Coronavirus latest news: Five-year-olds having panic attacks about socialising, say NHS leaders
Five-year-olds are suffering panic attacks about meeting their friends, NHS leaders have said, amid warnings 1.5 million children will need mental health treatment in the wake of repeated lockdowns.
Experts said young children had become increasingly anxious, with some fearful of leaving their homes, amid an explosion in “locked-in trauma” across the country.
Waits of up to four years for help on the NHS have forced a growing number of families to seek help from private psychologists - only to find that they are oversubscribed and unable to take on more patients, a Telegraph investigation reveals.
Leading private therapists said they are taking twice the normal level of calls from worried parents, forcing them to turn away patients, or open waiting lists for the first time in their careers.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:56 AMSecond highest May borrowing on record due to pandemic
Second highest May borrowing on record due to pandemic
Government borrowing stood at £24.3 billion in May, down from £43.8 billion a year earlier at the height of the pandemic, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that despite the year-on-year fall, it was still the second highest May borrowing on record and £18.9 billion more than in May 2019.
The ONS revised down borrowing for the financial year to the end of March by £1.1 billion to £299.2 billion, though this was still the highest since the end of the Second World War.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "As we emerge from the pandemic, we are continuing to support people and businesses to get back on their feet and our Plan for Jobs is working.
"It's also important over the medium term to get the public finances on a sustainable footing.
06:39 AMPlans to allow fully-vaccianted people to skip amber list quarantine is something Government is 'working on'
Plans to allow fully-vaccianted people to skip amber list quarantine is something Government is 'working on'
Matt Hancock says confirmation that fully-vaccianted people travelling from amber list countries not having to quarantine has not been clinically advised yet but said "we are working on it".
He said the Government wants the vaccination programme to "bring back some of the freedoms that have had to be restricted to keep people safe".
Mr Hancock was not able to confirm whether the guidance would be in place by August and said "we'll get there when it's safe to do so" but added "it's something I want to see".
He also told Times Radio that "we'll have to more to say about this in the weeks ahead".
Mr Hancock added we are "on track" to reopen further on 19 July but said freeing up international travel is more difficult.
The Health Secretary encouraged people to download the NHS app which shows their vaccination status and any Covid-19 tests that have been carried out recently.
06:35 AMRise in Covid cases in Cornwall is from before G7 summit, says public health leader
Rise in Covid cases in Cornwall is from before G7 summit, says public health leader
Rachel Wigglesworth, director of public health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said the rise in coronavirus cases in her area was from before the G7 summit.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme cases had been rising since restrictions were eased on May 17 and then over half-term, with 18 to 30-year-olds particularly affected.
When asked if she would reject the suggestion the rise was due to an influx of foreign dignitaries, she said: "Yes, we did see an increase in some of our case rates, as I say in this younger age population, some time before any of the G7 summit events and we were encouraging a lot of our population - and also the people who visited for the summit in Cornwall - to test regularly so that we could identify any cases.
"So, that proactive approach did identify cases, both in the community and particularly a university which had an outbreak early on, before the G7.
"Quite a number of those cases can be tracked back to that group and then through into some of hospitality venues."
06:08 AMSummer travel will be filled with 'hassle and delays', warns Boris Johnson
Summer travel will be filled with 'hassle and delays', warns Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson has warned summer travel will be filled with "hassle and delays" as he played down the prospect of freedoms for the vaccinated.
The Prime Minister said Britons faced a "difficult year for travel" regardless of whether he pressed ahead with plans to scrap travel quarantine rules for double-jabbed Britons.
Ministers on the Cabinet's Covid-O committee are expected to meet on Thursday to approve the vaccination travel plans and decide whether to expand the quarantine-free green list.
On Tuesday, more than 400 of the world's biggest travel and tourism companies will publish an open letter to Mr Johnson, warning that Britain faces losing £639 million a day in July if he fails to reopen foreign travel by lifting restrictions on vaccinated holidaymakers.
06:01 AMToday's front page
Today's front page
Here is your Daily Telegraph for Tuesday, June 22.
05:48 AMCuba hails its Abdala vaccine amid infection surge
Cuba hails its Abdala vaccine amid infection surge
Cuba's government announced on Monday that its Abdala vaccine had proved to be 92 percent effective against the coronavirus.
Officials provided no details of the clinical testing for the Abdala, one of the vaccines Cuba is testing. It recently said its Soberana 2 vaccine has shown a 62 percent efficacy with just two of its three doses.
The announcement came as Cuba faces its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic with record new infections.
Dr Francisco Duran, the island's director of epidemiology, on Monday reported 1,561 new coronavirus cases for a total of 169,365 confirmed cases and 1,170 deaths.
05:31 AMRice raffles help boost jabs in poor community
Rice raffles help boost jabs in poor community
A community in the Philippines has been raffling off huge sacks of rice in exchange for getting vaccinated against Covid-19, after finding it hard to persuade people to get their shots.
Twenty weekly winners who get their shots in Sucat on the outskirts of the capital Manila have been taking home a 25kg (55 pound) sack of rice each.
Local official Jeramel Mendoza said the initiative was targeting mainly poorer residents, who were not so keen on vaccinations.
Said since starting the initiative at the end of May, Sucat officials said they have been administering their daily quota of vaccines of up to 2,000 doses, compared with about 400 doses a day previously.
04:43 AMUS nursing home deaths soared during pandemic, report finds
US nursing home deaths soared during pandemic, report finds
Deaths among Medicare patients in American nursing homes soared by 32 percent last year, with two devastating spikes eight months apart, a government watchdog reported in the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of Covid-19 among its most vulnerable victims.
The report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that about four in 10 Medicare recipients in nursing homes had or likely had coronavirus in 2020, and that deaths overall jumped by 169,291 from the previous year, before the pandemic.
"We knew this was going to be bad, but I don't think even those of us who work in this area thought it was going to be this bad," said Harvard health policy professor David Grabowski, a nationally recognised expert on long-term care, who reviewed the report.
"This was not individuals who were going to die anyway. We are talking about a really big number of excess deaths."
04:16 AMPyongyang 'yet to find a single infection' after 30,000 tests
Pyongyang 'yet to find a single infection' after 30,000 tests
North Korea has told the World Health Organisation it tested more than 30,000 people for the coronavirus through June 10 but has yet to find a single infection.
The WHO said in a monitoring report on Tuesday that North Korea's testing figures included 733 people who were tested during June 4-10, of which 149 had influenza-like illnesses or severe respiratory infections.
Experts widely doubt North Korea's claim that it has not had a single case of the virus, given its poor health infrastructure and porous border with China, its major ally and economic lifeline.
Describing its anti-virus efforts as a "matter of national existence," the North has banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely restricted cross-border traffic and trade. The self-imposed lockdown has caused further strain on an economy already battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions.
03:15 AMSturgeon to outline life in Scotland under lowest restrictions
Sturgeon to outline life in Scotland under lowest restrictions
Nicola Sturgeon is due to set out what life in Scotland will look like under the lowest level of coronavirus restrictions.
The First Minister is to make an announcement at Holyrood on Tuesday as part of the latest review of the route map out of lockdown.
She said last week it was "unlikely" that any area would see restrictions eased on June 28 - the date it had been hoped all of Scotland would move into Level 0 restrictions.
Ms Sturgeon previously said this move would likely be delayed by three weeks.
02:26 AMMasks extended in Sydney after spike in Delta variant
Masks extended in Sydney after spike in Delta variant
Sydneysiders will have to wear masks for at least another week after New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state, reported a concerning jump in locally acquired Covid-19 cases.
Ten new locally acquired cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 21, as officials fight to contain a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant linked to a driver who transported overseas airline crew.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the mask rules would now apply to greater Sydney, not just seven local government areas, but tighter measures such as a lockdown appear unlikely.
"We have managed to keep everything open and that is our intention. If we want to do this for the duration of the pandemic, we're going to have to adjust, she said.
01:44 AMMedical supplies running low as Colombia passes 100,000 deaths
Medical supplies running low as Colombia passes 100,000 deaths
Reported deaths from Covid-19 in Colombia passed 100,000 on Monday, the country's health ministry said, amid warnings of potential scarcity of treatment drugs and oxygen in hospitals during a long and brutal third wave.
The country of 50 million people has reported more than 3.9 million cases of coronavirus infections, and 100,582 deaths.
Colombia has seen record numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths in recent weeks, with some medical officials warning certain medical supplies are running low.
Intensive care units in major cities are operating at near full capacity, according to information published by local health authorities in capital Bogota, as well as in Medellin and Cali, Colombia's second and third-largest cities.
12:58 AMMasks off outdoors in Italy's 'white' zones
Masks off outdoors in Italy's 'white' zones
Face masks will no longer be compulsory outdoors in Italy, one of the countries in Europe worst hit by the coronavirus, from June 28, the health ministry said Monday.
The lifting of the mask requirement would come into effect in regions labelled "white" under Italy's classification system for how rapidly the virus is spreading, Health Minister Roberto Speranza wrote on Facebook.
This includes all Italian regions except the tiny Aosta Valley in the far northwest.
Mr Speranza's announcement came on advice from Italy's Comitato Tecnico Scientifico scientific advisory panel, which said people should still have masks at hand for events with higher risk of spreading the virus.
Read more: WHO accused of burying report about Italy's Covid mismanagement
12:39 AMCovid deaths dip as US approaches vaccine milestone
Covid deaths dip as US approaches vaccine milestone
Deaths in the United States have dipped below 300 a day for the first time since the early days of the disaster in March 2020, while the drive to put shots in arms approached another encouraging milestone Monday: 150 million Americans fully vaccinated.
The coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the US in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, as the outbreak loosens its grip, it has fallen down the list of the biggest killers.
CDC data suggests that more Americans are dying every day from accidents, chronic lower respiratory diseases, strokes or Alzheimer's disease than from the virus.
The US death toll stands at more than 600,000, while the worldwide count is close to 3.9 million, though the real figures in both cases are believed to be markedly higher.
12:19 AMVaccinate or go to jail, President Duterte threatens Filipinos
Vaccinate or go to jail, President Duterte threatens Filipinos
President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to jail people who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Philippines battles one of Asia's worst outbreaks, with over 1.3 million cases and more than 23,000 deaths.
"You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed," Mr Duterte said in a televised address on Monday following reports of low turnouts at several vaccination sites in the capital Manila.
Duterte's remarks contradict those of his health officials who have said that while people are urged to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, it was voluntary.
"Don't get me wrong, there is a crisis in this country," Mr Duterte said. "I'm just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government."
11:13 PMToday's top stories
- Five-year-olds are suffering panic attacks about meeting their friends, NHS leaders have said, amid warnings 1.5 million children will need mental health treatment in the wake of repeated lockdowns.
- Boris Johnson has warned summer travel will be filled with “hassle and delays” as he played down the prospect of freedoms for the vaccinated.
- Andy Burnham has accused Nicola Sturgeon of trampling on his constituents’ civil liberties as he raised the prospect of mounting a legal challenge to force her to compensate people hit by her travel ban.
- Donald Trump wanted to send Americans who had Covid to Guantanamo Bay to stop them spreading the disease across the United States, a new book has claimed.
- GPs are too busy to administer booster jabs without extra support, the head of the Royal College has warned, as ministers promise rollout plans within weeks.
Today's top stories
- Five-year-olds are suffering panic attacks about meeting their friends, NHS leaders have said, amid warnings 1.5 million children will need mental health treatment in the wake of repeated lockdowns.
- Boris Johnson has warned summer travel will be filled with “hassle and delays” as he played down the prospect of freedoms for the vaccinated.
- Andy Burnham has accused Nicola Sturgeon of trampling on his constituents’ civil liberties as he raised the prospect of mounting a legal challenge to force her to compensate people hit by her travel ban.
- Donald Trump wanted to send Americans who had Covid to Guantanamo Bay to stop them spreading the disease across the United States, a new book has claimed.
- GPs are too busy to administer booster jabs without extra support, the head of the Royal College has warned, as ministers promise rollout plans within weeks.
