Times

Coronavirus cases in the UK have surged by 76% in a week but the government has insisted there was still no evidence to support a delay to the final stages of reopening on 21 June, according to The Times.

The Times reports that people were rushing to cancel their holidays following the removal of Portugal from the amber travel list. It add that tourists have until 4am on Tuesday next week to leave the country and return to the UK if they want to avoid quarantine.

Boris Johnson has been accused of failing hundreds of thousands of children by the man he appointed to lead the government’s coronavirus recovery task force for schools, The Times reports.

Like several of the other papers, The Times splashes on the UK recording no new COVID deaths in the most recent 24-hour period, raising hopes the government will stick to its 21 June timetable for easing restrictions fully.

The Times reports that the school day will be extended by half an hour under a £15bn COVID rescue plan to help Britain’s children to catch up after months of disrupted education. 

The government wants everyone in the top nine priority groups to be protected by two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine before 21 June – that’s on the front of The Times.

The Times reports that face masks and work from home guidance could stay in place after the 21 June unlocking as the India coronavirus variant spreads in the UK.

Next month’s anticipated end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions “hangs in the balance”, according to The Times, because of the rise in cases of the Indian variant.

Britain is heading for two “big” weeks of vaccination, boosting hopes that immunisation can stay ahead of the Indian variant and allow restrictions to end next month, The Times writes.