Cellular data plan

Boris Johnson is getting a £9million White House-style 'situation room' to command terror emergencies and military operations. The state-of-the-art bunker in the basement of the Cabinet Office will have huge display screens allowing the PM to track events in real time. It will be known as the Situation Centre, or SitCen, and should be up and running this summer - with claims it will reduce the time taken to brief ministers from 'weeks to minutes'. The plan is a centrepiece of the huge defence, security and foreign policy review due to be unveiled by Mr Johnson on March 16. The project has been highlighted after it emerged that £2.6million has been spent on an overhaul of No9 Downing Street to stage US-esque televised press briefings. Meanwhile, a major row is raging over claims Mr Johnson's official flat above No11 is having an upgrade overseen by his fiancee Carrie Symonds, with the cost feared to be around £200,000. No10 sources told the Sunday Times coronavirus had … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson will get £9m White House-style ‘situation centre’ to command terror emergencies and military operations

The UK has recorded another drop in COVID infections, with 5,177 reported in the last 24 hours. The latest figure is down from the 6,035 coronavirus cases recorded last Sunday. The daily figures on deaths are due to be released later today after a processing error in data for England. Meanwhile, a total of 23,335,514 COVID-19 jabs have been given in the UK so far, according to government data up to 6 March. Of these, 22,213,112 were first doses - a rise of 416,834 on the previous day. Advertisement Some 1,122,402 were second doses, an increase of 31,562. NHS England said on Sunday a further 90 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England. More from Covid-19 COVID-19: Boris Johnson defends proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff COVID-19: UK should prepare now for 'difficult autumn' and 'hard winter', warns Public Health England official COVID-19: Longer school days, shorter summer … [Read more...] about COVID-19: UK records another drop in coronavirus infections as number of first jabs hits 22.2 million

Holidays abroad will not be allowed for another three months at the earliest, Boris Johnson revealed as he set out his roadmap out of lockdown for England. International travel may be allowed to resume on May 17, but this is subject to review and depends on what happens with UK infection rates, among other issues. Each step of the PM's roadmap will be guided by data rather than dates - so dates could easily be pushed back. However that caveat hasn't stopped many of us pinning our hopes on finally having a proper break this summer. The travel industry has expressed relief at the prospect of people in England being allowed to take summer holidays. Get the day's biggest news stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up here See below for Covid rates in some of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits - including Spain, Greece and Italy. Many countries have brought in strict border controls to keep the virus out and last summer brought air … [Read more...] about How Covid is affecting Brits’ favourite holiday destinations from Spain to Greece

Germany should prioritize people for coronavirus vaccines by the number of their social contacts rather than their age, immunology expert Michael Meyer-Hermann told local media on Sunday. Meyer-Hermann, from the Helmholtz center for Infection Research in the central German city of Braunschweig, told the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper that first giving vaccines to those with the most contacts "would have a much greater effect." He pointed out that the plan followed by Germany and most other countries of vaccinating the elderly and most vulnerable first had reduced the number of deaths, but had not had a significant impact on the pandemic as these people tended to have the fewest social contacts. What is Germany's coronavirus outlook? The immunologist also criticized Germany's plan to ease lockdown measures , especially as the more virulent strains of the virus were increasingly spreading throughout the country. He predicted that case numbers would "explode" as they … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: German immunologist suggests COVID vaccine priority reversal

The UK has recorded a further 82 coronavirus deaths and 5,177 cases in the last 24 hours, government figures show. It's the first time the number of daily deaths has dropped below 100 since 9 October last year. Then, 79 deaths were recorded. The figures represent a drop from last Sunday (28 February), when 144 deaths and 6,035 coronavirus cases were reported. It brings the UK total since the start of the pandemic to 124,501 deaths and 4,218,520 cases. Meanwhile, a total of 23,335,514 COVID-19 jabs have been given in the UK so far, according to government data up to 6 March. Advertisement Of these, 22,213,112 were first doses - a rise of 416,834 on the previous day. Some 1,122,402 were second doses, an increase of 31,562. More from Covid-19 COVID-19: Parents divided over proposals to help school children catch up on missed learning COVID-19: Boris Johnson defends proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff COVID-19: UK … [Read more...] about COVID-19: UK daily deaths dip below 100 for the first time since last October