Britain

UK Minister: Venues May Require Proof Of Vaccine

Reuters reports: People who refuse a vaccine for COVID-19 could find normal life curtailed as restaurants, bars, cinemas and sports venues could block entry to those who don’t have proof they are inoculated, Britain’s new vaccine minister said on Monday. Asked by the BBC if there would be an immunity passport, Nadhim Zahawi said a person’s COVID-19 vaccine status might …

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Britain Appoints Vax Minister Ahead Of Distribution

The Associated Press reports: The British government appointed a vaccines minister on Saturday as it prepares to inoculate millions of people against the coronavirus, potentially starting within days. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Conservative lawmaker Nadhim Zahawi will oversee the country’s biggest vaccine program in decades. The U.K. medicines regulator is currently assessing two vaccines — one developed by Pfizer …

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London Police Battle Lockdown Protesters [VIDEO]

Via press release from London’s Metropolitan Police: Ahead of a planned protest on Saturday, 28 November, the Met is urgently reminding those looking to attend that protest is not currently a permitted exemption to the prohibition on gatherings under the current Coronavirus regulations. Strict regulations have been introduced by the Government nationally to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus. This …

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Britain’s NHS Tells Hospitals To Expect Vax In 10 Days

The Guardian reports: Hospitals have been told to prepare for the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine in as little as 10 days’ time, with NHS workers expected to be at the front of the queue, the Guardian has learned. NHS bosses said hospitals in England could expect to receive their first deliveries of a vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech as soon …

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New Trial For Oxford Vax As UK Considers Approval

The Associated Press reports: The British government said Friday it has formally asked the country’s medicines regulator to assess whether a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University should be authorized for use. The step comes amid questions about preliminary results from trials of the jab, after the company and the university acknowledged that the most encouraging part of …

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Boris Johnson Refers To Trump As “Previous President”

Sky News reports: Boris Johnson has branded Donald Trump the “previous president” and hailed his “refreshing” conversation with successor Joe Biden. Mr Trump is continuing to claim he won last week’s US presidential election and has made multiple unsubstantiated claims of fraud. But the prime minister consigned Mr Trump’s presidency to the history books on Wednesday, as he told MPs …

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British PM Boris Johnson’s Tweet Congratulating Joe Biden Also Had Hidden Message Congratulating Trump

The Guardian reports: Downing Street’s congratulatory message to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on winning the US presidential election contains a hidden message congratulating Donald Trump for winning a second term in office. The message, posted on Twitter as an image a few hours after the US TV networks called the election for Biden, congratulates the president-elect on his election, …

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England To Enter Four Week National Lockdown

The BBC reports: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a second national lockdown for England as the UK passed one million Covid-19 cases. Non-essential shops and hospitality will have to close for four weeks on Thursday, he said. But unlike the restrictions in spring, schools, colleges and universities will be allowed to stay open. It comes as documents suggested the …

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UK Volunteers To Get COVID In Vax “Challenge Trials”

The Guardian reports: More than £30m of UK government money is to fund the world’s first Covid-19 “challenge trials”, in which healthy young volunteers are intentionally infected with the virus to hasten the development of a vaccine. The trials have the potential to yield results more quickly than conventional vaccine field trials in which researchers must wait for participants to …

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Wales To Impose Two-Week “Stay At Home” Lockdown

Reuters reports: Wales will impose a two-week “fire-break” lockdown from Friday in which everybody apart from essential workers must stay at home to combat an accelerating second wave of COVID-19. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said he understood that people were tired of coronavirus restrictions but tougher rules were essential as critical care units were already full. “It will have …

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London Returns To “Tier 2 Lockdown” As Cases Surge

The Independent reports: London is to go into Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions from midnight on Friday evening, barring the capital’s 9 million residents from meeting other households in their homes or other indoor spaces. The escalation in controls over social and economic life was formally announced by health secretary Matt Hancock in a statement to the House of Commons, when …

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Britain Imposes New Three-Tier Lockdown System

The Associated Press reports: The British government carved England into three tiers of coronavirus risk on Monday in a bid to slow a resurgent outbreak, putting the northern city of Liverpool into the highest risk category and shutting its pubs, gyms and betting shops. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the three-tier national system was designed to “simplify and standardize” a …

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Britain’s COVID Rate Lessens Amid Latest Lockdown

The Washington Post report: England’s rate of new coronavirus infections appears to be slowing, but cases remain high particularly among people between 18 and 24 years old, said a team of researchers behind a new study of more than 80,000 participants that was published Thursday by Imperial College London. The study, the country’s largest to date, notes that the reproduction …

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British MP Nominates Biden For Nobel Peace Prize

Sky News reports: Joe Biden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Labour MP Chris Bryant, Sky News can reveal. The Democratic presidential candidate now joins President Donald Trump on the list of nominees as the race for the White House enters its final stages. Mr Bryant, a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and …

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UK Grocers Ration Staples Amid New Lockdown Order

Business Insider reports: British grocery chains Tesco and Morrisons have started rationing essential items over fears that stricter lockdown measures will send shoppers into a panic. Supermarkets limited sales of certain goods earlier in the pandemic, and Morrisons became the first major grocer to reintroduce these measures when it said on Thursday that customers could only buy three of certain …

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Johnson Orders Stiffened Measures Amid New Surge

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people on Tuesday to work from home where possible and ordered bars and restaurants to shut earlier in a bid to tackle a fast-spreading second wave of COVID-19. After government scientists warned that the death rate would soar without urgent action, Johnson said the new restrictions in England could last for six …

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Boris Johnson Proposes Testing Every Brit, Every Week

The Washington Post reports: No masks. No distancing. The ability to go to work or school, the theater or a soccer match, as if living in a virus-free world. That’s the vision British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pitched this past week, as he unveiled “Operation Moonshot” — a plan to test 10 million Brits every single day, or everyone in …

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EU Considers Legal Action Over “Illegal” Brexit Plan

Reuters reports: Britain and the European Union held emergency talks on Thursday over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to undercut parts of the Brexit divorce treaty, with Brussels exploring possible legal action against London. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic expressed concern about the plan before a meeting with British counterpart Michael Gove in London, taking place alongside trade talks …

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British Family Sues Wife Of US Official In Fatal Crash

The Washington Post reports: The family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist killed by a car driven on the wrong side of an English roadway by the wife of a U.S. official, filed a U.S. federal lawsuit against the driver, Anne Sacoolas, on Wednesday. The lawsuit, which claims wrongful death and seeks financial damages, represents a significant escalation in the …

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Johnson Bans Gatherings Of More Than Six People

Reuters reports: Tough new lockdown restrictions on social gatherings across the whole of England are to be announced on Wednesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to control a spike in COVID-19 infections. From Sept. 14, groups of more than six people will be banned from meeting and fined if they fail to comply, Johnson will say. The number of …

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