Boris Johnson says he hopes to avoid a third lockdown in England but warns infection rates have risen “very much” in recent weeks. Northern Ireland has announced a new six-week coronavirus lockdown from 26 December. Wales has already announced a three-week lockdown from 28 December and Scotland is considering tighter restrictions. Ministers have defended plans for many pupils in England and Wales to have a staggered return post-Christmas. Teachers say the announcement – designed to allow schools to set up Covid testing schemes – came too late. A second vaccine is nearing emergency approval in the US after it was endorsed by a panel of experts. The head of the FDA said it would move “rapidly” to authorise the Moderna vaccine, allowing millions of doses to be shipped. Globally there have been 75 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 1.66 million deaths with the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. (BBC)…[+]