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Lockdowns, mandatory face masks, vaccine certificates, and work from home orders could return this winter as part of a “plan B” to deal with the pandemic, the health secretary has announced.

Sajid Javid said if the data shows the NHS is likely to come under “unsustainable pressure” from the COVID-19 pandemic again, the government has prepared a “plan B” for England.

This will include:

• Lockdowns “as a last resort”

• Making face coverings legally mandatory in certain settings

• Asking people to work from home if they can, for a limited period

• Introducing mandatory vaccine certificates for certain settings

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• Communicating clearly and urgently the level of risk has increased, so more caution needs to be taken.

Mr Javid told the Commons: “Any responsible government must prepare for all eventualities, and although these measures are not an outcome anyone wants, it’s one that we need to be ready for just in case.”

The health secretary was announcing the government’s autumn and winter plan for dealing with the COVID-19 plan, which includes booster doses for the first nine groups that were offered vaccines at the end of last year and the beginning of this year.

He suggested people meet outdoors if possible during winter and wear a face mask in crowded, enclosed spaces, which was met with jeers by maskless MPs from his own party.

Mr Javid added it is “highly likely” frontline NHS staff and social care settings will be required to have COVID-19 and flu vaccinations to work.

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Memecoins are like a ‘risky casino’ — Andreessen Horowitz exec

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Memecoins are like a ‘risky casino’ — Andreessen Horowitz exec

The chief technology officer of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz said that memecoins are like risky casinos that deter real builders from the crypto ecosystem.

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US SEC expected to deny spot Ether ETFs next month

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US SEC expected to deny spot Ether ETFs next month

Other evidence suggests that the SEC will likely delay the approval of spot Ether ETFs, while Hong Kong will start trading such products next week.

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SNP and Scottish Greens power-sharing deal ends following climate target row

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SNP and Scottish Greens power-sharing deal ends following climate target row

The SNP has terminated its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens following a bitter row over its climbdown on climate targets.

It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf summoned a meeting of his Cabinet – usually held on a Tuesday – this morning following speculation over the future of the Holyrood deal, first struck by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.

The deal, signed in 2021, was designed to facilitate governing between the two pro-independence parties in Holyrood.

But signs it was running into difficult came after the Scottish government scrapped its commitment to cut emissions by 75% by 2030.

The climate announcement also came on the same day that the prescription of puberty blockers for new patients under the age of 18 at a Glasgow gender identity service would be paused.

It means Mr Yousaf’s administration will now run a minority government at Holyrood.

Politics latest updates – Greens and SNP to hold news conferences

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Lorna Slater, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, accused the SNP of an “act of political cowardice” and of “selling out future generations to appease the most reactionary forces in the country”.

“They have broken the bonds of trust with members of both parties who have twice chosen the co-operation agreement and climate action over chaos, culture wars and division,” she said. “They have betrayed the electorate.

“And by ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political cooperation, he can no longer be trusted.”

It is understood the first minister will hold a press conference this morning in the wake of the announcement. The Greens are also expected to talk to the media.

The power-sharing deal with the Greens, also known as the Bute House agreement, brought the party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK.

Named after the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh, it gave the SNP a majority in the Scottish parliament when its votes there were combined with those of the seven Green MSPs.

It created ministerial posts for the Scottish Green Party’s co-leaders Ms Slater and Patrick Harvie.

As well as the watering down of climate targets, the Greens were also dismayed at the pause of puberty blockers in the wake of the landmark Cass review into the landmark Cass review of gender services for under-18s in England and Wales.

Last week the Greens said it would hold a vote on the future of the Bute House Agreement and Mr Harvie urged members to back it so the party could “put Green values into practice” in government.

But in the statement released today, Ms Slater said Green members were now not going to have a “democratic say” on the agreement, adding: “The most reactionary and backwards-looking forces within the first minister’s party have forced him to do the opposite of what he himself had said was in Scotland’s best interests.”

“If they can’t stand up to members of their own party, how can anyone expect them to stand up to the UK government at Westminster and defend the interests of Scotland?”

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