Five more people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, according to the latest government figures, bringing the UK’s death toll to 127,684.

Separate figures published by the country’s statistics agencies show there have been 152,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The government also said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 1,979 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It brings that total to 4,452,756.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has described the country’s borders as “about as secure as a sieve”, blaming the Conservative Party for failing to take action and put India on the travel red list.

He told the Commons: “Yesterday [Matt Hancock] warned on the television the B1617.2 variant could spread like wildfire amongst the unvaccinated. But does he accept we could have avoided this? Our borders have been about as secure as a sieve. The delay in adding India to the red list surely now stands as a catastrophic misstep.”

Mr Ashworth reminded colleagues and peers that he, last month, urged the health secretary to act quickly “in response to this variant”.

“Alarm bells should be ringing because while he offers reassurance that vaccines are effective, we’ve also heard from Professor Anthony Harnden of the JCVI recently who has warned that vaccines are ‘almost certainly less effective’ at reducing transmission of this variant.”

Mr Ashworth added that “a plan to contain this variant urgently” is needed and asked Mr Hancock to consider “surge vaccination in all hotspot areas and go hell for leather to roll out vaccination to everyone”.

Matt Hancock, also in his statement to MPs, said of the so-called Indian variant: “There’s now 2,323 confirmed cases of B.1617.2 in the UK – 483 of these cases have been seen in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen, where it’s now the dominant strain.”

He also said cases of the variant had “doubled in the last week and are rising in all age groups”. The figure has not quite doubled though, with government data from the end of last week showing 1,313 cases of the variant in the UK.

“In Blackburn, hospitalisations are stable with eight people currently in hospital with Covid, and in Bolton 19 people are now in hospital with coronavirus – the majority of whom are eligible for a vaccine but haven’t yet had a vaccine,” Mr Hancock said.

“This shows the new variant is not tending to penetrate into older, vaccinated groups and it underlines again the importance of getting the jab especially – but not only – amongst the vulnerable age groups.”

Health secretary Matt Hancock has warned parts of the UK to “exercise caution” as restrictions ease, while addressing MPs in the Commons.

Addressing fears surrounding the Indian variant, he said: “It is more transmissible than previous variants, but we do not yet know to what extent it is more transmissible.”

He also said “early Oxford data” suggests current vaccines can fight it, but it still poses “a real threat” because of its highly contagious nature.

Mr Hancock also used the address to encourage the public to get the vaccine when offered one by the NHS, saying the UK is the highest vaccine enthusiasm in the world and thanking figures such as the Queen and Elton John for getting inoculated.

Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern reports the following update on Bolton:

The number of hospital patients admitted with coronavirus to the Royal Bolton Hospital has fallen after a number of patients were discharged at the weekend.

NHS sources confirmed toThe Independent there were 19 patients in the hospital with Covid on Monday, down from 24 on Friday.

The trust has seen the numbers of patients more than double in the past two weeks, with the medical director warning many patients were eligible but had not yet had the vaccine against Covid. Five of the hospital’s patients were receiving critical care on an intensive care unit or high-dependency bed.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Bolton has jumped sharply over the past week but it remains unclear how this will affect the local NHS and whether the increased vaccinations of those in the most at-risk groups will break the link between infection, hospitalisation and death.

The first coronavirus vaccine study for women who are pregnant has been launched across a number of sites in the UK.

The study will look to understand the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 jab in women who are both pregnant and healthy. It will take place across eleven sites, including locations in Newcastle, Leeds, London, Oxford, Gillingham, Edinburgh and Southampton.

Participants will initially receive two doses of the vaccine or of a placebo with a gap of 21 days between them, reports Eleanor Sly.

Germany is reportedly considering making Covid vaccines free for all next month.

Health minister Jens Spahn has proposed to colleagues that the country should stop restricting coronavirus vaccines to more vulnerable groups from 7 June, sources involved in the discussions told Reuters news agency.

If implemented, the decision would mean the entire adult population would be eligible for a vaccine from that date.

The government of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, has banned the practice of throwing dead bodies in rivers, and has promised aid to families struggling to afford cremations for Covid casualities, after hundreds of bodies were seen floating, or buried on riverbanks.

Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister ordered district authorities to ensure that bodies which may be infected with Covid were not “floating in rivers” and polluting the holy River Ganges, which is also a key water source.

My colleague Shweta Sharma explains more in the article below:

People in Blackburn with Darwen have flocked to get their jabs, with increased vaccination underway amid concerns over the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus.

Additional supplies of more than 1,000 Pfizer vaccines per day for the next fortnight have been made available for the East Lancashire borough which currently has the third highest Covid-19 rate in the UK – behind Bolton and Bedford.

Over the weekend more than 6,200 vaccines were administered in the Bolton area, as their neighbours in Blackburn began their surge today for those eligible.

Appointments were filled throughout the day at the Everest Pharmacy in Darwen, with five other similar vaccination centres opening from Tuesday.

Join our health correspondent Shaun Lintern and science correspondent Sam Lovett for a free online event next Wednesday where they will discuss the keys areas of interest that might emerge during the rest of 2021 and beyond.

They will also be joined by Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation, an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK.

To sign up, visit the link below: