Temporary measures introduced during Covid crisis will be made made permanent from April
Outdoor weddings and civil partnerships are to be legalised permanently in England and Wales, ministers have announced.
Since last summer, couples have been able to hold their civil wedding or ceremony outside under temporary measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Remaining rules including mandatory passenger locator forms and tests for unvaccinated arrivals will end on Friday
All remaining Covid travel restrictions are to be dropped across the UK from later this week, despite a concerning rise in cases and hospitalisations.
Ministers approved the scrapping of passenger locator forms and the requirement for all unvaccinated arrivals to get tested, with the changes to come into force from 4am on Friday.
Continue reading...Water firms commit to improving sewage discharge practices after government pressure
Severn Trent and Anglian Water say they will accelerate efforts to protect rivers after the government and regulators called on the sector to do more.
Last month, the environment minister Rebecca Pow called on water companies to significantly improve their practices in England and Wales to support the local environment.
Continue reading...Chief inspector tells leaders the pandemic has ‘fractured the social contract between parents and schools’
The Covid pandemic has made families “more relaxed” about their children staying home or going on unauthorised holidays, fracturing the social contract between parents and schools in England, according to the head of Ofsted.
Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said she was concerned about the high level of absences among pupils, telling the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference: “Some parents have health concerns for themselves or family members and wait in hope for a highly unlikely zero-Covid future.
Continue reading...Consultancy firm Randstad’s contract ‘must end’ unless it delivers learning missed during Covid
A national tutoring programme is failing to help the children who need it most, according to MPs, who say ministers should terminate their contract with the consultancy firm running the scheme unlessit “shapes up”.
A report by the education select committee gives a scathing account of the government’s £5bn national tutoring programme (NTP), which aims to help children in England catch up on learning missed during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Continue reading...Martin Eastwood, 22, used a stolen Ford S Max to kill Liam Dent after confrontation outside pub
A driver has been found guilty of murdering a man by hitting him with a car and dragging him for more than half a mile.
Martin Eastwood, 22, used a stolen Ford S Max to kill Liam Dent in the early hours of 26 July 2019 after a confrontation outside a pub in Chessington, Surrey.
Continue reading...Steve Bladon led his Lincolnshire school tirelessly through the pandemic and thought the worst was over – then fatigue set in
Last month, Steve Bladon, a father of four, watched with some unease as the prime minister announced the lifting of all Covid restrictions in England. After two years of the pandemic – the lockdowns, the legal requirements to self-isolate, the social distancing and mandatory masks – the message from government was that it may not be over, but it’s time to learn to live with Covid.
As the headteacher of a primary school in a small town in Lincolnshire, Bladon, 46, knows as much as anyone about living with the virus. He has led his team and school community tirelessly through the pandemic, delivering remote education and food parcels, reassuring anxious parents and keeping colleagues calm.
Continue reading...Chief scientific adviser and England’s chief medical officer will focus on health inequalities and emerging technologies
The government’s two most senior advisers in the pandemic will turn their attention to health inequalities, the state of the UK’s air and emerging technologies following the milestone decision to end all legal Covid restrictions in England this week.
While the pandemic is far from over, Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday of the “living with Covid” plan is expected to be the last time Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, and Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, will flank the prime minister to explain the UK’s response.
Continue reading...Fears over ‘forced exclusion’ of vulnerable pupils whose families will be too scared to send them to school
The lifting of Covid restrictions in England will lead to a further rise in home schooling and the “forced exclusion” of immunosuppressed pupils whose families will be too scared to send them to school, an academy trust leader has warned.
Steve Chalke, the founder of the Oasis academy trust of 52 schools, said the scrapping of twice-weekly testing in school communities and the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive test was “a huge gamble”.
Continue reading...Announcement by Boris Johnson shows Rishi Sunak has won out over Sajid Javid in cabinet battle over funding
Covid laws and free mass testing are to be swept away across England after Rishi Sunak won a cabinet battle on cutting the cost of the pandemic, prompting fears that the poor and vulnerable will pay the price.
Boris Johnson announced plans to end free testing for the general public from 1 April, saying it was time for people to “get our confidence back”.
Contact tracing will end from Thursday and contacts of people testing positive will no longer have to test or isolate.
Schools and other education settings will no longer be advised to test twice-weekly, with immediate effect.
NHS and social care staff will no longer get asymptomatic testing but this is expected to continue for patients and care home residents.
Covid passports will be scrapped from 1 April, with venues no longer recommended to use them. They will still be available for international travel.
The Office for National Statistics survey of Covid in the community will be maintained but in a slimmed-down version.
The Vivaldi study on care homes and Panoramic study on antivirals will continue, the government insisted, although it was not clear how they will be funded and whether enough testing is being done to support them.
Continue reading...PM to unveil long-term strategy for living with the virus but health experts say measures are premature
Boris Johnson will proclaim that the lifting of all remaining Covid restrictions in England this week marks a “moment of pride” when he unveils the government’s long-term strategy for living with the virus, despite concerns from scientists, health experts and Labour that the move is premature.
The legal requirement for anyone with Covid to isolate will be ditched a month earlier than planned, while free PCR and lateral flow tests for everyone will be axed to rein in public spending and attempt to restore people’s confidence that life can return to normality. The tests will reportedly be kept for the over-80s.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson indicates last restrictions could be eased from next week and free testing will end soon
The country is “in a different world” from when the Covid pandemic started, Boris Johnson has said, meaning the last remaining restrictions can begin to be lifted from next week.
Ahead of an announcement on Monday about the government’s “living with Covid” strategy, the prime minister signalled free mass testing would end imminently and told people to return to the office and “get their confidence back”.
Continue reading...Council chair says decision not guided by data or made in consultation with health profession
Ending all Covid restrictions is premature and “not based on current evidence”, the British Medical Association has said, as experts warned dropping testing and self-isolation could lead to a surge in cases.
Boris Johnson told MPs last week that he was preparing to lift the legal requirement in England to self-isolate on 24 February, a month earlier than originally planned, with a formal announcement expected on Monday.
Continue reading...UK cases down 30% on the previous week, with weekly deaths down 27.2%; 500 French vehicles arrive in Brussels to protest against Covid measures
Sweden’s Health Agency recommended on Monday that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of Covid vaccine, the fourth jab in total, to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant.
The recommendation also covered all people living in nursing homes or who receive assisted living services at home. The second booster shot should be administered at least four months after the first booster jab, the agency said in a statement.
Continue reading...Analysis: Plans to end isolation rules have been gleefully announced, but questions about infection control remain
As the threat of the Omicron wave has receded in England, the government has been quick to move the conversation on to “living with Covid”.
It was inevitable that this would mean the eventual lifting of legal restrictions, including the need to self-isolate. But even given the optimistic tone in recent weeks, Boris Johnson’s announcement on Wednesday came sooner than many expected.
Continue reading...How does England’s move to end self-isolation compare with rules in other European countries?
Boris Johnson has announced plans to abolish the legal requirement for people in England to self-isolate, even if they test positive for the coronavirus and have symptoms.
The move, planned for later this month, would represent “an important step for this country as we move out of the pandemic”, said the prime minister’s spokesperson. “It shows that the hard work of the British people is paying off.”
Continue reading...As most UK countries start including reinfections in overall total, we look at why this is happening now
With reinfections now included in the daily Covid case numbers for most countries in the UK, we take a look at why the shift matters.
Continue reading...Winds of more than 100mph reported in parts of Scotland, with widespread disruption to travel and power supplies
Two people have been killed by falling trees as Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK on Saturday, cutting off power from thousands and causing widespread disruption.
A nine-year-old boy died in hospital after a tree fell on him and a man in Winnothdale, near Stoke. Emergency services were called at 1pm on Saturday, and they were taken to the Royal Stoke university hospital. The man is still receiving treatment.
Continue reading...Gusts of up to 80mph forecast for coastal areas of eastern Scotland and north-east England
The Met Office has said there could be power cuts and travel chaos as Storm Malik brushes past the UK over the weekend.
Gusts are predicted to reach 80mph in coastal areas as the storm, named by Denmark, hits parts of Scotland and northern England.
Continue reading...Easing of restrictions comes as legal requirements for masks and NHS passes are dropped
Care home residents in England will be able to receive unlimited visitors from Monday as the restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant are eased, the Department of Health has said.
Self-isolation periods will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days for those residents who test positive, with further reductions if they test negative on days five and six.
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