Tag: Matt Hancock

UK Health Secretary Gets AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock received the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, in a public show of support for the jab which has been suspected of causing life-threatening blood clots. Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, administered the jab for Hancock at a vaccination centre in London. “It…


UK ‘Precisely on Track’ of Johnson’s Roadmap to Reopen, Say Hancock

The UK should be able to reopen on dates set out in the government’s roadmap out of the lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. Speaking at a televised CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus briefing on Wednesday, the Health Secretary said: “The data show that we are essentially precisely on track for where we expected to…


UK Bans Travellers From India to Curb New CCP Virus Variant

The UK will ban travellers from India from Friday to prevent the spread of a new CCP virus variant first identified in that country, the government has announced. Addressing the House of Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government had made “the difficult but vital decision” to add India to the UK’s travel red…


Local COVID-19 Restrictions May Return If South African Variant Not Curbed: UK Expert

The UK may need to re-impose local COVID-19 restrictions if the ongoing mass testing operation fails to put the South African variant under control, a medical expert has warned. “I think there is a significant risk of a wave occurring in the summer,” professor John Edmunds, an expert on infectious diseases at the London School…


UK Local COVID-19 Restrictions May Return If South African Variant Isn’t Curbed: Expert

The UK may need to reimpose local COVID-19 restrictions if the ongoing mass testing operation fails to put the South African variant under control, a medical expert has warned. “I think there is a significant risk of a wave occurring in the summer,” professor John Edmunds, an expert on infectious diseases at the London School…


UK Offers Twice-Weekly COVID-19 Tests to Everyone in England

Everyone in England will be offered free COVID-19 testing twice a week from April 9, the UK government announced on Monday. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said this is a “significant step forward” which “paves the way for businesses and society reopening” as the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus lockdown is…


England Lockdown Eased to Allow Outdoor Meet-Ups

Groups of six people or two households are now allowed to meet outside in England as the CCP virus lockdown rules are eased. The “Stay at Home” rule ends on Monday, allowing outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, golf courses, and open air swimming pools to reopen. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson reminded the…


Britons Going on Holiday Abroad Face £5,000 Fines

People leaving the UK without a “reasonable excuse” will face £5,000 ($6,900) fines from next week, under the government’s new CCP virus regulations. Under the new health protection regulations (pdf), which were presented to Parliament on Monday, the penalty would be issued to anyone who, “without a reasonable excuse,” travels outside the UK or to…


England’s COVID-19 Test-and-Trace System Has No Clear Impact: Lawmakers

There is no clear evidence that England’s costly test-and-trace system has been effective in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the British parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year promised a world-beating test-and-trace system as part of the route out of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. But the parliamentary…


Missing Case of Brazilian COVID-19 Variant Found in England

The UK health authorities have located the person who tested positive for the Brazilian COVID-19 variant but did not register their personal information, Public Health England (PHE) confirmed on Friday. PHE said on Feb. 28 that six cases of the Brazilian P.1 variant had been detected in the UK, three in England, and three more…