UK Covid: 27,989 new cases as PM says ‘extra precautions’ may be needed in England after 19 July – as it happened

• The UK has recorded 27,989 new coronavirus cases, the government has announced. For the second day in a row, the daily total is the highest for five months. (See 4.13pm.)

• Boris Johnson has warned that some “extra precautions” may still be needed in England after 19 July - the day when the government hopes to be able to lift all legal limits on social contact. (See 12.27pm.)

• Johnson has not ruled out double-vaccinated travellers from England being able to skip quarantine when they return home from amber list countries later this month.

• Almost nine in 10 parents in England say they favour giving their children a Covid vaccine if they are offered it, according to a national survey released by the Office for National Statistics.

• Angela Rayner has been forced to deny any immediate plans to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, amid feverish speculation at Westminster as voters in Batley and Spen go to the polls.

• Downing Street has said the Nissan £1bn electric vehicle investment in Sunderland shows Brexit can be an opportunity for car industry. (See 1.45pm.)
  

That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.

The UK has recorded 27,989 new coronavirus cases, according to the latest update on the government’s Covid dashboard. For the second day in a row that is the highest total for five months (since 29 January, when 29,079 new cases were recorded).

A week ago today the total was 16,703. And the total number of cases over the past seven days is up 71.8% on the total for the previous week.

But deaths are going up at a much slower rate, and from a very low level. Twenty-two more deaths have been recorded today, and week on week deaths are up 10.7%.

The dashboard also shows that 85.2% of adults in the UK have had a first dose of vaccine, and 62.7% of adults have had both doses.

Children from most ethnic minority backgrounds missed more sessions of school in England during the autumn of last year than their white counterparts due to Covid-19, PA Media reports. PA says:

Nearly one in 10 (9.2%) Asian pupils were absent from school due to coronavirus-related circumstances - the highest of all the major ethnic minority groups, according to data published by the Department for Education (DfE).

Mixed-race pupils had absence rates of 7.3% and black pupils 7.2%, compared with 6.6% for white pupils.

In further detail, the DfE said pupils from Gypsy/Roma and Pakistani ethnic groups had the highest levels of absences, with rates of 10.9% and 10.8% respectively.

This compared with 7.0% across all pupils.

Scotland has again recorded a record number of new coronavirus cases. Today’s update says 4,234 new cases have been recorded. It’s the third time in four days that the daily total has set a new record, after yesterday (3,887 new cases) and Monday (3,285 new cases).

About 10.5% of tests carried out were positive. That is up from 9.8% yesterday, but down from 11.6% on Tuesday.

There are 275 people in hospital with coronavirus, up 40 from yesterday. But the number of Covid patients in intensive care, 16, has gone down by three.

There have been six further deaths.

At a news conference on Tuesday Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, cited Euro 2020 and Scotland’s low population immunity, relative to the other parts of the UK, as reasons for new cases in Scotland being so high at the moment.

At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman suggested the Nissan investment in Sunderland showed that Brexit could be an opportunity for the car industry.

Asked if the investment was proof that those who warned about Brexit damaging the sector were wrong, the spokesman referred journalists to the words of Nissan’s chief operating officer, Ashwani Gupta, this morning.

Nissan used to warn that, without a trade deal with the EU, it might have to close its Sunderland factory. But this morning Gupta said:

The key success factor for Brexit has always been trade-friendly business conditions to sustain our business, not only in the UK but in the whole of Europe, and, thanks to Brexit, Nissan is moving forward to use Brexit as an opportunity.

After quoting approvingly from what Gupta said, the PM’s spokesman went on:

Nissan’s announcement today is a major vote of confidence in the UK and our highly-skilled workers in the north-east. It is a pivotal moment in our electric vehicle revolution securing its future for decades to come.

Brexiters claim the announcement shows that leaving the EU never posed a threat to the industry in the first place. This is from the Conservative MP Sir John Redwood.

But remainers say the investment was only secured because the government made a significant contribution itself. This is from Dick Newby, the Lib Dem leader in the Lords.

The government has not revealed how much it paid to Nissan to help persuade it to develop its new £1bn electric vehicle hub in Sunderland. But the PM’s spokesman said this sum would be disclosed in due course. He said:

We will review our support as the project develops and due diligence takes place. Then it is the standard practice after this details of the award will be in the public domain which is a normal procedure and part of the process of transparency.

The decision to allow 60,000 fans to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and finals at Wembley is “a recipe for disaster”, a committee of MEPs has said, urging a rethink because of the surging number of coronavirus cases in the UK.

The European parliament’s committee on public health wants Uefa and the British government to reconsider their decision to allow Wembley to host the matches at 75% of its 90,000 capacity.

Allowing so many fans to watch the three matches, scheduled for 6, 7 and 11 July, is “a health hazard and a clear unnecessary risk” states a letter from the European parliament’s committee on environment and public health, citing the 10-fold increase in UK coronavirus cases since early May.

The letter calls on European parliament president, David Sassoli, to urge his fellow EU leaders to take the matter up with Uefa and the UK government.

Citing recent forecasts that show the more transmissible Delta variant is likely to account for 90% of all coronavirus cases in Europe by the end of August, the MEPs say Uefa should reconsider its decision to hold the matches at Wembley, or “at the least that Uefa and the UK authorities reassess health safety measures and the crowd capacity decision”.

The MEPs do not propose an alternative number of spectators.

They write:

Despite the worrisome situation, the UK government decided to increase crowd capacity at Wembley. We consider this decision a recipe for disaster.

The UK recorded 26,068 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the highest total since January. But deaths are going up at a much slower rate, from a very low level.

In his TV interview at the Nissan plant in Sunderland Boris Johnson warned that some “extra precautions” might be required in England after 19 July. (See 12.27pm.) Here are other lines from his interview.

• Johnson rejected calls for self-isolation rules for pupils to be abandoned now, urging parents to be patient. The government has signalled that, from September, it wants to stop pupils having to isolate if they have been in a “bubble” with someone testing positive, allowing them to get tested daily instead. Earlier this week it was revealed that at least one pupil in 20 is absent from school in England, mainly because they are having to isolate. Asked why the government did not just scrap the bubble system now, Johnson replied:

I understand people’s frustration when whole classes, whole bubbles, are sent home and people are asked to isolate.

So what’s happening now is Public Health England and the scientists are looking at the advantages, the possibilities, of going to testing rather than isolation.

They haven’t concluded yet so what I want to do is just to be cautious as we go forward to that natural firebreak of the summer holidays when the risk in schools will greatly diminish and just ask people to be a little bit patient.

Almost 50 Tory MPs have written to Johnson saying the bubble system should go after 19 July. (See 10.20am.)

• He restated his belief that “double jabs will be a liberator”, enabling fully vaccinated people to travel abroad without having to quarantine on their return. But he refused to confirm a report that this system would come into force from 26 July. He said he would be setting out more details “in the next few days”.

• He refused to disclose what government subsidy was offered to help secure the new “gigafactory” making batteries for electric vehicles in Sunderland. Asked about this, he said:

There are ongoing discussions about ways we can support people who are going to bring fantastic green technology into this country. Obviously they’re confidential but this is something that is a massive benefit to the UK economy.

• He said that mostly he is not driven around himself in an electric vehicle. He said:

I, at the moment, am driven in a variety of machines most of which are still run on hydrocarbons but I can tell you we will be phasing it out as soon as we conveniently and economically can.

An overwhelming majority of parents of school-age pupils say they favour giving their children a Covid vaccine if available, according to a national survey released this morning by the Office for National Statistics.

The survey of more than 4,400 parents in England with children under the age of 16 found that 88% said they would definitely or probably agree to vaccinate their child, with just 12% saying they would not favour vaccination.

Parents with children at secondary school were the most enthusiastic, with 53% saying they would definitely want vaccination and just 4% saying they definitely would not. Nearly 35% said they were “unsure but probably yes” to vaccination

Among the parents of primary school-age children, 43% were definitely in favour, while just 3% were “definitely” opposed.

In June the UK regulator approved the use of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, but a final decision is pending from the JCVI.

Boris Johnson is visiting Sunderland, where a new gigafactory is being built, and in an interview for broadcasters he said that some “extra precautions” may be needed after 19 July, the date set for England to reach step 4 of the roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions.

The government has always said that at step 4 it hopes to remove all remaining legal restrictions on social contact.

But this has never been a firm commitment, and there has been speculation that some measures will have to remain in place.

Asked if the country would return to total normality after 19 July, with all restrictions gone, rather than a “neutered version of real life”, Johnson replied:

I know how impatient people are to get back to total normality, as indeed am I.

I will be setting in the course of the next few days what step four will look like exactly.

But I think I’ve said it before, we’ll be wanting to go back to a world that is as close to the status quo ante Covid as possible, try to get back to life as close to it was before Covid.

But there may be some things we have to do, extra precautions that we have to take, but I’ll be setting them out.

He also insisted that the country was now “in the final furlong” on the route to opening up. He said.

I know that people are impatient for us to open up faster, and of course I want to do that, but what I’m saying to people is we’re now in the final furlong, I really believe.

We have to look very carefully at the data and at the moment of what we’re certainly seeing is a big increasing in cases, 26,000 as you will have seen, but that is not translating into a big increase in serious illness, and death.

And so it looks ever clearer that the vaccination programme, the speed of that vaccine rollout, has broken that link between infection and mortality. And that’s an amazing thing that gives us the scope, we think on the 19, to go ahead cautiously, irreversibly [with opening up].

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been giving a speech this morning following his confirmation as the new DUP leader last night. The full text is here, and here are some of the key points.

• Donaldson said the Northern Ireland protocol was “the greatest threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom” in modern times. He said:

The Northern Ireland protocol represents the greatest threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom in any of our lifetimes.

The Irish Sea border is not just a threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom; it is a threat to the living standards of the people of Northern Ireland and the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom.

In the weeks ahead our goal is to remove the Irish Sea border and to preserve and protect the internal UK market.

He said that he would be pressing the government constantly on this issue, that the current situation was “unsustainable and unacceptable” and that there was “still some way to go to reach an outcome that we can live with”.

• He hinted that the DUP’s implementation of the New Decade, New Approach agreement (the basis for the resumption of power-sharing at Stormont in 2020) might be linked to the government meeting DUP demands on the protocol. Immediately after the passage in the speech saying the protocol problems had to be resolved, he said:

Let me also make it clear that if the government stands over its commitments, we will not be found wanting in delivering on ours.

The New Decade, New Approach Agreement, for all of its flaws, was the basis for the restoration of Stormont in 2020 and it remains so today.

• He apologised for the DUP’s focus on internal dispute in recent weeks. Referring to the events that led to Arlene Foster being forced out as leader, and Edwin Poots lasting just 21 days as her replacement, Donaldson said:

When we should have been focussed on the needs of wider society, we have been consumed with the internal politics of the party.

At times, I know we have strained the patience not just of the public but of our own supporters as well.

As the new leader of the DUP, I want to apologise to our supporters and to the public for that.

• He outlined five priorities for his leadership: removing the “pernicious” Northern Ireland protocol; making devolution “stable and sustainable”; prioritising the health service and economy; extending support for Northern Ireland’s place in the UK; and listening to voices across Northern Ireland.

• He said that he wanted to build broad support for unionism. He said:

For me unionism should have no barriers to entry beyond a belief that Northern Ireland is best served as a part of the UK.

While I celebrate the past and our many achievements, my unionism does not hanker on returning back to a bygone age but forward to a new era.

It is defined by what we are for, not what we are against. And it is not limited to the boundaries of Northern Ireland but includes the whole of our United Kingdom.

Forty eight Conservative MPs have written to Boris Johnson to demand schools “go back to normal” from 19 July, when the remaining restrictions in England are due to be lifted.

In their letter they say that it is “vital that all schools go back to normal from July 19 when restrictions lift, even if just for the last few days of term”. They go on:

This will send an important signal ahead of the autumn that the route to freedom is a ‘one way road’ and genuinely ‘irreversible’.

The signatories include Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, Esther McVey, another former cabinet minister, and Robert Halfon, the chair of the Commons education committee.

For many schools in England term is due to end in the week starting Monday 19 July.

The Office for National Statistics has published new data on the prevalence of long Covid. It reflects responses given by people in a survey, rather than information about what doctors have diagnosed. Here are the key points.

• Around 962,000 people in the UK were suffering long Covid in early June, the survey suggests. That is 1.5% of the population. That is down from 1.6% of the population (just over one million people) in early May. Long Covid is defined as suffering symptoms not explained by anything else for more than four weeks after infection with coronavirus.

• Around 385,000 people (40% of all sufferers) have had long Covid for more than a year, the survey suggests. And 856,000 (89%) have had symptoms for at least three months.

• Around 178,000 people (18.5% of all sufferers) have found their ability to undertake day-to-day activities limited “a lot” by their illness, the survey suggests. And 634,000 people (65.9% of all sufferers) have had their ability to do daily activities adversely affected in some way.

• Fatigue is the most common symptom (experienced by 535,000 people), followed by shortness of breath (397,000), muscle ache (309,000), and difficulty concentrating (295,000), the survey suggests.

• Prevalence of long Covid is greatest amongst people aged 35 to 69 years, women, people living in the most deprived areas, people working in health or social care, and people with another activity-limiting health condition, the survey suggests.

As my colleague Graeme Wearden reports on his business live blog, Nissan has unveiled plans for the UK’s first “gigafactory” producing batteries for electric vehicles, in a £1bn investment plan that secures the future of its Sunderland car plant.

In an interview Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer, refused to say how much the UK government had contributed to allow the project to go ahead.

In an interview on the Today programme Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, also refused to disclose the size of the government subsidy involved. He said:

You will know we’re in conversations with lots of auto companies, there are lots of companies that are interested in investing in the UK, and it would be completely irresponsible for me to go into matters that are commercially sensitive.

Asked if he could confirm that the sum was significant, he replied:

It’s no secret that, across the world, governments are seeking to attract what is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. So that’s widely understood, and the British government has been involved in conversations of that kind.

But the billion pounds [Nissan are] giving far outweighs and is far in excess of the amount of support that we have provided.

Good morning. In Batley and Spen voters have started going to the polls in a byelection that has become a crucial test for Sir Keir Starmer. It is not certain the party will lose, but many Labour figures think that this is highly likely, and if that does happen, it will trigger an intense debate about the extent to which Starmer’s leadership is responsible (or accelerate it - because that debate has already begun.) A Survation poll in June had the Conservatives on course to come first in Batley and Spen by six points; if they do win, it would mean the governing party has gained a seat from the opposition twice in byelections within two months - a feat which would be unprecedented in modern times.

The prospect of a Labour defeat has already prompted a lot of chatter about a possible leadership challenge, and today the Times (paywall) has a story saying Angela Rayner’s supporters are on manoeuvres. It says:

Supporters of Angela Rayner are preparing for her to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of Labour if the party loses the by-election in Batley & Spen today.

MPs close to the deputy leader have been canvassing support among parliamentary colleagues and trade unions, The Times has learnt. Allies of Starmer are braced for an unprecedented leadership contest from his deputy.

Senior figures at Unite, Labour’s biggest union backer, are willing to support a challenge but they have not discussed the idea with her directly and she has not told them she wants the job.

Last night Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, put out a tweet denying that she was involved.

Here is my colleague Maya Wolfe-Robinson’s latest report from the constituency.

And here is a story with an overview of what’s happening there today.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.20am: Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, delivers a speech at the Mansion House.

9.30am: The ONS publishes new figures on Covid in schools, on long Covid, and on the economic impact of the pandemic.

12pm: Downing Street is due to hold its daily lobby briefing.

12.30pm: Leading child health experts speak at a Royal Society of Medicine online seminar on vaccinating children.

2pm: Public Health England publishes its weekly Covid surveillance report.

Also, at some point today the Northern Ireland executive is due to meet to consider further easing of Covid restrictions.

Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently and that is likely to be the case today. For more coronavirus developments, do follow our global Covid live blog.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com