BORIS JOHNSON is set to go full steam ahead for freedom day, despite the Covid cases rise by 31,000 for the FOURTH day in row.
According to the Daily Mail, the prime minister is pressing on with Covid lockdown lifting, and he is expected to announce tomorrow that restrictions will be lifted come July 19.
UK Covid cases have risen by 31,772 with a total of 512,145 confirmed cases.
And 26 more fatalities were reported today, making the grim total 128,425 – with 203 deaths in the past seven days.
And according to Government data up to July 10, of the 80,646,232 Covid jabs given in the UK so far, 45,881,721 were first doses.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest updates…
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ONE IN 17 OVER-80S IN ENGLAND MAY NOT HAVE ANY COVID-19 VACCINE, FIGURES SUGGEST
Some 6% of people aged 80 and over in England may not have received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine, new data suggests.
The figure is the equivalent of around one in 17 over-80s, or just over 171,000 people, with 47,000 of them in London.
Other age groups among the over-50s are likely to have a much lower percentage of unvaccinated individuals, with estimates of 0.5% for 70 to 79-year-olds, 2.3% for 60 to 69-year-olds and 4.9% for 50 to 59-year-olds.
The data has been published by NHS England and covers vaccinations delivered up to July 4.
The Government has said all adults in England will have been offered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by July 19.
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FREEDOM DAY TO BE CONFIRMED TOMORROW
Boris Johnson will delight the nation tomorrow by confirming Freedom Day will go ahead on July 19.
But the PM will warn Brits to be ultra cautious with their newfound freedom.
After 18 months of unprecedented restrictions, the Prime Minister will defy doom-mongering boffins and confirm he is tearing up the hated lockdown.
But in a marked change of tone, he will drop his promise the lifting is “irreversible” amid warnings they could reimpose restrictions if there is a fourth wave in winter.
It comes as Covid cases continue to rise, with the more transmissible Delta – or Indian – variant to blame for 99 per cent of infections.
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WATCH: UK COVID HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS RISE TO 500 A DAY
UK Covid hospitalisations rise by more than 500 for 3rd day in a row with 31k cases as freedom to be confirmed -
SCOTLAND RECORDS SEVEN NEW COVID-19 DEATHS IN LAST 24 HOURS
Scotland has today seen a further 7 Covid-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours according to the latest figures,
There have also been a further 2,190 cases in the same time period.
The Scottish Government’s figures for Saturday also showed the daily test positivity rate was at 9%.
A total of 435 people were in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, with 42 patients in intensive care.
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TOKYO UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR OLYMPICS DUE TO RISING COVID INFECTION RATES
Tokyo will be in a state of emergency for the Olympic Games after the Japanese government took action against rising coronavirus infection rates.
The measures are set to remain in place until August 22, a fortnight after the Games finish, Japanese agency Kyodo News reported.
The decision throws into doubt the possibility of even limited numbers of Japanese spectators attending the Games, with overseas fans having been barred in April.
“We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak, also considering the impact of coronavirus variants,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in quotes reported by Kyodo News.
Games organisers last month put in place plans to allow venues to be 50 per cent full, up to a maximum of 10,000 people.
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EXTRA QUEUES FOR HOLIDAYS FOR COVID CHECKS, TRANSPORT SECRETARY WARNS
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that holidaymakers should expect additional queues when they check in for their flights home due to the need for coronavirus checks.
Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast: “Before you board a plane you would need to show you have completed your passenger locator form, that you have carried out a pre-departure test, that you have got your test booked for day two and all of that needs to be checked by the carrier – the airline usually – before you travel.
“So the place to expect queues is the airport you are coming from. Once you get back to the UK all of that is starting to be automated.
“People should expect more disruption than usual but I know that everyone is working very hard to minimise those queues.”
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TOP DOC WARNS: UK SHOULD NOT RETURN TO NORMAL ON JULY 19 AFTER ‘DANGEROUS’ RISE IN COVID CASES
Throwing away all coronavirus precautions on Freedom Day is alarming and will “add fuel to the fire” as Britain is already battling a “dangerous wave,” Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said.
Britain is also facing an NHS backlog that has built up over the last 15 months – which will increase pressure on the health service.
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling Government advisory panel also agreed that “there is a risk” with the planned July 19 reopening.
All Covid restrictions, including mask-wearing, isolation, and social distancing, are set to come to an end in just over a week’s time.
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MASK FORCE
Brits will be “expected” to wear masks in indoors and enclosed spaces, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi revealed today.
Face coverings will no longer be mandatory from July 19 once all Covid curbs are lifted.
Boris Johnson is expected to confirm tomorrow that all remaining restrictions will be lifted on Freedom Day.
Last week, the PM said masks would become a “personal choice” as he tore up laws making them a legal requirement on buses, trains, and in shops and other indoor venues.
But new guidance to be published on Monday will advise people to wear masks in crowded, indoor settings, Mr Zahawi told Sky News this morning.
Mr Zahawi said: “I think it is important that we remain cautious and careful and the guidelines that we will set out tomorrow will demonstrate that.
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COVID MYSTERY CONTINUED
When medical staff tested her for variants of Covid-19 they found that she was carrying the Alpha strain, which originated in Britain, and the Beta variant which was first found in South Africa.
The case, discussed at this year’s European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), shows that it is possible to catch two Covid-19 variants simultaneously.
In a statement the society said doctors believe it was the first documented case of its kind and, although rare, similar dual infections are happening.
Her doctors believe that she could have contracted the Alpha and Beta variations of the virus from two different people.
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MYSTERY OF PENSIONER WHO CONTRACTED TWO STRAINS OF COVID-19
A pensioner who died after contracting Covid-19 had been infected with two strains of the virus at the same time, researchers in Belgium have revealed.
The 90-year-old woman had contracted both the UK and South African variants at the same time and is believed to be the first documented case of its kind.
She had not been given a vaccine and was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Alast after a series of falls in March.
The woman, who lived alone and received at home care, tested positive for coronavirus on the same day as her admission to hospital.
Initially her oxygen levels were good, but her condition rapidly went into decline and she died five days after being admitted.
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ONE IN 17 OVER-80S IN ENGLAND MAY NOT HAVE ANY COVID-19 VACCINE, FIGURES SUGGEST
Some 6% of people aged 80 and over in England may not have received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine, new data suggests.
The figure is the equivalent of around one in 17 over-80s, or just over 171,000 people, with 47,000 of them in London.
Other age groups among the over-50s are likely to have a much lower percentage of unvaccinated individuals, with estimates of 0.5% for 70 to 79-year-olds, 2.3% for 60 to 69-year-olds and 4.9% for 50 to 59-year-olds.
The data has been published by NHS England and covers vaccinations delivered up to July 4.
The Government has said all adults in England will have been offered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by July 19.
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TOKYO UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR OLYMPICS DUE TO RISING COVID INFECTION RATES
Tokyo will be in a state of emergency for the Olympic Games after the Japanese government took action against rising coronavirus infection rates.
The measures are set to remain in place until August 22, a fortnight after the Games finish, Japanese agency Kyodo News reported.
The decision throws into doubt the possibility of even limited numbers of Japanese spectators attending the Games, with overseas fans having been barred in April.
“We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak, also considering the impact of coronavirus variants,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in quotes reported by Kyodo News.
Games organisers last month put in place plans to allow venues to be 50 per cent full, up to a maximum of 10,000 people.
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EXTRA QUEUES FOR HOLIDAYS FOR COVID CHECKS, TRANSPORT SECRETARY WARNS
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that holidaymakers should expect additional queues when they check in for their flights home due to the need for coronavirus checks.
Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast: “Before you board a plane you would need to show you have completed your passenger locator form, that you have carried out a pre-departure test, that you have got your test booked for day two and all of that needs to be checked by the carrier – the airline usually – before you travel.
“So the place to expect queues is the airport you are coming from. Once you get back to the UK all of that is starting to be automated.
“People should expect more disruption than usual but I know that everyone is working very hard to minimise those queues.”
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MATT OUT AND ABOUT
Matt Hancock was spotted yesterday for the first time since The Sun revealed his affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo.
The former Health Secretary was spotted at a jab centre at Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk – and appeared to be alone in a parked car.
Student Guilherme Cavaleiro, 20, said: “He looked very thoughtful, just staring at his mobile.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s Covid death tally rose by 29 yesterday – but scientists are hopeful cases will plateau despite a spike in numbers