Coronavirus news – live: ‘Early signs’ of UK Covid case rise, as Yorkshire triple mutant variant investigated

A programme to test sewage to assess the prevalence of different Covid variants in different regions works by using lots of small samples taken over a period of time to provide an insight into a large number of people, a scientist has said.

Dr Andrew Engeli, programme lead at the Joint Biosecurity Centre, said the scheme has “successfully found evidence of Covid in communities of about 14,000 people where only one or two people have actually tested positive”.

He said that scientists can make estimates from the amount of Covid that is seen in the sample, but that would be compared with the work done by the test and trace system and by Public Health England.

“We can compare it with ultimately the number of people who might test positive in that community. We have been able to detect a very small number of cases in quite large communities,” he told BBC Breakfast earlier.

Asymptomatic cases of people who are not showing Covid symptoms and may not yet have shown up in the test and trace data can also be detected, according to Dr Engeli.

Sewage can also be tested in an area after an outbreak has been contained to make sure there is not a recurrence, he told the programme.

India has reported 257,299 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, while the country’s death toll rose by 4,194.

Total infections in the country stood at 26.3 million on Saturday and deaths were at 295,525, according to data from the health ministry.

Meanwhile Russia reported 8,709 new cases on Saturday, including 2,653 in capital city Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 4,992,554.

The government coronavirus task force said 386 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 118,125.

Additional coronavirus PCR testing is due to begin over the coming days in targeted settings and postcodes within Harrow, Ealing, Hillingdon and Brent.

Surge testing will start from today in some areas following the identification of confirmed cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India. The cases have been instructed to self-isolate and their contacts are being identified.

Working in partnership with the local authorities, NHS Test and Trace is providing additional testing and genomic sequencing in education settings and targeted areas across the four boroughs.

Everyone who lives, works or studies in the targeted areas and settings, including children, are being strongly encouraged to take a test, whether they are showing symptoms or not.

It comes after a glitch in the test-and-trace system was blamed for the spread of the so-called Indian variant in northern England. The technical hiccup meant over 700 positive test results were not made available to local councils, meaning those infected and their contacts were not told to isolate.

Cases linked to the mutation doubled in some parts of England this week.

There is a “cautious optimism” among companies who have now worked their first Friday night since hospitality and night-time venues were able to reopen indoors in England after lockdown, a business leader has said.

UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said this will be “a long road to recovery” as many businesses are still making a loss if they are open under current measures.

“The first week has not been as exceptional as we had when we first opened outdoors and there was that rush to come back,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“We are looking at what the numbers will look like this weekend – that will be critical.”

It is a “step in the right direction” that people arriving from “red list” countries to Heathrow Airport must be processed through a dedicated terminal, a former Border Force chief has said.

From next month, passengers permitted to fly to the UK from places with high levels of coronavirus infection will go through a specific arrivals facility at the airport.

Tony Smith told the BBC earlier: “People from red list countries aren’t allowed in unless they’re British or Irish or a resident here, so maybe people are refused entry and then those that do arrive have to go securely to a hotel to serve their 10 days’ quarantine.

“I do think it’s a step in the right direction by Heathrow but I’m afraid it’s not a panacea and people are still going to face delays regardless of where they come from.”

High streets across the UK will look different as restrictions ease because many venues and businesses have gone under during lockdown, UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said this morning.

She revealed there has been a downtick of one in 10 restaurants across the UK, but in Britain’s high streets this figure is as high as one in five.

“So our high streets are going to look very different – that’s overall including pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, and the contraction has been right across the board in those areas,” Ms Nicholls told BBC Breakfast earlier. “All of our businesses are suffering and sadly we have lost 660,000 members of staff.

She added: “Furlough and business support has kept those numbers as low as we can but there is a big risk as we come out of this pandemic, as these businesses are going to be very heavily in debt.”

Ms Nicholls suggested that the amount of business and premises losses, particularly among independent firms, could escalate further if the government’s roadmap is changed and as business support tapers off in the summer.

Public Health England said it is “closely monitoring” a new Covid variant which has so far caused 49 cases of infection, mostly in Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The VUI-21MAY-01, or AV.1, variant has been under observation since April, PHE announced yesterday. But officials said there was “currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective”.

Dr Kev Smith, from PHE, said scientists had been watching and sequencing the variant since the “strange combination of mutations” were spotted a few weeks ago.

“So far the people that we have identified are not particularly infectious, they’re not really getting more sick than other cases of coronavirus and we’re not seeing anything particularly worrying about it,” he said, adding: “At the moment, we don’t think it’s more infectious than the other coronaviruses that we are seeing around.”

Greg Fell, director of public health in Sheffield, said his team had been monitoring the new strain “as we do with all outbreaks across the city”, and told people to remain calm.

“Please don’t be alarmed, we want you to continue doing what you have been for the past year. Follow the guidance, continue to wash your hands regularly and wear a mask indoors,” he said.

A programme to test sewage to assess the prevalence of different Covid-19 variants in different regions now covers two-thirds of England’s population, the Government has said.

The scheme tests samples of wastewater for traces of the virus, and positive samples are genome sequenced to identify whether it is a variant of concern, such as the India strain.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the programme had helped identify the need for surge testing in areas such as Bristol and Luton. It then continues to monitor sewage after surge testing has ended, to ensure the variant is no longer circulating in the area.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Sequencing wastewater samples provides an additional detection system for variants of concern, enabling us to respond more effectively to outbreaks and better protect citizens.”

Anyone living in Britain will soon be barred from travelling to Germany after the country’s Public Health Institute designated the UK as a virus variant area of concern.

From midnight on Sunday, people travelling to Germany from Great Britain and Northern Ireland may only enter the country if they are a German citizen or resident.

Spouses and children under 18 of a German citizen or resident can also enter, as long as they are travelling together.

Those with an urgent humanitarian reason, such as an immediate family bereavement, are also able to enter. However, anyone entering the country from the UK must quarantine for two weeks on arrival, even if they test negative for coronavirus.

The move comes after Spain lifted travel restrictions on British visitors, with the country’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez saying Spain will be “delighted, extremely delighted” to receive British tourists again.

Germany and Spain are both on the UK government’s amber list, meaning travellers must quarantine at home for 10 days and take a pre-departure test and two post-arrival tests.

England’s vaccination rollout has been extended to people aged 32 and 33, the NHS has said, while also estimating that more than 50 million coronavirus doses will have been given by Saturday.

This is the equivalent to over 40 per cent of the country’s adult population. Of the 49,682,934 jabs administered so far, 18,328,096 of them have been second doses.

The latest age group to receive jabs - like all under-40s - will not be offered the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because of its link to rare blood clots, writes Rory Sullivan.