BRITS living in places feared hit by a mutant coronavirus strain have been ordered to stay indoors at all times.

In order to stop the spread of the feared South African variant, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned residents of numerous UK postcodes they shouldn’t even be going to the shop to get food.

‘If you have food in the house, please use that,” Hancock told BBC Breakfast viewers that the government advice in affected postcodes would be much stricter than elsewhere in the country.

“If you are in one of those postcodes, it is absolutely imperative that you minimise all social contact outside of your house,” he added.

The affected postcodes are: W7 Hanwell, N17 Tottenham, CR4 Mitcham in London; WS2: Walsall in the West Midlands; EN10 Broxbourne in the East of England; ME15 Maidstone, GU21 Woking in the South East; PR9 Southport and Liverpool in the North West and Bristol in the South West.

Follow the live blog below for the very latest news, updates and analysis of the coronavirus crisis…

IS THERE A CHANCE OF A CAPTAIN TOM STATUE?

On a statue for Captain Tom, the PM said: “I am absolutely open to that,” and that he will discuss a tribute with his family.
UK TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT ON QUARANTINE FOR TRAVELLERS ON THURSDAY SAYS PM

Britain’s health minister will make a further announcement about the government’s plans to bring in hotel quarantine for some travellers on Thursday, Johnson said.

Last month Johnson said those arriving in Britain from high-risk countries would have to quarantine for 10 days in government-provided accommodation to stop the spread of new variants of the virus, but the measure has not yet been introduced.

“If you do come here from one of those countries, then you will be, as we’ve said, taken and put in special accommodation,” Johnson told a media conference.

“The health secretary will be making a further announcement about that tomorrow.”
PM ASKED ABOUT WHETHER HE WAS COMMITTED TO SCHOOLS NOT OPENING BEFORE MARCH 8

The PM said he was hopeful that schools would go back on March 8 however there will be a judgement made on vaccines and on the data in the coming weeks.

CHRIS WHITTY ASKED ABOUT SCHOOLS

When asked about whether there was a chance that schools could open before March 8, Whitty said that when schools reopen is a matter for ministers.
HEALTH SECRETARY TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW

The PM said that Matt Hancock is due to make an announcement of hotel quarantine tomorrow.
PM ASKED ABOUT HOTEL QUARANTINE START DATE

“We have among the tougher regimes now than anywhere in the world,” the PM said.

“We cant cut ourselves off completely.”

“What we can do is say that it is illegal to go on holiday and it is illegal to come to his country from a list of other countries.”

The PM repeated his lines from the PMQs saying that it would not be practical to cut off the UK due to the need of imported food and medicine.
WILL PEOPLE WHO GET THE VACCINE BE ALLOWED TO MIX WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED?

Paul in Eastbourne asked the PM whether he would be allowed to mix with people who are vaccinated when he is vaccinated.

The PM said that more data will need to be gathered in order to make a decision on allowing people to meet up.
OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 28 DAYS AFTER ADMISSION
RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF CHILDREN INFECTED GO TO HOSPITAL SAYS WHITTY

“Number of children under the age of 18 who go to hospital is relatively small,” says Whitty

LESS DEATHS ONCE OVER 70S VACCINATED SAYS WHITTY

“Once we have vaccinated down to 70 and above… we should significantly reduce the number of deaths,” Chris Whitty said.
GRAPH: BRITAIN’S COVID DEATHS
CHRIS WHITTY DATA

The next graph shows the number of people in hospital with Covid-19.
CHRIS WHITTY PRESENTS COVID DATA

The first slide reveals the number of people who have rested positive for the virus over time.

Recent days have seen a massive drop since mid-January.
PM URGES BRITAIN TO CLAP FOR TOM AND THE NHS

Boris urges Brits to clap for Captain Tom and the NHS which will begin at 6pm.
VACCINE EFFICACY

The PM announced that the Oxford vaccine maintains efficacy for three months and that it can stop transmission between Brits.

NEW VACCINE GOAL REACHED

10 million people have been vaccinated against coronavirus.
BORIS ON CAPTAIN TOM

Boris Johnson hailed Captain Sir Tom Moore who died yesterday.
PRESS CONFERENCE – 5PM START

Boris Johnson and Chris Whitty will hold a news conference soon.
HUGE PERCENTAGE OF UK CAUGHT COVID BY DECEMBER

Almost nine per cent of the UK had caught Covid-19 by December, a study claims.

Using monthly blood samples from 20,000 people, UK Biobank discovered almost 9 per cent of the UK had caught the bug by December.

This means nearly six million Brits were infected with Covid in the first nine months of the pandemic.

Scientists working on the research also found antibodies in people previously infected six months after they were ill.

This means there could be a degree of protection against reinfection for at least half a year.
BARRACK ASYLUM SEEKERS MUST BE EVACUATED AND PROTECTED, SAYS GP

A GP told MPs that asylum seekers who were housed in Napier army barracks should be “evacuated immediately” amid ongoing concerns over a coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Jill O’Leary, the leading GP for charity the Helen Bamber Foundation’s medical advisory service, said the outbreak at the Barracks in Kent was “extremely concerning”.

Last week, 120 out of 390 asylum seekers at the site had tested positive and while around 100 had since been moved from the barracks to alternative accommodation in order to self-isolate, the problems remained, she warned.

Speaking to the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday, she said: “As we speak today there are still many people who have tested positive for Covid-19 who are sharing close quarters with people who are not currently unwell with Covid.”

She added: “The barracks needs to be evacuated immediately for the safety of all concerned.”

NEW MUTATIONS IN THE UK
10M RECEIVED FIRST COVID JAB

Ten million people have now received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

He tweeted: “This is a hugely significant milestone in our national effort against this virus.

“Every jab makes us all a bit safer – I want to thank everyone playing their part.”
MILITARY TO ROLL OUT VACCINES IN SCOTLAND

The military will start administering the coronavirus vaccine in Scotland for the first time.

Fifty-seven Armed Forces personnel will deploy tomorrow to help with the vaccine rollout.

Alongside medics and management they will form a “vaccine quick reaction force”. This will be made of five teams of 10 able to deploy across Scotland at short notice.

UK vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Our Armed Forces are playing an invaluable role in helping ensure those most at risk get their jabs, working side by side with healthcare staff in a truly UK-wide effort.

“We are distributing the vaccine as quickly as possible across all parts of the UK and almost 10 million people have now received their first dose. The pace and progress of our rollout shows the strength of our union and how much we can achieve by pulling together as one United Kingdom.”
WHO INVESTIGATES COVID ORIGINS IN WUHAN

World Health Organization investigators today visited a research centre in Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus, with one member saying they’d intended to meet key staff and press them on critical issues.

Zoologist Peter Daszak said: “We’re looking forward to meeting with all the key people here and asking all the important questions that need to be asked.”

Reporters followed the WHO team to the high security facility, but as with past visits, but the team left after three hours without speaking to waiting journalists.

The WHO team is made up of experts in veterinary medicine, virology, food safety and epidemiology from 10 nations.