No international fans will be permitted at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Japanese authorities told the Olympic and Paralympic committees it was "highly unlikely" that entry to the country could be guaranteed.more
52.2 percent of respondents who encountered reports on the potential side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine would drop out of it, according to a poll.more
The Queen’s official birthday celebration known as Trooping the Colour has been cancelled for a second year running. Last summer, an event dubbed “mini Trooping” was staged at Windsor Castle and the palace has said options for an “alternative parade” were being considered at the Queen’s Berkshire home.more
The UK has broken its record for the most Covid-19 vaccines administered in a single day. Some 660,276 jabs were given out on Thursday - 50,000 more than the previous record which was set on January 30, when 609,010 were done.more
Police are launching an investigation into Prime Minister Erna Solberg's birthday celebrations, which breached local and national Covid-19 restrictions.
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Boris Johnson has had the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The prime minister, who is aged 56, got his first dose at London's St Thomas' Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care last April after contracting COVID-19.more
The president of the Polish Football Association, Zbigniew Boniek, informed on Twitter that the Polish national team would be able to complete the World Cup qualifying match with England in London. This means that Robert Lewandowski will play, which previously seemed difficult due to the pandemic restrictions. more
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has called for reciprocity on vaccine exports amid an ongoing row with the UK and US over jab deliveries.more
French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday announced that the Paris region, the northern Hauts-de-France region and several other departments in the south of France are going into lockdown for four weeks starting this weekend.more
The P.1 coronavirus variant detected in Brazil shows only a moderately greater ability to avoid antibodies generated in response to current vaccines, according to an Oxford study. The variant from South Africa shows the greatest resistance.more
Gibraltar has become the first place in the world where the entire adult population has been vaccinated against Covid-19, said British Health Minister Matt Hancock.more
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday declared the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe for use after it was suspended by 13 EU member states. more
The timeline for lifting lockdown restrictions could be slowed down after the NHS warned vaccine supplies will drop ‘significantly’ from the end of March. more
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab accused the European Commission of balancing on the brink over its threat of a ban on exports of Covid-19 vaccines and called on EC chief Ursula von der Leyen to explain her comments on the matter.more
Sardinia - the only region of Italy marked safe in white on the epidemic map - is tightening entry regulations and closing itself off from homeowners on the island. Only those who justify it for professional and health reasons will enter.more
Huge crowds of people gathered to drink and celebrate St Patrick’s Day in a Liverpool park yesterday. Dozens of officers were pictured arriving at the scene to break up the groups in Sefton Park early in the evening. more
As a result of the increasing presence of new coronavirus variants in Spain, the Covid-19 epidemic has intensified, said Minister of Health Carolina Darias. In most regions, the percentage of infections with new variants exceeds 70%.more
It is still possible to vaccinate 70 percent of the adult EU population by the end of summer - president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated yesterday.more
New survey findings revealed that 17 per cent of Covid-19 positive cases report skin rashes as the first sign before the arrival of symptoms. While 21 per cent denoted skin rash as the only Covid-19 clinical sign.more
Thorntons will permanently close all of its UK stores after more than a century of trading, the company has announced. The chocolate retailer will shut 61 stores, impacting 603 jobs, in the latest round of cuts to the high street amid the Covid-19 pandemic.more
