Monday 17 May 2021

Coronavirus Log ~ Part 9 ~ from 17 May 2021


This post is a continuation of the Coronavirus Log.  See Coronavirus Log Part 1 - (December 2019 to 28 April 2020) - Part 2 (29 April 2020 to 24 May 2020) - Part 3 (25 May to 21 June 2020) - Part 4 (22 June to 26 July 2020) - Part 5 (27 July to 1 November - Part 6 (2 November 2020 to 13 February 2021) - Part 7 (13 February 2021 to 11 April 2021). - Part 8 (12 April 2021 to 16 May 2021).

Law and Lawyers - Coronavirus Restrictions England - Changes from 17 May 2021

International comparisons may be seen via the website of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

(Monday) 17 May 2021 - Government data reported that up to 16 May there had been 127,679 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 1926 new positive tests reported on 16 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 36,573,354 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 20,103,658 a second dose) up to and including 15 May 2021.

17 May - Sky News - Indian coronavirus variant - where is it getting worse?

17 May - The Guardian - Ignore lockdown easing to curb Indian Covid variant, health experts urge

17 May - The Guardian - Hancock: most Bolton Covid patients eligibe for jab but haven't had it

18 May 2021 - Government data reported that up to 17 May there had been 127,684 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 1979 new positive tests reported on 17 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 36,704,672 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 20,287,403 a second dose) up to and including 16 May 2021.

18 May - BBC News = Ministers to step up vaccine take up calls amid variant fears

18 May - Hansard - Covid 19 Update - where the Secretary of State (Mr Hancock) commented - "There are now 2,323 confirmed cases of B1617.2 in the UK; 483 of these cases have been seen in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen, where it is now the dominant strain. Cases there have doubled in the last week and are rising in all age groups. In Blackburn, hospitalisations are stable, with eight people currently in hospital with covid. In Bolton, 19 people are now in hospital with coronavirus, tthe majority of whom are eligible for a vaccine but have not yet had one. That shows that the new variant is not tending to penetrate into older vaccinated groups, and underlines again the importance of getting the jab—especially, but not only, among the vulnerable age groups."

18 May - The Guardian - Covid expected to cost Britain £372bn, says National Audit Office

18 May - The Guardian - Caution and confusion mark PM's approach to lifting Covid lockdown

18 May - The Guardian - India variant will be dominant UK Covid strain 'in next few days'

19 May 2021 - Government data reported that up to 18 May there had been 127,691 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2412 new positive tests reported on 18 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 36,811,405 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 20,546,452 a second dose) up to and including 17 May 2021. 

19 May - National Audit Office (NAO) report - Initial learning from the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and see the NAO press release.

20 May 2021 - Government data reported that up to 19 May there had been 127,694 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2696 new positive tests reported on 19 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 36,985,505 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 20,870,453 a second dose) up to and including 18 May 2021.

21 May 2021 - Government data reported that up to 20 May there had been 127,701 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2874 new positive tests reported on 20 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 37,250,363 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 21,239,471 a second dose) up to and including 19 May 2021. 

21 May - The Guardian - Confirmed cases of India variant in UK rise 160% in a week - this article also reports that a further variant is under investigation. Known as VUI-21MAY-01 or AV.1, the variant has been found in the UK, Greece and Chad, and it is not yet clear in which country it was first detected. PHE said there had been 49 cases in the UK to date, mainly concentrated in Yorkshire and the Humber. PHE has said there was no evidence Covid vaccines would be less effective in protecting people against severe illness and hospitalisation from either B.1.617.2 or AV.1.

22 May - Government data reported that up to 21 May there had been 127,710 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2829 new positive tests reported on 21 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 37,518,614 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 21,659,783 a second dose) up to and including 20 May 2021. 

22 May - BBC News - Sewage testing ramped up in England

22 May - BBC News - Covid vaccine: 32 and 33 year olds in England now invited to book

22 May - The Guardian - Signs of rise in Covid infections in England amid variant warnings

23 May - Government data reported that up to 22 May there had been 127,716 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2829 new positive tests reported on 22 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 37,726,924 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 22,071,497 a second dose) up to and including 21 May 2021. 

23 May - BBC News - Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs effective against Indian variant - study

23 May - The Guardian - No 10 'tried to block' data on spread of new Covid variant in English schools

23 May - The Guardian - Dominic Cummings claims ministers backed her immunity against Covid - (Dominic Cummings, former adviser to the Prime Minister, became notorious for his trip to County Durham in 2020 - see The Guardian 23 May).

(Monday) 24 May - Government data reported that up to 23 May there had been 127,721 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2235 new positive tests reported on 23 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 37,943,681 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 22,643,417 a second dose) up to and including 22 May 2021.

(43% of the adult population have received 2 doses of a vaccine. 72% have received a first dose).

25 May - Government data reported that up to 24 May there had been 127,724 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2439 new positive tests reported on 24 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 38,070,038 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 22,895,556 a second dose) up to and including 23 May 2021.

The new positive tests of 2439 was a 17% rise over the 7 days 17-24 May compared to 11 to 17 May. 

25 May - BBC News - Covid: People in surge areas told 'stay local' - and the updated "guidance" issued on Friday 21 May 2021.  The guidance includes the statement - "avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or education." The Council areas affected are Bedford, Blackburn and Darwen, Bolton, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester. Hounslow, and North Tyneside.

25 May - The Guardian - Up to 8,700 patients died after catching Covid in English hospitals

25 May - The Guardian - Britons should not be holidaying in Spain yet, says UK minister - Britons have been urged not to travel to Spain after the country opened its doors to tourists from the UK. Spain has lifted its restrictions on holidaymakers from the UK but the business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has urged people not to go there unless there is an urgent reason. The country is still on the UK government’s amber list

26 May - Government data reported that up to 25 May there had been 127,739 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 2493 new positive tests reported on 25 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 38,192,417 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 23,228,511 a second dose) up to and including 24 May 2021.

26 May - BBC News - How is Europe lifting lockdown restrictions?

26 May - BBC News - Government clarifies advice for areas in England worst-hit by Indian variant  

26 May - Parliament - The joint inquiry of the Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee session with Dominic Cummings on what lessons can be drawn from the Government’s handling of the pandemic that could be applied now and in the future. The session may also be viewed HERE.

27 May - Government data reported that up to 26 May there had been 127,748 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3180 new positive tests reported on 26 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 38,378,544 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 23,616,498 a second dose) up to and including 25 May 2021.

27 May - BBC News - Biden orders intelligence report on virus origin

27 May - The Guardian - Airline and holiday firms hit out at UK's 'utterly confusing' travel advice

27 May - Hansard House of Commons - Government handling and preparedness - statement by the Secretary of State for Health following the remarks of Dominic Cummings at the Health and Social Care Committee. 

28 May - Government data reported that up to 27 May there had been 127,758 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3542 new positive tests reported on 27 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 38,614,683 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 24,043,956 a second dose) up to and including 26 May 2021.

28 May - BBC News - Why the Wuhan lab-leak theory is being taken seriously

28 May - BBC News - Boris Johnson says England may have to wait to end restrictions

29 May - Government data reported that up to 28 May there had been 127,768 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 4182 new positive tests reported on 28 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 38,871,200 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 24,478,052 a second dose) up to and including 27 May 2021.

(The vaccination percentages for the UK adult population - 73.8% one dose and 46.5% two doses).

.BBC News - 'Fortress Australia': Why calls to open up borders are meeting resistance 

30 May - Government data reported that up to 29 May there had been 127,775 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3398 new positive tests reported on 29 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,068,346 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 24,892,416 a second dose) up to and including 28 May 2021

30 May - The Guardian - Anti-vaccine passport protesters storm Westfield mall in London

30 May - The Guardian - Keir Starmer: Boris Johnson's chaos could hit June plan to lift lockdown

30 May - The Conversation - Which countries will be next to see a big spike in cases and note the 7 day lockdown imposed in Melbourne, Australia.

(Monday) 31 May - Government data reported that up to 30 May there had been 127,781 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3240 new positive tests reported on 30 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,259,168 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 25,332,851 a second dose) up to and including 29 May 2021

1 June - Government data reported that up to 31 May there had been 127,782 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3383 new positive tests reported on 31 May. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,379,411 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 25,537,133 a second dose) up to and including 30 May 2021

1 June - BBC News - UK could be entering third Covid wave

1 June - The Guardian - Scientsist call on UK to speed up second Covid jabs as India variant spreads

At the start of June the situation appears to be a race against the clock to avoid a large third wave of Covid brought about by the entry into the UK of the "Indian variant". This variant was first detected in the UK on 16 April but India was not placed on the travel "red list" until 23 April though additional flights took place immediately before that.  By 7 May PHE had declared this to be a variant of concern and WHO declared it to be of global concern on 11 May. At the time of writing, serious questions exist over whether further easing of restrictions ought to be take place on 21 June.

1 June - WHO renames UK and other variants with Greek letters

1 June - BBC News - Red list arrivals terminal opens at Heathrow Airport

2 June - Government data reported that up to 1 June there had been 127,782 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 3165 new positive tests reported on 1 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,477,158 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 25,734,719 a second dose) up to and including 31 May 2021

BBC News - How significant is a day without Covid deaths?  1 June was the the first day the UK government announced zero coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

3 June - Government data reported that up to 2 June there had been 127,794 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 4330 new positive tests reported on 2 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,585,665 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 26,073,284 a second dose) up to and including 1 June 2021.

The vaccination data is that up to 1 June, 75.2% of the UK adult population has had one dose of vaccine and 49.5% a second.

3 June - BBC News - Health staff in plea for better protection

3 June - The Guardian - PM says no sign yet he should delay end of Covid rules as daily cases top 4000

3 June - UK government - announced that changes to the Red, Amber, Green listing system will take place from 8 June - see the government webpage.

4 June - Government data reported that up to 3 June there had been 127,812 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 5274 new positive tests reported on 3 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,758,428 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 26,422,303 a second dose) up to and including 2 June 2021.



5 June - Government data reported that up to 4 June there had been 127,823 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 6238 new positive tests reported on 4 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 39,949,694 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 26,799,944 a second dose) up to and including 3 June 2021.



6 June - Government data reported that up to 5 June there had been 127,836 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 5765 new positive tests reported on 5 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,124,229 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 27,160,635 a second dose) up to and including 4 June 2021.

(Monday)7 June - Government data reported that up to 6 June there had been 127,840 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 5341 new positive tests reported on 6 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,333,231 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 27,661,353 a second dose) up to and including 5 June 2021.

8 June - changes to the travel scheme came into force - see the government webpage..

8 June - Government data reported that up to 7 June there had been 127,841 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 5683 new positive tests reported on 7 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,460,576 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 27,921,294 a second dose) up to and including 6 June 2021.


9 June - Government data reported that up to 8 June there had been 127,854 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 6048 new positive tests reported on 8 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,573,517 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 28,227,362 a second dose) up to and including 7 June 2021.

10 June - Government data reported that up to 9 June there had been 127,860 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7540 new positive tests reported on 9 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,710,319 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 28,540,844 a second dose) up to and including 8 June 2021.

10 June - Parliament - Health Committee - Evidence by Secretary of State for Health



11 June - Government data reported that up to 10 June there had been 127,867 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7393 new positive tests reported on 10 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 40,886,878 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 28,857,102 a second dose) up to and including 9 June 2021.


12 June - Government data reported that up to 11 June there had been 127,884 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 8125 new positive tests reported on 11 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 41,088,485 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 29,165,140 a second dose) up to and including 10 June 2021.

13 June - Government data reported that up to 12 June there had been 127,896 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7738 new positive tests reported on 12 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 41,291,331 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 29,450,653 a second dose) up to and including 11 June 2021.

(Monday) 14 June - Government data reported that up to 13 June there had been 127,904 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7490 new positive tests reported on 13 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 41,551,201 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 29,792,658 a second dose) up to and including 12 June 2021.

On 14 June, the government bowed to the inevitable and announced that Covid restrictions would have to remain in place until 19 July though it was reported that "Ministers are confident" that restrictions can then end instead of ending on the hope for 21 June - BBC News 15 June. This was due to the spread of the "Delta" Variant (or Indian variant) which got into the UK in April 2021. India was not included on the travel "red list" until 23 April.

(Note: At the time of writing it seems more likely that Ministerial confidence that restrictions can end on 21 June is misplaced. Ministerial bluster to disguise the essential truth that the variant was allowed into the UK during April before India was "red-listed").

Further financial support for businesses affected by the delay was ruled out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer - ITV News 14 June.

The Speaker of the House of Commons expressed annoyance that the government did not make a statement about the delay in Parliament first - Speaker's Statement 14 June. In the event, it fell to the Secretary of State for Health to make the statement in the House of Commons - see Hansard 14 June. It was reported that Mr Speaker later met the Prime Minister.

Public Health England announced the results of analysis indicating that the Pfizer-BiNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses and that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses - Announcement 14 June 2021.

15 June - Government data reported that up to 14 June there had been 127,907 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7742 new positive tests reported on 14 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 41,698,429 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 29,973,779 a second dose) up to and including 13 June 2021.

16 June - Government data reported that up to 15 June there had been 127,917 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 7673 new positive tests reported on 15 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 41,831,056 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 30,209,707 a second dose) up to and including 14 June 2021.


17 June - Government data reported that up to 16 June there had been 127,926 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 9055 new positive tests reported on 16 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 42,021,089 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 30,440,373 a second dose) up to and including 15 June 2021.

17 June - BBC News - Epidemic growing across England

18 June - Government data reported that up to 17 June there had been 127,945 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 11,007 new positive tests reported on 17 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 42,216,654 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 30,675,207 a second dose) up to and including 16 June 2021.


19 June - Government data reported that up to 18 June there had been 127,956 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 10,476 new positive tests reported on 18 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 42,460,632 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 30,898,467 a second dose) up to and including 17 June 2021.


20 June - Government data reported that up to 19 June there had been 127,970 deaths (within 28 days of first positive test) due to Covid-19. There were 10,321 new positive tests reported on 19 June. See also Worldometers - Coronavirus - UK .  The data also reported that 42,679,268 people had received a first dose of vaccine (and 31,087,325 a second dose) up to and including 18 June 2021.

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