Britain’s daily Covid cases fall by 3% week-on-week to 5,758

Britain’s daily coronavirus cases have fallen by three per cent week-on-week – even though infections are at the levels seen in September before the second wave spiralled out of control.

Department of Health data showed there were 5,758 Covid cases identified today. For comparison, health chiefs reported another 5,926 last Wednesday.

But daily Covid deaths fell by 25 per cent in a week after 141 fatalities were announced, which was 49 fewer than the 190 at the same time last week. 

The nation’s vaccination drive also continued at pace with another 433,320 first doses dished out today, taking Britain’s total to 25.2million or almost half the adult population.

The Covid case count is expected to remain stable over the coming days because officials are carrying out mass swabbing in schools, which is picking up infections that previously may not have been identified. Experts say it is better to watch the positivity rate, which is still spiralling downwards in all regions.

Britain today condemned the ‘brinkmanship’ of the European Union after it demanded the UK hand over its doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Brussels – despite 19 bloc members including France, Italy and Germany suspending the jabs roll-out based on unproven fears over blood clots. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both insisted they are safe. 

In other Covid news:

• Deaths fall faster during the second wave in early sign of vaccine effectiveness, data shows;
• EU approves holiday passports that will allow free movement for those that have been vaccinated or have Covid antibodies;
• UK patients are cancelling Covid vaccine appointments because of EU’s mass revolt against AstraZeneca’s jab;
• Dominic Cummings says Britain’s vaccine drive only succeeded because Boris and Vallance took over from ‘smoking ruin’ Department of Health;
• Ousted No10 svengali added the civil service is a ‘disaster zone’ as he revealed he demanded Boris Johnson vow to reform Whitehall; 
• Abortions spiked by almost 30 per cent during the first wave in England and Wales after ministers changed the rules to allow terminations at home; 
• All over-50s in England are now eligible for a Covid vaccine as NHS expands roll-out.

Dominic Raab condemned Brussels ‘brinkmanship’ and demanded respect for lawful contracts today after the EU effectively declared vaccine war on the UK by threatening to block exports.

As the bloc’s rollout descended deeper into chaos, a rattled Ursula von der Leyen complained that it is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return – warning of action to ensure ‘reciprocity’.

She called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas and lashed out at the drug-maker for ‘under-producing and under-delivering’ doses, saying it is to blame for the slow place of Europe’s roll-out.

That is despite the fact that 19 countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, have halted the use of AstraZeneca jabs over unfounded fears they cause blood clots, meaning around 7.5million doses are currently sitting unused.

‘All options are on the table. We are in the crisis of the century. And I’m not ruling out any anything for now,’ Ms von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. It raises the possibility that stocks of Pfizer vaccine manufactured in Belgium could be prevented from going to Britain.

But the sabre-rattling drew a furious response from the UK, with the Foreign Secretary saying her comments flew in the face of ‘direct assurances’ that contracts will be honoured and Tory MPs accusing her of ‘playing politics with people’s lives’.

‘I think it takes some explaining because the world’s watching,’ Mr Raab told Reuters. ‘We’ve, all of us, including with our European friends, been saying throughout the pandemic, that you’d be wrong to curtail or interfere with lawfully-contracted supply. We all said it last year on PPE. We’ve been saying it this year, on vaccines and other things.

Mr Raab said the stance ‘cuts across the direct assurances that we had from the Commission’. ‘We expect those assurances and legal contracted supply to be respected,’ he added.

‘Frankly, I’m surprised we’re having this conversation. It is normally what the UK and EU team up with to reject when other countries with less democratic regimes than our own engage in that kind of brinkmanship.’

Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the EU must stand by its ‘commitments’ and not restrict vaccine exports that have been legitimately agreed.

Referring to a conversation the PM had with Von der Leyen earlier this year, the spokesman said: ‘She confirmed then that the focus of their mechanism was on transparency and not intended to restrict exports by companies where they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities. We expect the EU to continue to stand by its commitment.’

Meanwhile Tory MPs Andrea Jenkyns, Chris Green and Marcus Fysh all hit out at the EU’s actions, accusing Eurocrats of ‘giving up’ on free trade and behaving like communists.

Elsewhere Jeremy Brown, who is part of the committee advising the UK government on its vaccine drive, said today that he cannot understand the logic of Europe’s ban and warned that it will cost more lives than it saves.

He added that links between AstraZeneca’s jab and blood clots appears ‘spurious’ with fears being ‘overblown’, and that Europe’s actions will hurt vaccine drives around the world by casting doubt on an ‘incredibly safe [and] very effective’ jab.