HERE are the key talking points from the last 24-hours:

  • The Government said a further 230 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 117,396. Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 135,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK. The Government also said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 9,765 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 4,047,843.
  • Government data up to February 14 shows that of the 15,839,781 jabs given in the UK so far, 15,300,151 were first doses – a rise of 237,962 on the previous day. Some 539,630 were second doses, an increase of 1,915 on figures released the previous day.
  • There were 554 more new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the North-East and North Yorkshire yesterday. The Government said a further 230 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 117,396. Among them were three deaths at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, three in North Tees and Hartlepool, six in South Tyneside and Sunderland and three at York Teaching Hospital.
  • The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine can be rolled out globally after it was given emergency use listing by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  • Some of the first guests to check into quarantine hotels have expressed their frustration at tougher border rules. UK and Irish nationals and UK residents returning to England from a country deemed at high risk for Covid-19 must now self-isolate in hotels. The rule applies to people returning to Scotland from any destination.
  • Boris Johnson has pledged a “cautious but irreversible” approach to easing the lockdown and said no decisions have been made on whether all pupils can return to school at the same time. The Prime Minister stressed the need to be “very prudent” as ministers begin reviewing coronavirus restrictions in England, while lockdown-sceptical Tory MPs press for a swift reopening. Mr Johnson is preparing to set out his “road map” for relaxing measures on February 22, with March 8 earmarked for schools to start reopening to all pupils.
  • An influential group of MPs from across party lines have called on the Government to lay out clear criteria for when restrictions will be lifted and plug gaps in its support schemes. The Treasury Select Committee said that the Government’s “plan for taking the country out of lockdown”, which will be released next week, should say how and when restrictions will be lifted to give confidence to people and businesses. It added that a lack of analysis from the Treasury on the implications of social restrictions was “disappointing.”