DOMINO'S PIZZA TO EXPAND DRIVE-THRU SERVICES AFTER COVID

Domino's Pizza enjoyed a boost in sales as lockdowns saw households order pizzas in record numbers and the chief executive said he had no concerns over the growing influence from soon-to-float Deliveroo.

Bosses added they hope to use the momentum gained during the pandemic to target more customers in future, including returning office workers, and increase the number of collections with a new drive-thru set up where staff bring pizzas to customers' cars.

A further 200 stores are set to open "in the medium term" and a resetting of relations with franchisees is under way, after years of acrimony between the business and its operators.

The company added it spent £9 million on coronavirus support for franchisees to update their stores and continue trading under restrictions and social distancing.

LATEST DATA

The UK recorded 4,712 more coronavirus cases yesterday.

According to the latest figures, 65 more people died within 28 days of contracting Covid-19.

The number of infections and deaths is decreasing as more people get their jabs.

SELF-LOVE CRISIS DURING PANDEMIC

A new global index analysing levels of self-love has revealed a worrying crisis in the UK, with residents 30% more likely to experience feelings of anxiety and depression than the global average.

A study found that the Covid pandemic had a negative impact on 43% of people in the UK in terms of how they view themselves.

The leading factors cited by residents were feelings of isolation (28%), depression (25% ) and weight gain (22%), nearly a fifth (18%) also stated the pandemic and associated restrictions has made them lose confidence in themselves.

And whilst the inability to see family or friends unsurprisingly emerged as the overwhelming factor contributing to reduced feelings of self-love at any one time during the pandemic (59%), nearly one in ten (9%) also cited the daily Government briefings as a contributing factor.

The research forms part of a major new global study into self-love by and what the British beauty brand has identified as a “worldwide self-love crisis”.

ROAD CONGESTION SLASHED DURING PANDEMIC

The amount of time UK drivers lost stuck in traffic plummeted by 68% last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

Drivers spent an average of 37 hours in queues in 2020 compared with 115 hours during the previous 12 months, transport analysts Inrix said.

Belfast saw the largest reduction in delays (73%) out of the top 10 most congested areas.

It was followed by Edinburgh (69%) and Bristol (64%).

Movement restrictions, school closures and a growth in homeworking all contributed to a reduction in car use.

STAY VIGILANT

A new wave of Covid could "easily take off again" as deaths hit their lowest level since October, a top medical adviser has warned.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries made the comments as deaths caused by the bug hit their lowest levels in five months.

Dr Harries told a press conference yesterday: "This is the level at which a new wave could easily take off again from and we need to persist with all of these actions."

She also warned the case rate is "still quite high" and is at the same level as the end of last September.

Dr Harries said Covid stats showed "a pleasing picture" but that it had "some caution attached to it".

NIGHTINGALE HOSPITALS TO CLOSE

England's Nightingale hospitals are to be closed down next month as services are "no longer at risk of being overwhelmed", the NHS says.

The seven Nightingale hospitals cost a staggering £500 million to set up and maintain, but treated only a few Covid patients over the pandemic. 

They were hurriedly put together last spring as ministers feared the NHS would collapse under the pressure of coronavirus patients.

The temporary sites were described by health bosses as the “ultimate insurance policy”.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Since the very early days of the pandemic the Nightingale hospitals have been on hand as the ultimate insurance policy in case existing hospital capacity was overwhelmed."

GOT A TEXT!

Brits will get a text inviting them to book their Covid jab from today.

The NHS hopes this will encourage younger people to take up the vaccine when their turn comes.

About 40,000 unpaid carers will also be among the first large group to get the text call up.

Reminders will then be sent every two to three weeks to encourage people to get their vaccine if they have not taken up the offer.

More on the story here

LOCKDOWN FINE

Two women wanting to see a waterfall sparked a massive search and rescue operation - and were handed £200 lockdown fines.

The pair of drips were found safe and well after a search by a team of police along with tracker dogs and more than 20 volunteers.

North Wales Police said this morning that the pair drove for more than an hour from Gwent to visit a waterfall in the Brecon Beacons yesterday to exercise, despite the current stay at home lockdown restrictions.

ROBERT BUCKLAND HOPES NHS STAFF WILL GET 'APPROPRIATE' PAY RISE

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has said he hopes NHS staff will be given an "appropriate" pay rise.

The Government is facing an outcry after calling for a headline increase of 1 per cent in its submission to the NHS pay review body, but Mr Buckland said it was only the "beginning of a process".

"The final recommendations have not yet been made. We have got to remember that in large other swathes of the public sector there will be a pay freeze save for the lowest paid. I don't think at the moment we are at the end of this process," he told BBC Breakfast.

"I think that we need to see what the recommendations are and I very much hope that the outcome - whilst it might not be an outcome in these difficult circumstances that will result in pay rises that everybody would want to see - that the work that has been done by NHS workers will be recognised in a way that is appropriate, bearing in mind the constraints we are all under.

"It is not for me to start to prejudge what the outcome of the negotiations is. I am simply pointing out that we are at the beginning of that process and we will have to see what the recommendations are."

VIRUS HOPE

The number of elderly patients hospitalised with coronavirus in England has fallen by 90 percent since the peak of the second wave, new data has shown.

The number of patients aged 85 and over admitted to hospital has dropped from a height of 863 on January 12 to just 90 on March 5.

SHOULDER SURGEONS BRACE FOR SPORTS INJURIES

A leading orthopaedic surgeon is predicting an increase in shoulder injuries as people rush back to sports like tennis and golf once restrictions are lifted at the end of this month.

Ali Noorani, Consultant Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgeon, Shoulder, Elbow & Upper Limb and Medical Director at Orthopaedic Specialists predicts that serious injuries will not be as a result of falling or breaking bones.

Rather our bodies are no longer used to the intense sharp movements required in sport because a year of sedentary home-working has stopped the need for those movements. 

He recommends six exercises people should remember to prepare for ballistic intense movement in sport and reduce your risk of injury:

• Warm up, warm down and stretching
• Grip
• Be aware of your power
• Introduce a rotator cuff and elbow exercise plan
• Boost vitamins C and D and Magnesium
• Modify and stand up

NEARLY 11,000 LIVING WITH UNDIAGNOSED BREAST CANCER DUE TO PANDEMIC

Nearly 11,000 people in the UK could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a charity has warned.

Breast Cancer Now calculated that fewer referrals and less access to treatment, coupled with a pause to breast screening programmes, meant 10,700 fewer people were diagnosed with breast cancer between March and December 2020 than it would have expected.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: "The tragic cost of almost 11,000 missing breast cancer diagnoses is that in the worst cases, women could die from the disease.

"And looking ahead, while we cannot know the full impacts of the pandemic, what we do know now is that over the coming years the number of women coming forward could overwhelm our already over-stretched workforce.

"Women with breast cancer have already paid an unacceptable price due to the pandemic - we simply cannot afford for any more time to pass before UK governments invest in and tackle the crisis facing the cancer workforce."

NICOLA STURGEON SET TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON OUTDOOR MEET-UPS FOR SCOTS

An easing on the restrictions on outdoor meetings could be announced by Nicola Sturgeon in her latest coronavirus update.

The First Minister is due to give a statement on the ongoing fight against Covid-19 to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon.

She has already indicated a change in the rules on outdoor meetings - which at the moment only allow for two people from two different households to get together - could be coming.

JOHNSON PRAISES PARENTS AND TEACHERS

Boris Johnson has praised parents and teachers as he welcomed the return of millions of children to the classroom in England under the first easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference that the return to schools marked a “big day and an emotional day” for millions of families across England.

He said: “We all know that the education of our children is so important that the greater risk now is keeping them out of school for a day longer.

“I want to thank all the teachers who have got their schools ready and who have been teaching throughout the period – whether that is remotely or in person. Your work has been astonishing.”

Mr Johnson also thanked parents who have been teaching their children at home and said: “We all know that the burden has disproportionately fallen on women – often holding down jobs and providing childcare at the same time.”

KICK IN THE TEETH

Furious Tory MPs last night slammed the Government’s plan to only dole out a 1 per cent pay rise for NHS Covid heroes.

Health Minister Helen Whately was hauled over the coals in a fiery Commons showdown over the controversial proposal.

Angry MPs branded the offer a “kick in the teeth” and begged her to recognise the “heroic efforts” of NHS staff who saw Britain through the worst pandemic in a century.

While they accused Health Secretary Matt Hancock of dodging scrutiny by skipping the Urgent Question and sending his deputy to face the fire and fury.

WELCOME BACK, KIDS!

Millions of kids headed back to school for the first time in months yesterday as the first lockdown restrictions were eased.

Jubilant parents tasked with weeks of home-schooling waved their children off to classes with teachers.

Boris Johnson hailed it has a “big day and a emotional day for millions of families” while headteachers said the number of kids returning was “very encouraging”.

Among parents happy to see off their kids were Colin and Dawn Royle who cheered as Isabella, ten, and Joshua, nine, left for school in Audenshaw, Gtr Manchester.

Teachers at the Hazelwood Integrated Primary School in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, built a “Welcome” balloon arch for pupils. One excited youngster ran up and hugged her teacher.

KIDS KEEN TO COMBAT COVID

Most pupils in more than half of secondary schools and colleges across the country have opted in for voluntary Covid tests on the premises.

A survey found 73% of secondary school headteachers had reported more than 90% of students had agreed to wear face coverings in classrooms.

The snap poll by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) also reported a reluctance to wear masks. 2% of heads complained the compliance rate was below 70%.

It comes after children in the UK returned to school for the first time since the start of the year.

COVID-19 HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS DOWN 90% FOR PEOPLE 85 AND OVER

Hospital admissions in England of patients with Covid-19 aged 85 and over have fallen 90% since the peak of the second wave, new analysis shows.

The number has dropped from a peak of 863 admissions on January 12 to just 90 on March 5.

It is the first time daily admissions for the 85 and over age group have been below 100 since October 10.

The steep drop reflects the combined impact of the ongoing lockdown and the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

People aged 80 and over were among the first groups to be eligible for a vaccine and some will now have received both doses.

ECONOMIC SCARS COULD BE FEWER THAN IN PAST RECESSIONS – BoE BOSS

The Governor of the Bank of England has said that the long-term hit to the economy from the Covid-19 crisis could be smaller than in past recessions.

Andrew Bailey said that while gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be 12% lower at the end of March than it was before the pandemic started, the extension of Government support would help mitigate some of the worst effects.

“There are reasons to believe that so-called long-term scarring damage to the economy will be lower than in past recessions,” Mr Bailey said at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation think tank.

He said that unprecedented levels of fiscal support would help to limit the amount of scarring, and added that the UK’s labour force was more mobile than in the past, and will find it easier to switch to new jobs.

NEW WAVE

A new wave of Covid could "easily take off again" as deaths hit their lowest level since October, a top medical adviser has warned.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries made the comments as deaths caused by the bug hit their lowest levels in five months.

Dr Harries told a press conference today: "This is the level at which a new wave could easily take off again from and we need to persist with all of these actions."

She also warned the case rate is "still quite high" and is at the same level as the end of last September.

Dr Harries said Covid stats showed "a pleasing picture" but that it had "some caution attached to it".

NIGHTINGALE HOSPITALS TO CLOSE

England's Nightingale hospitals are to be closed down next month as services are "no longer at risk of being overwhelmed", the NHS says.

Fewer than 10,000 patients are currently being treated for Covid compared with 30,000 in January - a figure that could fall by 60 per cent in just weeks.

While the alert level was downgraded from five to four at the end of February.

The seven Nightingale hospitals cost a staggering £500 million to set up and maintain, but treated only a few Covid patients over the pandemic. 

FURY OVER UNUSED GERMAN AND ITALIAN JABS

Germany and Italy are hoarding millions of Coronavirus vaccines, it has emerged.

Both countries have used less than 33 per cent of their available Covid jabs just as the EU blocks the export of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia.

Figures from the Robert Koch Institute show that eleven out of 16 federal German states did not use half of their supply.

In Saxony only 15.1 per cent of the vaccines stored were used, according to , meaning out of the 105,600 vaccines delivered there, 90,000 remain unused.

In other states across Germany, the percentage of the population vaccinated remains relatively low with 18.7 per cent vaccinated in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and 24.7 per cent in Hesse.

LORRAINE KELLY ALL SMILES AS SHE GET THE JAB

Lorraine Kelly surprised fans by revealing her real name on her coronavirus vaccination card.

The TV star held up the ticket showing she had the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab alongside her true name - 'Lorraine Smith'.

Many fans of the 61-year-old host were surprised, with one tweeting: "I had no idea your current surname was Smith!!"

Another wrote: "Lorraine Smith lol how original" to which she replied: "Smith is my married name."

Sun columnist Lorraine married TV cameraman Steve Smith in 1992 and the pair have a daughter called Rosie.