New £700 million plan laid out to help young people in England catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic. Following the announcement of the roadmap yesterday which laid out a cautious easing of restrictions, the government has today, Wednesday 24 February, announced further elements of the recovery support package…

A study conducted by Public Health England (PHE) estimates that 17.8% of university students in England had COVID-19 antibodies. The COVID-19 university seroprevalence study was carried out among the student population in England. It was conducted between 2 to 11 December 2020 at 5 universities across the country, which had reported…

PM Boris Johnson has announced the government’s roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions in England. Government publishes four-step roadmap to ease restrictions across England and provide a route back to a more normal way of life Each step to be assessed against four tests before restrictions ease, starting with the…

Every resident will be allowed one regular indoor visitor from 8 March. Visitors to be allowed to hold hands, with tests required before entry and PPE to be worn on site Scheme designed to be the next, cautious step in bringing families back together Care…

Statement by the leaders of the G7. We, the leaders of the Group of Seven, met today and resolved to work together to beat COVID-19 and build back better. Drawing on our strengths and values as democratic, open economies and societies, we will work together and with others to make 2021…

The Prime Minister will call on world leaders to back efforts to speed up the development of new vaccines, treatments and tests at a G7 meeting. Slashing the time to develop vaccines for new diseases to 100 days will save countless lives in future health crises …

The UK will be the first country in the world to run a Covid-19 human challenge study, following approval from the UK’s clinical trials ethics body First Covid-19 human challenge study will begin within a month, after receiving ethics approval in the same week the UK hits target of…

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will today call for local ceasefires across the globe so vulnerable people living in conflict zones can be vaccinated against Covid-19. He will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council today and urge members to unite and agree a resolution for negotiated vaccine ceasefires, and to…

The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) has reacted to the news that Leeds will receive £10 million to set up a climate change finance research hub, which aims to make the city a centre for green investments. Welcoming the announcement, GALBA contrasted the initiative with Leeds City…

Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference. Today the national vaccination programme continues to power past the target we set six weeks ago with more than 15 million people vaccinated across the UK. And once again I pay tribute to the astonishing efforts of everyone involved –…

So far, the UK has committed £548m to the global Covax initiative, making the UK the largest single donor. The Covax initiative is the key way that more than 180 countries will have fair, early access to COVID-19 vaccines. The UK has also encouraged other countries to contribute over $1bn…

Anyone who has visited a country on the UK’s travel ban list in the last 10 days will have to quarantine in hotels from today. From today (Monday 15 February), if you have been in a high risk destination on the UK’s ‘red list’ – comprised of 33 hotspots with COVID…

The HS2 Phase 2a Bill has been given Royal Assent, cementing in law the Government’s commitment to bring the new high-speed railway to the North. The Act of Parliament has been passed exactly one year after Ministers gave the project the green light. It will allow HS2 Ltd to begin work…

Plans for the proposed £150m upgrade to Leeds Bradford Airport have been approved in principle by Leeds City councillors. A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “The council recognises that the Leeds Bradford Airport planning application has been the subject of much public debate and, from the moment it was first submitted, full…

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab comments on the Chinese decision to ban the broadcasting of BBC World News. Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said: "China’s decision to ban BBC World News in mainland China is an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom. "China has some of the most…

Over 1.7 million users have been asked to isolate as a result of a close contact since launch, helping to break chains of transmission. Analysis suggests approximately 600,000 cases have been prevented by the app since September The app notifies contacts as quickly as…

Speech by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock at the Downing Street coronavirus briefing. Good afternoon and welcome back to Downing Street for today’s coronavirus briefing. I’m joined by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, and by NHS England’s Medical Director for Primary Care Dr Nikki…

Regular updates on cold weather and how to stay well during low temperatures. Public Health England (PHE) has extended the current cold weather alert until midday on Friday 12 February as severe wintry conditions are expected to continue this week. The Met Office has forecast that all regions across the country will…

National influenza and COVID-19 report, monitoring coronavirus (COVID-19) activity, seasonal flu and other seasonal respiratory illnesses. The main points from this week’s national influenza and COVID-19 surveillance report are: Surveillance indicators suggest that at a national level COVID-19 activity decreased in week 4 of 2021, between 25 and 31 January. Case rates have…