Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday morning. We’ll have another update for you this evening.
Most pupils across the UK have not been in school since before the Christmas holidays – and now Tory MPs are calling for a “route map” for the
reopening of schools in England. Pupils have been told they will be learning from home until at least the February half-term holidays. And Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says schools will be given at least two weeks’ notice to reopen – which he “hopes” will happen before Easter. So, with no firm timetable, the chairman of the education select committee, Robert Halfon, has called for a plan to be laid out to MPs. He has asked for an urgent question in the Commons – if granted, Mr Williamson must respond. No part of the UK has yet announced a firm date for schools’ reopening – you can read about the different nations’ plans here.
image copyrightGareth Fuller
The UK must reform how it is governed or risk becoming a “failed state”, former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has warned. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he says Covid has exposed “tensions” between Whitehall and the nations and regions. Recent polls have suggested rising support for Scottish independence – and a potential border vote in Northern Ireland. “The complaint is that Whitehall does not fully understand the country it is supposed to govern,” says Mr Brown.
France’s top medical adviser says a third national lockdown will probably soon be needed to combat Covid-19. Prof Jean-Francois Delfraissy says “there is an emergency”, adding that the “UK variant” now makes up between 7-9% of cases in some French regions. A strict curfew was implemented last weekend but cases continue to climb. You can see police enforcing the 6pm shutdown below.
media captionPolice in Paris ensure shops close at 6pm as France begins a new curfew to tackle Covid-19
Riot police in the Netherlands have clashed with protesters who are angry at new coronavirus restrictions. Officers used water cannon and tear gas to clear demonstrators in Eindhoven. They had gathered in defiance of a new 9pm curfew. Some protesters threw fireworks, looted supermarkets and smashed shop windows. There were smaller demonstrations in the capital, Amsterdam.
Australia has suspended a travel bubble with New Zealand – after NZ’s first Covid case in months was confirmed to be the South African variant. The infected patient had served 14 days in quarantine and tested negative twice before developing symptoms later. Travellers coming from New Zealand to Australia in the next 72 hours will now have to go through hotel quarantine. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the suspension was done out of an “abundance of caution”.
image copyrightGetty Images
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You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page. This explainer looks at various questions – including whether the vaccine stops you spreading the disease.
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