Good news. People in England are being vaccinated four times faster than new cases of the virus are being detected, NHS England's chief executive said. Sir Simon Stevens told the BBC that 140 people a minute were now being given the jab, usually the first dose of two. But he said the NHS had never been in a more precarious position, with 75 per cent more Covid patients than at the April peak. It came as a further 298,087 people received their first dose of the vaccine on Saturday. Also today, a financial support scheme for airports in England will open this month, the government said, as the aviation sector faces new Covid travel curbs. Aviation minister Robert Courts said the move was a response to the closure of all UK air corridors from Monday. The aim was to provide grants by the end of this financial year, he said. Industry groups have warned there was only so long airports could "run on fumes", following the announcement of the new quarantine rules. Finally, the government is planning new laws to protect statues in England from being removed "on a whim or at the behest of a baying mob", Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said generations-old monuments should be "considered thoughtfully". The legislation would require planning permission for any changes and a minister would be given the final veto. It will be revealed in Parliament tomorrow.