Too early to say if lockdown will end by summer, Boris Johnson says
The government could pay everyone testing positive for Covid £500 to self-isolate, under plans reportedly being considered by ministers.
The scheme, which would cost up to £450m a week, aims to encourage more people to take a test and to persuade those who test positive to stay at home, regardless of their financial situation.
The proposal, which is likely to alarm the Treasury ahead of Rishi Sunaks budget, is reportedly detailed in a policy paper at the Department of Health seen by The Guardian.
The development follows polling that revealed many self-employed workers fear they will lose money if they self-isolate.
It also follows Boris Johnson warning that Englands lockdown may last until summer. The prime minister said it was too early to say when measures would be relaxed, with No 10 later refusing to rule out the possibility of lockdown continuing beyond Easter. 
Leading scientists have cautioned against a premature easing of measures.
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Sage member says there are early signs infections are dropping
Dr Tildesley also said there were “early signs” that coronavirus cases were falling.
The Sage member said there were signs the lockdown is possibly working in terms of taking the R number below 1.
He told Times Radio: “The key thing there actually is we don’t just want to take the number below 1 we need to take it quite a bit below 1 because of course the further below 1 we go the faster those curves are going to come down and the sooner, hopefully, we’re going to ease out of restrictions.”
Clea Skopeliti22 January 2021 08:02
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Sage member lends support for payments for self-isolation
A Sage expert has backed payments to people self-isolating, saying that it was important the government actually looks at making the rules better instead of just ramping them up”. 
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of Sage subgroup the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), told Times Radio: “One of the key things actually that we need to think about is not necessarily just ramping up the rules if things don’t seem to be working but actually looking at making the rules better that we have in place, and one of the key problems actually is people isolating.
“Some kind of support for people so they can see through their isolation is actually pretty important, so that we really do get on top of these numbers.”
Clea Skopeliti22 January 2021 07:58
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Government considering closing borders to all foreign travellers to prevent spread of new Covid variants, minister says
Boris Johnsons government is considering the possibility of closing the borders to travellers to prevent new strains of Covid being spread in the UK, cabinet minister George Eustice has said.
Pressed on Sky News whether he would like to see the full closure of borders to foreign visitors, the environment secretary told Sky News:  We always keep these things under review. Its been considered.”
Ashley Cowburn reports here:
Boris Johnsons government is considering the possibility of closing the borders to travellers to prevent new strains of Covid being spread in the UK, cabinet minister George Eustice has said.
Clea Skopeliti22 January 2021 07:49
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Hello and welcome to The Independents rolling coverage of the coronavirus crisis.
Clea Skopeliti22 January 2021 07:44