UK coronavirus live: weekly Covid deaths exceed 2,000; four nations still discussing Christmas rules

Latest updates: first time Covid accounts for more than 20% of deaths in England and Wales since May; Christmas statement held up‘Test to release’ scheme will cut England travel quarantine to five daysEngland Covid system to be based on data released within daysVaccine results bring ending Covid a step closer, says Oxford scientistGlobal coronavirus updates - live 10.34am GMT There needs to be more focus on the way people mix inside homes rather than just thinking pubs are to blame for the spread of Covid-19, a government scientific adviser has said. As PA Media reports, Prof Lucy Yardley, a professor of health psychology at the University of Bristol and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the Today programme this morning that people were in danger of letting their guard down at home. She said:In fact, when people come together with people they know well in their homes it’s a particularly risky situation because they let their guard down. They spend a lot of time with them and that’s actually when the infection is most likely to spread ...We can see that in the evidence because so much of the infection spread is happening at home. And it’s a lot to do with ... not taking all the precautions that one actually does take when you go out to the pub. The pubs are actually better ventilated and have more regular cleaning every hour going on than we do in our own homes. 10.26am GMT James Landale, the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, says the government is planning to legislate to allow it to abandon the 0.7% of national wealth target for spending on overseas aid. It is no surprise that the government intends to abandon this target - Boris Johnson made no attempt to deny this when asked about it in the Commons last week - but it has been assumed that ministers would do so by using one of the loopholes in the Overseas Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act that enshrines the 0.7% target in law. The legislation was passed in 2015 by the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition.But, Landale says, it is now being argued that without legislating overriding the act, the government could be vulnerable to judicial review. He explains the situation in a Twitter thread starting here.Excl: The BBC has learned the government is planning to pass new laws to cut Britain’s overseas aid budget, raising fears among MPs the reduction announced in tomorrow’s spending review could be permanent. 1/9Boris Johnson is doing irreparable damage to the UK’s reputation, and reneging on our duty to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable - by threatening to break our legally binding international aid commitment.The 0.7% aid target is a shared commitment across the four UK nations - and it must not be broken by Westminster against Scotland’s will. The SNP will resist Tory plans to cut international aid spending in the strongest terms. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/nov/24/uk-coronavirus-live-christmas-rules-tiers-covid-boris-johnson-latest-updates #coronavirus #politics #uk_news #matt_hancock #health #infectious_diseases