As of 1:55pm on 18 January 2021, there are 93,611,355 confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world. [World Health Organisation]
As of 4:43pm on 18 January 2021, there are 3,433,494 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK out of 61,774,304 tested. [GOV.UK]
As of 17 January 2021, 4,062,501 people in the UK have been vaccinated with their first dose. [GOV.UK]
Understand the UK's latest guidance for business on the coronavirus pandemic
The government announced COVID-19 vaccines will roll out to people aged 70 years and over from 18 January.
Prime Minster, Boris Johnson announced flights from South America and Portugal are banned and all travel corridors from Monday 18 January will be closed to all of the UK. If people are travelling to the UK they would need a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before their flight and would need a completed passenger locator form which the airline would check before take-off. Passengers will need to quarantine for ten days on arrival, unless a negative test was received on day five.
NHS England has confirmed that the first pharmacies will administer the vaccine from today; six outlets will be initially involved, with more than 200 up and running by the end of the month.
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced six new COVID-19 restrictions which are due to come into effect on 16 January, subject to approval by the Scottish Parliament. They include click and collect services limited to essential shopping such as clothing and baby equipment and customers no longer being able to collect takeaways from inside restaurants.
The government confirmed that from 15 January 2021, pre-departure testing will be required for all inbound passengers to England.
The government announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be removed from the list of travel corridors following a concerning increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases. From 12 January 2021, travellers arriving into England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from the UAE will need to self-isolate. Current national restrictions do not permit international travel, unless for a limited set of reasons.
The government published the UK COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan which sets out the strategies that underpin the development, manufacture and deployment of our vaccines against COVID-19.
The first seven new NHS vaccination centres are opening their doors this morning. Some 600,000 invites were due to be sent out over the weekend and this coming week to people aged 80 or older who live up to a 45-minute drive from one of the new regional centres. The new centres will be joined by hundreds more GP-led and hospital services along with the first pharmacy-led pilot sites, taking the total to around 1,200, NHS England said.
The government announced asymptomatic testing to be rolled out across the country, with community testing being expanded across all local authorities in England to test people without symptoms.
The UK government approved the use of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine. Seven million doses have already been ordered by the government, with a further ten million expected to follow.
Understand the international situation and what this means for you
Joe Biden’s promise to carry out 100 million coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days in power is “absolutely a doable thing” said Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser to the President Designate. This follows statements by Ron Klain, incoming White House Chief of Staff, that Biden’s team projected another 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in his first five weeks and that the new President would sign a series of executive policies reversing Trump policies on his first day in office, including a commitment to re-join the Paris climate accords.
India has begun its ambitious project of vaccinating its 1.3 billion citizens - as it aims to administer 300 million jabs by August. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the voluntary vaccination programme at 3,006 locations across the country. In the first phase, vaccines will be given to 30 million health and frontline workers.
A new national evening curfew began in France. The move is a tightening of a curfew already in place since December, which restricts movement from 8pm to 6am.
China’s exports rose in 2020 despite pressure from coronavirus and a tariff war with Washington, boosting its politically volatile trade surplus to $535bn, one of the highest ever reported. Exports increased by 3.6% over 2019 to $2.6tn. Imports edged down 1.1% to just over $2tn, but growth was strong in the second half after China became the first major economy to revive following the pandemic.
About 22 million people in three cities of Hebei Province neighbouring the capital Beijing have been placed under lockdown to prevent COVID-19 from spreading to the capital.
Brussels warned member states yesterday against buying their own vaccines after Germany unilaterally ordered 50 million shots from two suppliers and about 26 million doses that had been turned down by other countries. Germany maintains that it has followed the rules. In theory the 2.3 billion doses of six different vaccines ordered by the EU are to be divided according to each country’s population.
Indonesia’s drug regulator found Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine 65% effective and approved it for emergency use. The country is the first outside of China to authorise it (Brazil and Turkey found the jab to be more effective but have not yet granted approval).
After a tumultuous week in US politics which saw Congress certify President-elect Biden’s victory; Biden secure control of the Senate; and Trump supporters storm the Capitol, President Biden’s team announced they would release most vaccines, reversing the Trump policy of holding back second shots. This came a day after the US reported 4000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day.
WHO Director-General Tedros said he was ‘very disappointed’ after China barred the entry of a 10-member World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic after their visas were not approved.
In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank predicted that the global economy will rebound by 4% in 2021 if a coronavirus vaccine is rolled out successfully. China is expected to expand by 7.9% after growing by 2% last year, the US 3.5% and the eurozone by 3.6%. The report did not include forecasts specific to Britain.
Get the latest CBI breakdown of how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting UK business and the economy as a whole.
Get the latest insights and analysis to help your business respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
Recorded 18 January, this session focuses on the forthcoming budget from the Chancellor, and the Brexit stocktake.
Recorded 13 January, this session focuses on the most frequently asked questions we’re hearing from CBI members.
Understand the approach employers can take to private testing.