People who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will no longer have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
From today, people in England who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, or are under 18, will not have to spend 10 days in quarantine if they are pinged as a contact of a positive case, a change which has been hailed “another step back towards normality”.
They will be advised to take a PCR test, but that will not be compulsory and they will not have to self-isolate while they wait for the result. People who test positive will still be legally required to self-isolate.
However, scientists advising the Government are arguing that public messaging should be clearer, particularly about the advice to take a PCR test if pinged.
Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the Government’s Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours, said that “there is strong advice to get a PCR test to find out whether you are infected or not” when pinged by the NHS Covid app.
Prof Reicher said that the Government should “make clear” that until people get the results of their tests, they should remain “very cautious” and limit their interactions, particularly with vulnerable people.
The new guidance will apply to people who had their final dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before coming into contact with a positive case.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:46 AM
Travel discounts and vouchers to boost vaccination uptake among young
Travel discounts, clothing gift cards and gym passes are among the latest incentives announced to help boost Covid vaccination rates among young people.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, announced that five companies will be offering incentives to persuade the young to get jabs.
The moves come as all 16 and 17-year-olds will be offered a Covid vaccine in the next week in an attempt to boost immunity levels before schools go back next month.
Teenagers within three months of turning 18 can also now book a vaccine appointment online through the National Booking Service or by calling 119.
06:11 AM
Today’s front page
Here is your Daily Telegraph for Monday, August 16.
05:57 AM
Millions of children could face a lifetime of rotten teeth
Millions of children could face a lifetime of rotten teeth in the wake of the pandemic, with a halving in the number undergoing dental checks, experts have warned.
NHS figures show the number undergoing check-ups fell by 50 per cent during the first year of the pandemic, with the worst trends seen among the youngest age groups.
In total, the number of under 15s who saw a dentist fell from 5.8 million to 2.9 million – a fall of half in just in one year.
Read the full story
05:40 AM
Australian city introduces curfew after street parties, pub crawls
A coronavirus curfew was announced on Monday for Australia’s second-biggest city of Melbourne, with residents confined to their homes overnight as authorities work to stamp out a delta variant outbreak.
More than five million Melbourne residents will be unable to leave their homes between 9pm and 5am from Monday evening, with essential workers requiring permits to be on the streets.
Victoria state premier Dan Andrews said the decision came after a series of street parties, pub crawls and home gatherings over the weekend, as Melbourne reached a “tipping point” in its latest outbreak.
“We’ve seen lots of different people flouting these rules, not doing as they should, making really poor choices,” he said.
Mr Andrews also announced that stay-at-home restrictions would be extended to September 2, saying it was necessary for the city to avoid the fate of Sydney “where it has fundamentally got away from them”.
05:14 AM
Japan to extend “state of emergency” lockdown
The Japanese government is set to extend its “state of emergency” soft lockdown in regions including Tokyo to the middle of September as well as adding several other regions, the Sankei Shimbun daily reported on Monday.
The current state of emergency is due to expire on Aug. 31, but a continuing surge in coronavirus cases has spurred calls to extend it.
04:15 AM
Brown urges summit to tackle vaccine inequality
Former prime minister Gordon Brown is urging world leaders to convene an emergency summit to tackle the “scandal” over a lack of global coronavirus vaccines.
He called on US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and this year’s chair of the G20, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, to take action in advance of the September United Nations General Assembly amid rising numbers of deaths among Africans.
According to Mr Brown, Africa, which has only fully vaccinated 1.9 per cent of its population, has been forced to export millions of lifesaving Covid vaccines to Europe, which has fully vaccinated more than 50 per cent.
He said this is “shocking, unfair and bordering on the neo-colonial”, at the very moment Africa is facing its deadliest surge in infections.
The hold-up in African vaccinations means that 90 per cent of African countries will miss their September target of vaccinating 10 per cent of their citizens, Mr Brown said.
The summit must address vaccine exports and the under-financing of the international Covax facility designed to send two billion vaccines to poor countries this year, he urged.
02:56 AM
Sydney records deadliest day of pandemic, more lockdowns announced
Australia’s most populous city recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic on Monday, as hundreds of unarmed military personnel were deployed across Sydney in a desperate attempt to quell a “disturbing high” number of infections.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said seven people had died in the past 24 hours, surpassing the state’s previous record day from earlier this month.
Ms Berejiklian said New South Wales has also detected 478 infections, the highest one-day rise since the pandemic begun.
“Our community transmission numbers are disturbingly high,” Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. “Every death is a person who has loved ones, who has died in tragic circumstances and our heartfelt condolences to all of those loved ones and families.”
The toll was announced as 200 military personnel were deployed across Sydney to set up roadblocks to enforce restrictions of movement. Australia last month deployed 500 troops to help New South Wales.
12:27 AM
Self isolation ends for fully vaccinated contacts
People who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will no longer have to isolate if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
From Monday, people in England who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, or are under 18, will not have to spend 10 days in quarantine if they are a contact of a positive case, a change which has been hailed “another step back towards normality”.
They will be advised to take a PCR test, but that will not be compulsory and they will not have to self-isolate while they wait for the result.
If someone develops symptoms of the virus, the Government says they should self-isolate and get a PCR test, and stay in isolation until the result comes back.
The new guidance will apply to people who had their final dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before coming into contact with a positive case.
People who test positive will still be legally required to self-isolate.
11:59 PM
Demand for trains will recover from pandemic, minister insists
Demand for train travel will return to pre-pandemic levels despite currently lagging behind car use, a minister has insisted.
Department for Transport figures show the number of journeys being made by train in Britain is approximately 57 per cent of what it was before the coronavirus crisis, while car use has fully recovered.
Asked if train passenger numbers will return to normal, rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris replied: “I think we will but I don’t think there’ll be the numbers at the same times of day that there used to be.”
Before the Covid-19 outbreak, the rail network generally saw a surge in demand from commuters during the weekday morning and evening peaks, but was often quiet during other periods.
“We’re going to be sweating the assets in a very different way,” Mr Heaton-Harris said. “The leisure market is recovering, and recovering strongly. Probably for the first time in the railway’s history you’re getting as many people traveling on Saturdays and Sundays as you are during the weekend, and in lots of places more.”
