Matt Hancock

British health minister Matt Hancock quit on June 26 after he was caught breaking COVID-19 rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office, enraging colleagues and the public who have been living under lockdown.   

British Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, warned today that it is too early to say whether the restrictive measures will be lifted on June 21. He stated that after the latest reports showed that the new delta strain is 40% more contagious than the British one.

Germany will impose a quarantine on people arriving from Britain due to the spread thereof the coronavirus variant first found in India, the Robert Koch health institute said on May 21. 

From Sunday, all travelers arriving from the U.K. will have to submit to a quarantine period of two weeks, regardless of whether they can provide a negative test result for the virus.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on May 19 that COVID-19 vaccines are proving effective against a variant that has spread like wildfire in India and denied the government was being lax on travel from hotspots.

Britain is keeping a close eye on the Indian variant of COVID-19 but measures such as enhanced tracking and tracing, travel restrictions and the roll out of the vaccine should keep it at very low levels, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday.

Covid-status certificates being considered by ministers to help open up society could amount to unlawful indirect discrimination, the government's independent equalities watchdog has advised.

Anyone planning a holiday to Spain this summer will now have to wear a mask on the beach.

Spanish government tightened the rules on Tuesday, making it mandatory for all people aged six and over to wear face coverings 'on public streets'.

The new decree also makes it obligatory in 'outdoor spaces and in any closed space that has a public use or is open to the public'.

A GBP 5,000 fine for anyone in England trying to travel abroad without good reason is due to come into force next week as part of new coronavirus laws.

The penalty is included in legislation that will be voted on by MPs on Thursday.

Foreign holidays are currently not allowed under the "stay at home" rule which ends on Monday.

Britain announced on Feb. 28 that it has given more than 20 million people at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with the rapid rollout providing hope in a country with Europe's highest death toll.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it "a huge national achievement" while praising National Health Service staff and others involved for "tireless work".

A large-scale trial of a new treatment has begun in the UK, with high hopes of helping Covid-19 patients stop developing serious illness.

The new treatment involves inhaling a protein called Interferon Beta, which the body produces in infection.

The hope is that this will stimulate the immune system and the cells will be prepared to fight viruses.