The government’s short-lived plan to allow the virus to spread through 60 per cent of the population in order to build a “herd immunity” looks even more reckless and ill-informed in the light of new data estimating only around one in 10 people in the UK (rising to 12.1 per cent in England) had caught coronavirus by December. Had the policy been pursued, it seems there would have been many more deaths with no guarantee the herd would even grow immune.

Statista prepared this graph for The Independent.

Schools will remain closed to the majority of children until mid-February, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed as she announced the extension of lockdown restrictions in Scotland.

“The cabinet decided today that — except for vulnerable and key worker children — school and nursery premises will remain closed until mid-February,” the first minister told MSPs.

“If it is at all possible, as I very much hope it will be, to begin even a phased return to in-school learning in mid-February, we will.”

Labour has called for Gavin Williamson to resign as education secretary, after accusing him of “failing children throughout the pandemic”.

Speaking in parliament, Labour’s Wes Streeting slammed the government for “having to be dragged to do the right thing” over free school meals in the past and last year’s exam results controversy – which initially saw tens of thousands of grades initially downgraded by an algorithm before a government U-turn.

He said it had taken nine months to deliver 750,000 devices to schools for home learning, which still “falls so far short” of what is needed.

Read the full story from Zoe Tidman here:

Scotland will remain in lockdown until at least the middle of February, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The first minister told the Scottish parliament: “It is for all these reasons that the cabinet decided this morning to maintain the restrictions which are currently in place.

“That means that the lockdown restrictions — including the strict stay-at-home requirement — will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February,” she said, adding the situation will be reviewed on 2 February.

A further 842 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 62,295, NHS England said on Tuesday.

Patients were aged between 28 and 104. All except 35 of those aged between 54 and 94 had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between 4 December and 18 January, with the majority being on or after 11 January.

There were 37 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Britain’s largest business lobby group has written to Rishi Sunak urging him to act quickly to extend the furlough scheme and announce further support for struggling companies.

In a letter to the chancellor, the CBI called for further business rates holidays and a commitment to reform the tax on companies’ property, as well as a longer deferral on VAT payments.

“Many tough decisions for business owners on jobs, or even whether to carry on, will be made in the next few week,” said CBI director-general Tony Danker. “If the government plans to continue its support then I urge them to take action before the Budget which is still more than six weeks away.”

Read the full story from Business Correspondent Ben Chapman here: 

Downing Street was not able to provide an explanation for regional imbalance in the delivery of coronavirus vaccines.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said supply was limiting the rollout at the moment. 

Off the back of that, he was asked if London was lagging behind other areas because it received a smaller supply of jabs.

“We have ensured that all areas have had equal access to supply but I would point back to what Matt Hancock said yesterday that we will put more supply into areas that have more to do,” the spokesperson said.

But when pressed if it was a logistical or administrative issue in poorly performing areas, he said: “I can only echo what Matt Hancock has said in that we will ensure that we provide more supply and support to those areas that have more to do. But again there are some areas that have made significant progress and have gone faster.”

Joe Biden has indicated rules blocking UK travellers from visiting America will get tougher after he takes office, rather than sticking with the outgoing president Donald Trump’s plan to revoke the travel ban.

For anyone unclear over the rules, or curious as to what may change for travellers once Biden is inaugurated, Simon Calder has put together a guide: 

A new modelling study carried out by researchers in the US has found that although mask-wearing helps to reduce transmission of Covid-19, it should not be used as a substitute for social distancing, Eleanor Sly reports.

In the research, published in the journal Lancet Digital Health, scientists discovered that a rise of 10 per cent in self-reported mask wearing was associated with a three-fold increase in the chances of keeping the R number below one.

Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Matt Hancock should receive a vaccine early because he is leading the response to the pandemic after the Health Secretary went into self-isolation over a close contact.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM and the rest of the Cabinet will take the vaccine when it’s their turn to do so based on the priority lists that have been published.

“We don’t think it’s right that the PM or other members of Cabinet take the vaccine in place of somebody who is at higher clinical risk.”

He said that Mr Hancock was following the rules and exercising when the Cabinet minister was seen in a park in London over the weekend.

“We’ve been clear that everybody needs to follow the guidance and it remains the case that people are allowed outside to exercise which is what I believe Matt Hancock was doing,” the spokesman said.