UK records highest daily infection total since June as local lockdowns upheld and France threatens quarantine reprisals
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK has recorded its highest daily rise in infections for two months, with an official total of 1,441 new cases – four times higher than those just over a month ago.
Meanwhile, local lockdown restrictions in parts of the northwest, West Yorkshire, east Lancashire and Leicester will continue until further notice after coronavirus cases there failed to fall to a safe level over the past two weeks, the government has said.
People in the affected areas are not permitted to mix with other households (excluding a support bubble) within private homes or gardens to slow the spread of the virus.
The decision came as France threatened to impose reciprocal measures against the UK after the British government added the country, along with Malta and the Netherlands, to its coronavirus quarantine list.
This is how our live coverage today unfolded:
Students protest outside Downing Street over A-level results controversy
Students and teachers have protested outside Downing Street over this year’s A-level results after tens of thousands of grades were lowered by a moderating system following the cancellation of exams due to coronavirus.
Images from the protest showed a small group of demonstrators holding signs calling for Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, to resign.
Our reporter, Zoe Tidman, has the full story below:
Chinese mall in lockdown after coronavirus case
A shopping mall in the Luohu district of Shenzhen, China, has been sealed off and put under police supervision following a coronavirus case in the building, health officials have said.
About 200 people were made to queue outside the mall and wait for Covid-19 tests from medical personnel in protective suits.
The confirmed case was a 41-year-old woman who had been working inside the Alibaba-owned supermarket Freshippo as a temporary brand promoter until 2 August, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The worker was diagnosed in her home city of Lufeng, in Guangdong, the commission said, and three of her family members also tested positive.
UK’s ‘R’ rate remains unchanged at 0.8 to 1.0
The coronavirus reproduction rate for the UK as a whole has remained unchanged at 0.8-1.0 and the rate of growth has remained broadly unchanged -1 per cent to -4 per cent, the government has said.
However, officials added that there were early signs that the values were increasing.
EU agrees vaccine deal with AstraZeneca in potential blow to WHO's global plan
The EU has agreed to buy at least 300 million doses of AstraZeneca’s potential coronavirus vaccine in its first such advance purchase deal, potentially weakening the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) plans for a global approach.
The European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of all 27 EU member states, said the deal included an option to purchase 100 million additional doses from the British drugmaker should its vaccine prove safe and effective.
It converts into an EU agreement a preliminary deal with AstraZeneca that was reached in June by Europe's Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to secure vaccine doses for all member states.
“This new agreement will give all EU member states the option to access the vaccine in an equitable manner at no profit during the pandemic,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.
The EU’s move could complicate efforts led by the WHO and GAVI, a global alliance for vaccines, to buy shots on behalf of rich and developing countries with a separate scheme.
Brussels has publicly said that its purchasing scheme is complementary to the WHO scheme but in private told EU states that there may be legal issues if they joined the WHO programme, according to Reuters.
US and Canada set to extend non-essential travel ban, sources say
The US and Canada are set to approve another extension to a ban on non-essential travel between the two countries, sources from both nations have said.
The months-long ban, which does not cover trade, was first imposed in March and has been rolled over several times as cases in the US continue to rise.
A US official briefed on the matter told Reuters that the measures were set to be extended for another 30 days and could last several more months depending on the progression of the outbreak.
The premiers of several major Canadian provinces have said they want to keep out US tourists until there is clear evidence that the coronavirus outbreak south of the border is under control.
A 17 July poll by Ipsos-Reid said 85 per cent of Canadians thought the land border should stay closed until at least the end of 2020.
Oxford college to accept offer-holders ‘irrespective of A-level results’ after controversy
An Oxford University college has said it will confirm the places of all its UK offer-holders “irrespective of their A-level results” following the controversy around the government’s system for allocating grades.
There have been concerns raised that students from schools in disadvantaged areas have been unfairly hit by the moderating system, which downgraded 40 per cent of teacher-assessed results.
“Many members of our college community and beyond have expressed their concern for the potential impact of yesterday’s A-level results on this year’s incoming students,” Worcester College said in a statement.
“At Worcester, we made offers in 2020 to our most diverse cohort ever and in response to the uncertainties surrounding this year’s assessment, we have confirmed the places of all our UK offer-holders, irrespective of their A-level results.”
Birmingham’s John Lewis store will never reopen, mayor says
John Lewis’ Grand Central department store in Birmingham, which has been closed since lockdown, will never reopen, the mayor of the West Midlands has said.
In a weekly video call with journalists on Friday, Andy Street said he had a “sad piece of news” to report about the store.
“We were contacted yesterday by them and they have indeed confirmed to their staff that the proposal to close the central Birmingham shop has become a reality and it will not now reopen,” he said.
“That is despite myself, [leader of Birmingham City Council] Ian Ward and [chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company] Neil Rami having met with them and put forward what we believe were very viable alternatives which they have chosen not to accept.”
Mr Street, who is a former managing director of John Lewis, had been urging the chain to reverse what he called the “dreadful mistake” of closing its Grand Central branch, since the proposal was announced at the end of July.
Germany declares Spain’s Mallorca as at-risk region, report says
Germany’s public health agency has declared the Spanish tourist island of Mallorca as a coronavirus risk region following a spike in cases there, Bild newspaper has reported.
Designations deemed as risk regions by the Robert Koch Institute are typically followed by the German Foreign Ministry warning against tourist travel to those areas.
Nearly half of Scots want ban on English tourists unless they quarantine, poll suggests
Nearly half of Scots believe English tourists should not be allowed over the border unless they go into quarantine due to coronavirus, according to a YouGov poll.
The survey found 47 per cent of people in Scotland wanted travellers from England only to be allowed to enter the country if they undergo a period of self-isolation.
Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has the full story below:
More than 100 people wrongly prosecuted for breaking coronavirus law
Every charge brought under the Coronavirus Act 2020 have been overturned but the government has refused to scrap the law.
And the number is likely to rise, according to a review by the Crown Prosecution Service, writes our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden:
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