England's health service said it will expand its Covid-19 booster vaccination programme to include 16- and 17-year-olds from Monday. Until now, booster jabs have been limited to 16- and 17-year-olds most at risk from the coronavirus.
The UK government apologised Friday to Queen Elizabeth II, after revelations Prime Minister Boris Johnson's staff broke coronavirus restrictions by partying on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral. "It is deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning and Number 10 (Downing Street) has apologised to the palace," Johnson's spokesman told reporters.
Boris Johnson is facing the gravest crisis of his premiership after revelations about a series of gatherings in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, some at times when ordinary people were unable to bid farewell in person to dying relatives.
With varying degrees of enthusiasm, senior British government ministers on Thursday expressed support for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and rejected demands he resign for attending a garden party during the country's first coronavirus lockdown.
Boris Johnson admitted for the first time on Wednesday he had joined a gathering held in the garden of Downing Street on May 20, 2020, saying he had stayed for about 25 minutes to thank staff at what he thought was a work event. He said he regretted his action.
Scientists are seeing signals that Covid-19's alarming Omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the US, at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically. The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect.
The airspace surrounding Queen Elizabeth II's Windsor Castle residence in Berkshire, south-east England, will become a no-fly zone for security reasons from later this month, the British police said on Tuesday. The development comes in the wake of a recent security breach of the 95-year-old monarch's grounds by a British Sikh teenager.
High court judge deputy master Marsh has reserved judgment on whether to stay an order for enforced possession of Vijay Mallya’s multi-million-pound luxury townhouse, 18/19 Cornwall Terrace, which overlooks Regent’s Park in London.
Asked about cutting the isolation period from seven days to five days, UK PM Johnson said: "We're looking at that." But he added that the government would follow the science. "We've got to make sure that we see off Omicron. We're making great progress," he said in a broadcast clip.
