Covid live: Matt Hancock says ‘high degree of confidence’ vaccines work against Indian variant, but urges caution | World news

• Health experts in the UK have said people should ignore Monday’s easing of lockdown and avoid socialising indoors in pubs and restaurants to prevent the new Covid-19 variant first detected in India sparking a third wave of the disease.
• A public inquiry must examine whether Boris Johnson’s decision to delay adding India to the travel “red list” of countries was influenced by his desire to start trade talks with Delhi, the chair of a cross-party Covid inquiry group has said.
• Saudi Arabia has announced that travellers flying from most countries will no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
• Italy’s daily death toll fell below 100 for the first time since October, with 93 Covid-related deaths reported on Sunday.
• A decision on whether all legal restrictions can be ended in England next month will be made on 14 June, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said.
• More than 20 million adults in the UK have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. More than two-thirds (69.4%) of adults have had a first dose while and 38.2% have had both.
• Dr Anthony Fauci has said that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to severe health disparities that especially impacted African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
• A top Indian virologist has resigned from the government’s panel of advisers on coronavirus variants, he told Reuters on Sunday, weeks after questioning the authorities’ handling of the pandemic.
• The number of Covid-19 patients in France’s intensive care units has dropped for the 13th consecutive day, with 4,255 reported on Sunday.
• Algeria will reopen its air and land borders on 1 June, but strict measures will be imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the presidency announced on Sunday.

That’s all from me for today – I’ll be handing over to my colleague Helen Sullivan shortly. Thanks for reading along.

A city in a Brazil’s Sao Paulo state used all its doses on residents aged between 18 and 60 as part of a medical research project into mass immunisation.

The project aims to vaccinate 80,000 of Botucatu’s 149,000 residents to test the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as well as study people’s behaviour, AP reports.

Health minister Marcelo Queiroga highlighted the importance of maintaining care to avoid the transmission of the coronavirus, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.

The study is expected to last eight months in total – including the monitoring of the vaccinated population.

“With this research we will see the issue of behaviour in the face of the variants, the transmission, and the effectiveness in the health system,” said Nísia Trindade, president of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, one of Brazil’s leading medical research institutions.

Coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Northern Ireland will review its measures on Thursday, with a view to lifting more restrictions on 24 May.

The next phase of relaxation comes despite the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, though Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could make it “more difficult” to achieve the final step in England’s roadmap in June.

Here’s a look at the changes coming into force on Monday:

Brazil has recorded 40,941 further coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, along with 1,036 deaths from Covid-19, its health Ministry said on Sunday.

The Latin American country has now registered 15.63 million cases since the pandemic began, and the official death toll stands at 435,751, according to ministry data.

When the UK reopens for foreign travel on Monday, a number of requirements for entry to the UK will be in force, involving a number of different types of tests and certificates.

The black market for pandemic-related products, including fake negative Covid tests and fake vaccination certificates, is booming.

Border officials have warned that an estimated 100 fake negative Covid tests were being caught each day even before the borders are opened further for foreign travel.

Jamie Grierson runs through the requirements to enter the UK as rules around international travel are eased on Monday:

Saudi Arabia has announced that travellers flying from most countries will no longer need to quarantine if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, Reuters reports.

Visitors from 20 other countries – including the United States, India, Britain, Germany, France and the United Arab Emirates – remain banned from entering the kingdom, however, under measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

People who have already had Covid-19 and recovered will also no longer be required to quarantine in hotels.

Currently, all travellers need to quarantine for seven to 14 days depending on which country where they are coming from, and provide negative PCR tests.

People should ignore Monday’s easing of lockdown and avoid socialising indoors in pubs and restaurants to prevent the new Covid-19 variant first detected in India sparking a third wave of the disease, health experts say.

A former government chief scientific adviser, a leading public health specialist and the union representing Britain’s doctors are urging the public to stick to meeting outdoors to reduce the risk of catching or spreading the variant.

Prof Sir Mark Walport, a former director of the Wellcome Trust and a chief scientific adviser until 2017, called on the public to be cautious. “My personal judgement is that I will do things outside as far as possible,” he said. “My advice is that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”

Asked by Sophy Ridge on Sky News if that meant he would avoid going inside a pub, he replied: “For the moment, yes.”

Read Denis Campbell and Jessica Elgot’s report on the call by leading specialists to avoid socialising indoors to prevent a third wave of the disease:

Mexico’s health ministry has reported 1,233 further confirmed cases of Covid-19 as well as 53 more deaths, bringing its total to 2,381,923 infections and 220,437 deaths.

There were 1,175 cases and 57 deaths last Sunday.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published recently suggested the actual death toll is at least 60% above the confirmed figure.

Algeria will reopen its air and land borders on 1 June, but strict measures will be imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the presidency announced on Sunday in a statement reported by Retuers.

Only five flights a day from and to Algerian airports will be allowed “with full adherence to strict precautions”, it said in a statement after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Algeria closed borders and suspended all flights in March 2020 when the number of Covid-19 infections started to increase, but domestic flights resumed in December last year.

The North African country has so far recorded 125,311 coronavirus cases, including 3,374 deaths.

The number of Covid-19 patients in France’s intensive care units has dropped for the 13th consecutive day, Reuters reports, with 4,255 reported on Sunday.

France also reported 13,948 new cases and 81 deaths in hospital among people who had tested positive for the coronavirus. This is a fall from last Sunday, when 9,128 new infections and 115 deaths were reported.

The total number of coronavirus cases in France since the start of the pandemic now stands at more than 5.8 million.

A top Indian virologist has resigned from the government’s panel of advisers on coronavirus variants, he told Reuters on Sunday, weeks after questioning the authorities’ handling of the pandemic.

Shahid Jameel, chair of the scientific advisory group of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genetics Consortium (INSACOG), declined to give a reason for his resignation, Reuters reports.

INSACOG had warned government officials in early March of a new and more transmissible virus variant taking hold in the country, known as B.1.617.

Jameel had previously told Reuters that he was concerned that authorities were not paying enough attention to the evidence of the threat the variant posed as they set policy.

Dr Anthony Fauci has said that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to severe health disparities that especially impacted African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Covid-19 has shown a bright light on our own society’s failings,” Fauci said during a graduation ceremony for Emory University, AP reports.

Fauci highlighted that many members of minority groups work in essential jobs where they might be exposed to the coronavirus. He also said they are more likely to become infected if exposed because of medical conditions such as hypertension, chronic lung disease, diabetes or obesity.

“Now, very few of these comorbidities have racial determinants,” Fauci said. “Almost all relate to the social determinants of health dating back to disadvantageous conditions that some people of colour find themselves in from birth regarding the availability of an adequate diet, access to health care and the undeniable effects of racism in our society.”