earlier in august than usual to allow time for appeals. 26 february – research at addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge, suggests the pfizer–biontech vaccine helps to slow the spread of covid as well as preventing illness. 28 february – the families of schoolchildren are to be offered two free rapid covid tests per week under plans to reopen schools in england. march 2021 1 march – two million people aged 60–63 begin receiving letters inviting them to book a covid vaccination through the national booking service. 3 march – chancellor rishi sunak unveils the 2021 budget, which includes £1bn of funding for 45 areas of england to aid in their recovery from the covid-19 pandemic. jamila azad, a labour party councillor in oxfordshire, is suspended by her party after claiming on social media to have received a covid-19 vaccine from a private doctor. she subsequently has the party's whip withdrawn. london woman sarah everard is murdered by police officer wayne couzens under the pretext of covid regulations. couzens is later arrested and sentenced to life in prison. 4 march – people living in the ts19 postcode area of stockton-on-tees are urged to get tested for covid-19 after evidence of the south african variant was found there. 5 march – the bbc reports that some people with asthma are being refused priority vaccination status if they have not recently been to hospital. 6 march – people aged 56–59 begin receiving letters inviting them to book a covid-19 vaccine. over 18 million people in england have had their first vaccine, roughly a third of the population. the actor laurence fox announces plans to run for mayor of london in the forthcoming election on a platform of lifting lockdown measures a month earlier than planned. education secretary gavin williamson tells the bbc ministers are considering introducing shorter summer holidays and longer school days to help schoolchildren catch up on missed work. 8 march – people wishing to travel overseas are required to complete a "declaration to travel" document to prove they are authorised to travel. concerns are raised that secondary school pupils could be incorrectly told they have covid after the government says that a positive test done at school can not be overridden by a better quality lab test. the network of nhs nightingale hospitals are to close from april, it is announced, with the hospitals in london and sunderland remaining open as vaccination centres. 10 march – since the return of schools in england, reports have emerged of children being asked to self-isolate following incorrect positive rapid covid test results which are later proven to be wrong by a pcr test giving a negative result. parents have warned the situation is "ruining" the return to school, while experts argue children finding themselves in this situation are being unfairly punished. 11 march – a further four cases of the brazilian variant covid are found in england, three in south gloucestershire and one in bradford. all are linked to previous cases identified in the uk. health secretary matt hancock announces that homeless people and those sleeping rough will be prioritised for covid vaccines alongside those aged between 16 and 64 with underlying health conditions. 12 march – students at the university of manchester hold a vote of no confidence on vice-chancellor nancy rothwell's leadership of the university over the response to the covid-19 pandemic; the vote passed with 89% in favour. 16 march – school attendance figures for the first week of the return of schools in england show attendance to be almost at pre-pandemic levels, with 95% of pupils at primary school and 89% at secondary school. 17 march – people in england aged 50 and over are now invited to book their covid vaccination. a letter from nhs england to local health organisations warns of a "significant reduction in the weekly supply" of covid vaccines from the end of march. health secretary matt hancock describes the correspondence as a "standard" letter, though it is reported fewer astrazeneca vaccinations will be available than anticipated. 18 march – prime minister boris johnson confirms he will receive his first vaccination the following day, and urges people who are invited to get a vaccine to do so. 20 march – thousands of people attend an anti-lockdown march in london, at which 33 arrests are made, mainly for breaches of covid regulations. 23 march – the "steps" regulations are published to coincide with the end of the "stay at home" order on 29 march. measures include a £5,000 fine for unapproved travel outside england. 24 march – prime minister boris johnson says that pubgoers could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate by landlords, but that whether to do so would be left up to individual publicans. 26 march – the uk government announces that shops in england will be able to apply for permission to trade from 7am to 10pm from mondays to saturdays when non-essential retailers reopen on 12 april. 27 march – addressing the conservative party's virtual spring forum, prime minister boris johnson has said that despite a surge of covid cases in europe, there is nothing the uk's data to dissuade him "from continuing along our roadmap to freedom". rapid home testing kits are to be offered to companies in england with more than 10 employees from 6 april, and where it is not possible to perform on-site testing. 28 march – culture secretary oliver dowden says the government's plans to ease lockdown measures are on track and the "last thing in the world" it wants is another lockdown, but that dates "could be delayed if the situation deteriorates". 29 march – movement restrictions are loosened by the first phase of the "steps" regulations, allowing two households or six people to meet outside. weddings with up to six people are also permitted again. prime minister boris johnson urges people to be cautions as covid remains a threat. 31 march – people are urged to exercise caution following two days of extremely warm weather that have coincided with the easing of lockdown restrictions in england, and resulted in people descending on parks and beaches. april 2021 1 april – ukhospitality criticises new rules in place for pubs, bars and restaurants when they reopen on 12 april that will require everybody to sign in while limiting visits to the bar to one person from each group. ukhospitality says it will place extra burdens on pubs and staff, and may discourage people from visiting hospitality venues. 2 april – campaigners launch legal action against the uk government over guidelines that ban care home residents over the age of 65 from taking trips outside the home. police break up a good friday service at christ the king rc church on london's balham high road following breaches of covid rules, such as people not socially distancing or wearing face coverings. a video of officers addressing the congregation is posted online. 3 april – the uk government announces that care home residents will be allowed two regular visitors indoors from 12 april, while babies and children will also be allowed. visitors will be required to provide a negative covid test and wear ppe during the visit. the uk government confirms that a covid passport system will be trialled at a comedy evening at liverpool's hot water comedy club on 16 april and continue at other events through to mid-may, while a "traffic light" system will indicate the level of risk posed by different countries once foreign travel returns. 4 april – a 2021 fa cup semi-final match on 18 april, the carabao cup final on 25 april and the 2021 fa cup final on 15 may will all be trialled with spectators as part of plans for the return of large events, with the games attended by 4,000, 8,000 and 21,000 respectively. the matches may also be part of trials for the covid passport scheme. 5 april – everybody in england is to be given access to two free rapid flow tests each week from friday 9 april. prime minister boris johnson confirms that pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms and non-essential shops can reopen from monday 12 april. 9 april – philippines, pakistan, kenya and bangladesh are added to the "redlist" of countries from where travel to england is banned, with travellers refused entry if they have visited those countries in the preceding ten days. transport secretary grant shapps says that people in england can start thinking about taking foreign holidays in summer 2021, but that the cost of covid tests needs to be driven down. 11 april – addressing the congregation of christ the king rc church following sunday mass, one of the met police officers who broke up a good friday service says that the police deeply regret the hurt caused by their actions. 12 april – surge testing is implemented in south london following the discovery of a significant cluster of south african variant covid. the outbreak is believed to stem from an individual who returned from africa in february. the areas affected by the outbreak are still allowed to relax covid rules. 13 april – rollout of the moderna covid vaccine begins in england. the uk government says that students will be allowed to return to university campuses in england "no earlier than 17 may". 14 april – surge testing is extended to the southwark and barnet areas of london amid concerns about the south african covid variant. care home staff in england may be required to have a covid vaccine under new plans being considered by the uk government. 15 april – figures from nhs england indicate that 4.7 million people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in february 2021, the largest waiting list numbers since records began in 2007. of those, 388,000 had waited for more than a year, while two million operations took place through january and february 2021, while the health service was under pressure because of the pandemic. 18 april – on the day the fa cup semi-final between leicester city and southampton is held at london's wembley stadium as a pilot event with 4,000 spectators, it is confirmed that an outdoor gig will be held in liverpool's sefton park on 2 may with near-normal conditions. 5,000 people will be allowed to attend the event without face coverings or social distancing rules, but must provide a negative covid test beforehand. nhs providers have warned that the huge backlog of operations built up during the pandemic could take five years to clear. a gig in manchester's platt fields park due to be given by rapper aj tracy is cancelled shortly before it is scheduled to start because of the volume of people who turn up. its organisers are subsequently fined £10,000 for a breach of covid restrictions. 23 april – philip hollobone, mp for kettering tells the house of commons there is "widespread outrage" over northamptonshire police's decision not to charge anyone in connection with a funeral in kettering attended by 150 people in november 2020. a man was originally charged with breaching covid regulations over the funeral, but the charges have since been dropped. 24 april – an estimated 10,000 people attend an anti-lockdown protest at london's hyde park; eight police officers are injured while trying to disperse protestors and five arrests are made. 26 april – with around two thirds of people in england aged 45–49 having received their first covid vaccine, the programme is rolled out to those aged 44, roughly another half a million people. organisers of the tramlines festival at sheffield's hillsborough park, confirm the event will go ahead from 23–25 july, with 35,000 people expected to attend each day. 27 april – adults aged 42 and over are invited to book their first covid vaccine. the city of london corporation announces plans to convert unused office space into housing in a bid to revitalise the area following the covid crisis, with plans for 1,500 homes by 2030. 29 april – figures published by nhs test and trace show covid covid infection rates have fallen to their lowest in england since september 2020. sir simon stevens confirms he will leave the post of chief executive of nhs england at the end of july and become a peer in the house of lords. 30 april