Covid UK news live: Delta variant cases soar 78% in one week

Britain will reportedly grant quarantine exemptions to thousands of VIPs to ensure the final of Euro 2020 takes place in London following a threat by UEFA to move the match to Hungary.

It is understood that the tournament’s semi-finals and final, which were due to be played at Wembley in July, could be moved to Hungary due to the country’s more open travel policies.

Our reporter, Rory Sullivan, has the full story below:

The organisers of Notting Hill Carnival have announced that this year’s event will not be held as usual for the second year in a row due to the “ongoing uncertainty and risk” posed by Covid-19.

In a statement, the board of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said alternative events “that allow everyone to safely celebrate” were being drawn up.

Our reporter, Eleanor Sly, has the full story below:

Hospital admissions from the Delta variant of Covid-19 have almost doubled in a week, with a total of 806 people in England admitted to hospital with the variant, as of 14 June, a rise of 423 on the previous week, according to new figures from Public Health England.

Of the 806 people admitted, 527 (65 per cent) were unvaccinated, 135 (17 per cent) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine, and 84 (10 per cent) were more than 14 days after their second dose.

As of 14 June, there have also been 73 deaths in England of people who were confirmed as having the Delta variant and died within 28 days of a positive test.

Of this group, 34 (47 per cent) were unvaccinated, 10 (14 per cent) were more than 21 days after their first dose of vaccine and 26 (36 per cent) were more than 14 days after their second dose.

Delta variant cases of Covid-19 in the UK have jumped by 78 per cent in just one week, according to the latest data from Public Health England.

The number of confirmed cases of the more transmissible variant rose from 33,630 to 75,953 over seven days, with Covid-19 infections now at their highest levels since mid-February.

Our reporter, Rory Sullivan, has more on this breaking story below:

The arguments for and against creating fan zones in Wales to allow people to watch Euro 2020 matches are “quite closely balanced”, Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has said.

Special areas have been set up to allow football supporters to watch Wales games in a more controlled environment amid concerns about the potential spread of Covid-19.

“We’ll continue to be in conversations with local authorities who would be responsible for fan zones,” Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales.

“I think the argument is quite closely balanced, whether it is safer to have controlled environments where people can get together and enjoy the football in that way, or whether by having a fan zone you attract very large numbers of people and can’t organise it in a way that keeps people safe.”

He added: “We continue to get the advice of the experts in that field, we talk to the police, we talk to environmental health officers, and we continue to discuss this matter with our colleagues in the local authorities as we hope Wales moves further into this competition.”

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens gave an awkward response when asked if he agreed with claims that health secretary Matt Hancock was “hopeless” yesterday.

When pressed repeatedly by Sky News over the claim, which was shared by former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings, Sir Simon could only offer a smirk and failed to answer the question.

Our reporter, Samuel Osborne, has the full story below:

The Welsh government will not make it compulsory for care staff to have a Covid-19 vaccination, the country’s first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told Sky News that ministers had already seen “very high levels of take-up” for the jab among care home staff, with nearly 90 per cent of care workers having had both doses of a vaccine.

He said that it would be better to convince the remaining staff members to take up the vaccine voluntarily.

“I certainly think that they ought to, that’s definitely our position here, but there is a very big step taken when you move into compulsion,” Mr Drakeford said.

“Our belief is that actually it [compulsory vaccination] would undermine our programme in Wales, which has been the most successful in the UK, and has been done on the basis of people knowing that when they come forward for vaccination, they are helping themselves of course but they are helping everybody else as well.

“That sense of voluntary participation in the programme is very important to us and has been part of our success.”

Policing minister Kit Malthouse has declined to say whether lockdown restrictions could be lifted early on 5 July following a Daily Mail report which said Downing Street was considering restoring freedoms two weeks early.

The newspaper claimed that real-world data on the vaccines showed they had been more effective than scientific advisors had predicted.

When asked by Sky News, Mr Malthouse said that a decision on lifting restrictions early would ultimately be made by Boris Johnson.

“Nobody wants to stay in lockdown any longer than we need to and I know that they’ll be looking carefully at the numbers over the days and weeks to come to see what can be done,” the minister added.

A delay to the further easing of coronavirus restrictions in Wales will help officials to gather more data on whether the spread of the Delta variant risks putting “unsustainable pressure” on the NHS, the country’s first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told BBC Radio 4’s Today show on Friday that the Delta variant was now in “every part of Wales” and there was not yet sufficient data on how many people could be at risk from the virus.

“Our scientists tell us another couple of weeks will give us that data and in the meantime we will be pressing ahead, vaccinating over half a million more people in these four weeks, building up our defences in that way,” Mr Drakeford said.

When pressed on whether he could commit to easing restrictions completely after 15 July, he added: “I can’t say that because I do not know and nobody else knows what the impact of the Delta variant will be by then.”

However, he insisted that people in Wales were “absolutely not in lockdown” and “the vast bulk of freedoms are already restored”.