Boris Johnson has announced that the government is setting up an antivirals taskforce to help develop medicines to protect people from coronavirus. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, he said wanted antivirals to be available by the autumn. Explaining what this might mean, he said: This means, for example, that if you test positive there might be a tablet you could take at home to stop the virus in its tracks and significantly reduce the chance of infection turning into more severe disease. Or if you’re living with someone who has tested positive, there might be a pill you could take for a few days to stop you getting the disease yourself. Johnson said nothing in the current data suggested that the government would not be able to carry on lifting restrictions as planned, with the next major relaxation of rules due on 17 May. But he also stressed that a third wave of coronavirus cases was expected. I see nothing in the data now that makes me think we are going to have to deviate in any way from the roadmap cautious but irreversible that we have set out. But the majority of scientific opinion in this country is still firmly of the view that there will be another wave of Covid at some stage this year. He said 60% of 45- to 49-year-olds have now been vaccinated. He hinted that if the government does introduce Covid-status certificates, as expected, their use will be relatively limited. In response to a question, he stressed that people would not need them from 17 May. And he went on: What we are looking at – I think any responsible government would look at - is what ways we can use people’s evidence of Covid status just to open up some of those things that are really tough and did prove very tough to open last year He rejected claims that the government should have put India on the red list earlier, saying that it has only now been put on the red list as a precaution. He said: What we’re seeing in India is a result of a variant under investigation, it hasn’t yet been deemed a variant of concern – I think that was why there has been the delay. I think what the JBC (Joint Biosecurity Centre) has decided is on a purely precautionary basis it’s necessary now to put India on the red list. I want to stress that even before that we have measures in place for everybody coming from India that are very, very tough indeed. He said football clubs should not be treated as mere “international brands” with no links to communities. Speaking about the proposed European super league, he said: Football was invented and codified in this county. It is one of the great glories of this country’s cultural heritage. These clubs, these names, originate from famous towns and cities in our country. I don’t think that it is right that they should be somehow dislocated from their home towns, home cities, taken and turned into international brands and commodities that just circulate the planet propelled by the billions of banks without any reference to fans and to those who have loved them all their lives. Johnson confirmed that he was willing to use legislation to block the super league plan. (See 5.21pm.) But he would not elaborate on what this legislation might involve. He claimed that he had acted with honesty and integrity in his affair with Jennifer Arcuri. HuffPost’s Paul Waugh asked a lengthy question about this, as well as a question about Heathrow. In response, Johnson focused on Heathrow before responding with a simple “yes” to the Arcuri question, after which the press conference ended. (See 5.35pm.) Johnson’s answer did not amount to a serious attempt to defend his conduct on this matter but, as the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar says, it may be the first time he has actually acknowledged the affair.
Ministers have urged Heathrow airport to dedicate a terminal to processing passengers arriving from “red list” countries, amid fears that the number of people coming from India could swell and create a more dangerous environment for Covid variants to spread. Johnson has said he is trying to get rid of the “ludicrous” Brexit border checks in Northern Ireland by “sandpapering” the protocol he signed with the EU in January 2020. The Commons Treasury committee has ordered David Cameron to release texts he sent to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, as part of a parliamentary inquiry into the Greensill lobbying scandal. That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.