packed onto tables laden with food and drinks, while several dozen more stood on the streets cheering the first night of pubs and bars reopening.

But the venues face fines or the removal of their licences over queues on the street after officials threatened to crack down on the most popular venues.

​​Follow the latest updates below.

06:17 AM

Moderna vaccine to be rolled out in England

NHS patients in England are to receive the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from today, officials have confirmed.

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, said the move "marks another milestone" in the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

It is the third vaccine to be added to the NHS "armoury", alongside the Covid-19 vaccines from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

The news comes as the Government confirmed that it has met its target of offering a Covid-19 vaccine to the highest priority groups by mid-April - those over the age of 50 and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

And the next phase of the vaccination programme - for healthy adults under the age of 50 - is expected to begin this week.

How the Covid-19 vaccines compare
How the Covid-19 vaccines compare

The Vaccines Taskforce has secured 17 million doses of the Moderna vaccine for the UK.

The jab has already been rolled out in Wales and Scotland, and the vaccine is expected to be delivered to people in Northern Ireland in the coming weeks.

The NHS in England confirmed that the Moderna jab will be delivered at more than 20 vaccination sites this week including Reading's Madejski Stadium and the Sheffield Arena.

More sites will be able to deliver the jab as supply increases.

05:41 AM

India authorises Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

India has authorised Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, a leading local drugmaker said on Tuesday, in a boost for the nation's inoculation drive as virus cases mount.

Russia's Sputnik V is the third vaccine to be approved by India after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and Covaxin, which was developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech.

"We are very pleased to obtain the emergency use authorisation for Sputnik V in India," Dr Reddy's Laboratories co-chairman and managing director G.V. Prasad said in a statement. "With the rising cases in India, vaccination is the most effective tool in our battle against Covid-19."

05:28 AM

Merkel seizes reins as German states dither over virus

The German government is expected to agree on Tuesday on controversial changes to a national infections control law which would hand Berlin more centralised power to impose sweeping measures to curb the raging coronavirus pandemic.

The proposed changes, criticised by some states, could give Chancellor Angela Merkel's government the power to impose night-time curfews and close schools in areas with high infection rates.

The move aims to end a political tug-of-war between the federal government and powerful regions over coronavirus measures, as Germany remains gripped by a dangerous third wave of the pandemic which is putting increased strain on the country's health system.

Currently coronavirus measures are decided on in consultation with Berlin and - in theory - implemented by the federal states. Yet in many cases, regional leaders have failed to put in place shutdown measures to which they agreed.

A giant billboard calling for people to get vaccinated which reads 'Roll up your sleeves for the corona vaccine', hangs on the facade of the Cathedral in Berlin's Mitte district  - AFP
A giant billboard calling for people to get vaccinated which reads 'Roll up your sleeves for the corona vaccine', hangs on the facade of the Cathedral in Berlin's Mitte district - AFP

04:52 AM

Largest surge testing to date deployed in two London boroughs

Surge testing has been deployed across south London after the South African variant of coronavirus was detected in a number of boroughs.

A total of 44 confirmed cases and 30 probable cases of the B.1.351 variant have been discovered across Wandsworth and Lambeth.

It is the UK’s largest surge testing operation to date, with residents of both boroughs encouraged to get a test regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Read the full story

04:42 AM

India reports world's highest daily tally again

India reported 161,736 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, hitting the world's highest daily tally once again, for a total of 13.69 million cases, health ministry data showed.

Deaths rose by 879 to 171,058. Numbers typically fall on Tuesdays because of delayed results from tests done on weekends.

Read more: Millions of pilgrims gather on banks of Ganges despite surging infections

03:22 AM

Australia has second likely AstraZeneca clot case

Australian authorities have identified a second case of a rare blood clot likely linked to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

Officials said Tuesday the woman is in her 40s and is in a stable condition. A 44-year-old man developed the same condition following an AstraZeneca injection March 22.

Australia has administered 700,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine since early March. That equates to a clotting frequency of 1-in-350,000 cases. British authorities say the risk of such blood clots has been 1-in-250,000 in that country.

03:08 AM

Indonesia satisfied with effectiveness of Chinese vaccine

Indonesia's government says it is satisfied with the effectiveness of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine it has been using, after China's top disease control official acknowledged that current vaccines offer low protection against the virus.

Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokesperson for Indonesia's Covid-19 vaccine programme, said on Monday that the World Health Organisation had found the Chinese vaccines had met requirements by being more than 50 per cent effective. She noted that clinical trials in Indonesia for the vaccine from Chinese drugmaker Sinovac showed it was 65 per cent effective.

"It means ... the ability to form antibodies in our bodies is still very good," she said.

01:35 AM

Australia shelves plans to buy J&J's one-dose vaccine

Australia has no current plans to add Johnson & Johnson's one-dose coronavirus vaccine to its immunisation drive, authorities said on Tuesday, as it moves away from procuring vaccines under review over blood clots.

Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca anti-Covid vaccine doses use an adenovirus, a harmless class of common-cold viruses, to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells in the body and trigger an immune response.

But both vaccines are under review by Europe's drug regulator after it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult vaccine recipients, although it said the advantages still outweighed the risks.

12:15 AM

Pandemic hits 'critical point' as Europe deaths top one million

Europe passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths on Monday, as the World Health Organisation warned that infections are rising exponentially despite widespread efforts aimed at stopping them.

The death toll across Europe's 52 countries, compiled by AFP from official sources, totalled at least 1,000,288 by 1830 GMT.

"We are in a critical point of the pandemic right now," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19. "The trajectory of this pandemic is growing... exponentially. This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures."

The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world.

Cases, deaths and vaccinations, coronavirus world map
Cases, deaths and vaccinations, coronavirus world map

11:55 PM

Brazil death toll rises by 1,480 as probe pressures Bolsonaro

Brazil added an additional 1,480 people to its Covid-19 death toll on Monday, as a looming investigation of how the government has handled the world's second-deadliest outbreak puts increased pressure on right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.

A brutal new wave in recent weeks has pushed the official toll since the pandemic began to more than 13.5 million cases and over 354,000 deaths, according to Health Ministry figures released on Monday.

The Senate is preparing to install a special committee to investigate how Mr Bolsonaro's government has dealt with the pandemic. Going against the medical consensus around Covid, Mr Bolsonaro has downplayed the severity of the virus, opposed lockdowns and only recently embraced vaccines as a solution.

Workers prepare coffins in Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro state - Reuters
Workers prepare coffins in Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro state - Reuters

11:28 PM

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