Yahoo News Covid UK news – live: Masks in classrooms return, amid fears quarter of workers may be absent with Omicron
Secondary school pupils in England will have to wear face masks in class again after the Christmas holidays because of Covid-19, ministers have ruled.
Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: “There can be no excuse for our children not learning face to face in the classroom where they want and need to be.”
The rules will run until 26 January. Masks were already recommended in communal areas for older students and staff.
The announcement came as England notched a record one-day coronavirus infection tally of 162,572. A further 154 people died in England within 28 days of testing positive.
Meanwhile, the government is drawing up plans to counter a massive wave of worker sickness, with scenarios including one-quarter of staff being absent.
Boris Johnson demanded ministers prepare “robust” contingency options, even as the Cabinet Office claimed that, so far, disruption caused by Omicron has been controlled in “most parts of the public sector”.
Key Points
Children to wear masks in classrooms in battle to keep schools open
Ministers told to draft plans to help employers cope with quarter of staff off work
England reports another record rise in cases with 162,572 new infections
Javid warns Covid curbs must be ‘last resort’ as pandemic enters third year
Hospitals may have to ban visitors because of Omicron
Why you shouldn’t share pictures of your Covid tests online
How accurate are lateral flow tests?
12:15 , Matt Mathers
With Omicron spreading rapidly throughout the country, many people are using lateral flow tests at home to check if they have Covid.
Are the tests accurate? My colleague Laura Hampson reports:
How accurate are lateral flow tests?
Police probe intentional fire at Covid centre
12:03 , Jon Sharman
Police are investigating an incident of wilful fire-raising at a coronavirus testing centre in Scotland.
A fire at the centre in Risk Street, Dumbarton, on New Year’s Day was described by Police Scotland as a "deliberate act".
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service put out the blaze.
No-one was hurt and the incident has not affected test services at the centre, the police added.
Officers are investigating, with police appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
Detective Constable Thomas O'Donnell said: "We are in the process of reviewing CCTV footage from the area and the surrounding area, and I'm confident it will provide useful information on the suspect and the incident.
"However, I would like to appeal to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact us."
Full story: No need for tougher Covid restrictions based on latest hospital data, health minister insists
11:44 , Jon Sharman
There is still no need for tougher Covid restrictions in England based on hospital data up to the end of 2021, a health minister has insisted.
Edward Argar said the numbers on wards and in intensive care was dramatically down on one year ago, showing vaccines and better treatment had put the country in “a very, very different position”, writes Rob Merrick.
Still no need for tougher Covid restrictions, health minister insists
Fresh questions raised over plan to ventilate classrooms
11:25 , Jon Sharman
Rolling out ventilation units to schools will raise a number of practical problems, an academic has warned.
Professor Mark Mon-Williams, of the University of Leeds, which is leading a trial of air cleaning equipment in 30 schools in Bradford, told BBC News: "There are a number of different issues, such as does the room have enough plug sockets, how many units are you going to put in classrooms?
"There are other issues, such as delivering the units and cleaning the filters that are present in these systems.
"There are a number of different practical issues that really need to be understood in order for the rollout to be effective."
He added: "The more units you put in the lower the cost, but the cost is still substantial so the question is this - is this the best investment to make?"
Prof Williams, who said his university's trial aims to provide evidence so that policy decisions can be made, added: "Ventilation is an incredibly powerful tool but not all schools are able to ventilate adequately and, of course, a number of our schools are positioned in areas of very poor air quality so opening up windows may produce other adverse consequences.
"Ventilation is a fantastic tool but the question is, can we supplement that with these other air cleaning technologies?"
PA
Minister insists no new restrictions are needed
11:04 , Jon Sharman
The government does not need to bring in new coronavirus restrictions to tackle Omicron, a health minister has insisted.
Edward Argar told Times Radio “nothing at the moment in the data in front of me” to suggest such a move was necessary.
However, he admitted the government “expects to see hospitalisation numbers continue to go up for a little while yet”.
Self-isolation will not be cut to five days for asymptomatic people, he added.
Union boss doubts negative mental health impact of classroom masks
10:50 , Jon Sharman
Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, has disagreed with concerns about possible negative mental health effects of making masks compulsory in secondary schools.
Responding to a suggestion by Robert Halfon, chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee - who said he worried about the "negative impact" on young people's mental wellbeing - she told Times Radio she wanted to see evidence of such claims.
She said: "Robert Halfon says it has a significant mental health effect. So I would really want to see the study that shows that.
"We have mask-wearing in secondary schools in Wales and Scotland, and I don't think that it is causing a huge problem.
"Secondary school pupils wear masks in corridors and hallways and surely, Robert Halfon has been, you know, campaigning hard, quite rightly, to keep schools open.
"Schools are crowded buildings. Even in secondary only just under half the pupils have been vaccinated. And we know that mask-wearing does have an effect of suppressing transmission."
PA
Government’s school ventilation plan comes up short, Labour says
10:33 , Jon Sharman
Ministers’ plans to help schools beat coronavirus by improving classroom ventilation are inadequate, Labour has warned.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, told Sky News: "They've made an announcement today that they're going to send out 7,000 air purifiers to schools across the country.
"I mean, that's only one in four schools across England, so nowhere near enough. And I'm not clear from what the government said whether this is one system per school, or one air purifier per school - because obviously [there's] a big difference between the two.
"And again, I'm afraid it looks a little bit like a rushed last-minute announcement to give the appearance of doing something on a big issue where they should have taken action a lot sooner.
"So I think the government's got a lot more to do on ventilation in schools as well, as a key defence, a key mitigation, against the virus."
Covid conspiracy groups may switch to climate misinformation in 2022, experts warn
10:14 , Jon Sharman
Covid-19 conspiracy groups may pivot to pushing climate misinformation in 2022, experts have warned.
Ciaran O’Connor, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told the PA news agency that coronavirus misinformation on topics such as vaccines and lockdowns could evolve to focus on climate policy.
“‘Green lockdowns’ is a term that’s bandied about in these conspiracy communities… that’s a merging of Covid worlds and climate disinformation worlds,” he said.
Covid conspiracy groups ‘may pivot to climate misinformation in 2022’
Schools can switch to online lessons if they have shortage of teachers, education secretary says
09:50 , Jon Sharman
Schools in England have been given the go-ahead to send pupils home and return to online teaching if they have a critical shortage of teachers, writes Rob Merrick.
The advice comes in an open letter from Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary – one day after he announced the return of mask-wearing in secondary school classes.
Schools told they can switch to online lessons if they have teacher shortage
Israel reports first case of ‘flurona’ – rare double infection of Covid and influenza
09:30 , Jon Sharman
#icymi
Israel has recorded the first case of a rare mixture of two diseases, influenza and coronavirus, dubbed “flurona”.
Local reports said that the patient was a young pregnant woman, who was in hospital, although her symptoms were mild, writes Svrasti Dasgupta.
“She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived,” said Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the gynaecology department of Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva city.
Israel reports first case of ‘flurona’ – rare double infection of Covid and influenza
India infections rise sharply again
09:09 , Jon Sharman
India reported more than 27,000 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, with infections sharply rising for a fifth consecutive day.
However, the chief minister of the capital New Delhi insisted there was no need to panic, citing low hospital admission rates.
The country's largest cities, including Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai, have seen a recent spike in Covid-19 cases, including those of the Omicron variant, which has triggered a fresh wave of infections in other parts of the world.
Although the number of active cases in Delhi has tripled in just the last three days, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that hospitalisations had not gone up.
Reuters
Omicron plus vaccines might lead Israel to herd immunity, health boss says
08:50 , Jon Sharman
A surge of Omicron infections could see Israel reaching herd immunity, the country's top health official said on Sunday as daily cases continued to climb.
The highly transmissible variant has brought a surge in coronavirus cases across the globe. Worldwide infections have hit a record high, with an average of just over a million cases detected a day between 24 and 30 December, according to Reuters data. Deaths, however, have not risen in kind, bringing hope the new variant is less lethal.
Until late December, Israel managed to stave off Omicron to some degree but with infection rates now gaining pace, daily cases are expected to reach record highs in the coming three weeks. This could result in herd immunity, said director-general of the health ministry, Nachman Ash.
"The cost will be a great many infections," Mr Ash told 103FM Radio. “The numbers will have to be very high in order to reach herd immunity. This is possible but we don't want to reach it by means of infections, we want it to happen as a result of many people vaccinating.”
Reuters
Halfon questions new mask rule
08:37 , Jon Sharman
Education committee chairman Robert Halfon said mask-wearing would have a "significant impact on children's wellbeing".
In comments in The Sunday Telegraph, the Conservative MP said: "The government needs to supply the evidence.
“If masks are not required in offices or restaurants, why are we getting young kids to put them on?”
Labour will back new rules despite ‘swivel-eyed’ Tory backbenchers
08:20 , Jon Sharman
Labour will continue to support Boris Johnson’s coronavirus rules “regardless of the swivel-eyed backbenchers they’ve got saying no restrictions under any circumstances”, Wes Streeting has said.
The shadow health secretary told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve got to follow the data, we’ve got to follow the scientific advice. The Labour Party stands ready to do whatever is necessary ... I hope if government gets testing right, we won’t need to see new restrictions in England.”
Meanwhile a lack of test kits is causing problems for parents getting their children back to school, as well as for “critical front-line workers”, Mr Streeting said.
“My message to the government today is, get a grip on testing, because this is the key tool.”
Ministers told to draft plans to help employers cope with quarter of staff off work
08:04 , Jon Sharman
Boris Johnson has tasked ministers with developing “robust contingency plans” for workplace absences as the Government acknowledged high Covid levels could hit businesses hard over the coming weeks.
Public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for a worst case scenario of up to a quarter of staff off work as the virus continues to sweep across the country, the Cabinet Office said.
Steve Barclay the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is chairing “regular meetings” with ministers to assess how the highly transmissible Omicron variant is affecting workforces and supply chains.
PM tasks ministers with drafting ‘robust’ plans for workplace absences
Children to wear masks in classrooms in battle to keep schools open
07:40 , Jon Sharman
Ministers have toughened Covid guidance for schools with pupils aged 11 and over told to wear masks in classrooms again as Covid infection rates continue to rise, writes Rob Merrick.
The measures will be brought in for secondary schools in England from the start of term this week until 26 January – in the strongest indication yet that “Plan B” measures will also be kept in place throughout this month.
England recorded 162,572 coronavirus cases on Saturday – another record – with health leaders warning that hospitals were struggling to cope with the surge.
Children told to wear masks in classrooms again in battle to keep schools open
Australia’s Covid cases dip but hospitalisations rise
07:10 , Sravasti Dasgupta
New Covid-19 cases dipped in Australia over the holiday weekend amid reduced testing but hospitalisations continued to record a worrying increase.
The national tally of new daily cases was more than 32,200, below Saturday’s record of 35,327, reported Reuters.
In New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, new infections dropped to 18,278 from 22,577 the day before, health department figures showed.
The fewer number of infections could be attributed to lower testing as those numbers dropped by a quarter on New Year’s Day.
Hospitalisations, however, jumped by 18 per cent to 1,066, fuelling concerns. Authorities have indicated that they were closely monitoring hospital admissions.
All Australian states have increased vaccinations and eased curbs in a bid to live with the virus.
Europe’s Covid tally crosses 100 million
06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Europe has recorded more than 100 million Covid cases since the start of the pandemic, an AFP tally showed on Saturday.
The region has recorded a total of 100,074,753 infections across 52 countries over the past two years.
Of this, more than 4.9 million cases have been reported over the past seven days, with France alone reporting a million cases in the last week.
Seventeen of 52 countries or territories in Europe have beaten their previous record of most cases in seven days in the past week.
Accounting for more than a third of the world’s total infections, the continent has once again become the epicenter of the virus.
However, the continent also has more vaccinated citizens overall in comparison to the global average.
Sixty-five percent of Europeans are partially vaccinated, while 61 per cent are fully vaccinated, in comparison to more than 58 per cent and 49 per cent respectively worldwide, according to the “Our World in Data” website.
My colleague Grace Almonds reports on the measures France is taking to tackle the surge of Covid infections:
France tightens Covid restrictions to tackle Omicron surge
UAE bans unvaccinated citizens from travelling
05:24 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The United Arab Emirates announced a travel ban on unvaccinated citizens from 10 January.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) of the UAE added that even for vaccinated citizens, a booster dose would be essential to travel.
The new travel rules come in the wake of a surge in Covid-19 cases.
On Saturday, the UAE reported 2,556 new cases, taking the cumulative infections to 764,493, according to the ministry of health and prevention.
The ministry also reported one death, taking the country’s death toll to 2,165.
Teens and adults driving US Covid surge, officials say
04:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Health officials in the US have said that teens and adults are driving the surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
The US seven-day average for pediatric hospitalisations increased 58 per cent, to 334, between 21 December and 27 December.
The increase in hospitalisations for all age groups was about 19 per cent.
Less than 25 per cent of US children are vaccinated, reported Reuters.
Data from states such as Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Michigan and Nevada showed that adults between 18 and 49 accounted for a majority of the cases, reported The Guardian.
“Many of the people in this age group are important members of our labor force … and these are also folks that are very likely to be out and about for recreation,” said Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles county’s public health director.
My colleague Rebecca Thomas reports on US’ five-day isolation period rule:
Is the new US five-day Covid isolation less safe than Britain?
New York reports record high of over 85,000 cases
03:58 , Sravasti Dasgupta
The state of New York reported a record single-day tally of 85,476 Covid-19 cases on Saturday.
The positivity rate in the state has been recorded at 22.2 percent and the seven-day average at nearly 20 percent, state official data showed.
Hospitalisations have also noted a sharp increase in the state, despite authorities insisting that the rate is nowhere close to January 2021.
In the second week of December, Governor Kathy Hochul had said that “this isn’t March 2020 or even January 2021”, citing admission totals well below January’s peaks near 9,300.
However, data released by state officials on Saturday showed that statewide hospitalisations were at a total 8,451, with Ms Hochul adding another 532 to the mounting count on Saturday.
As many as 30 out of every 100,000 New Yorkers who are not vaccinated are currently hospitalised.
In contrast, only 2.1 out of every 100,000 vaccinated New Yorkers are in hospital now.
My colleagues Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, Celine Wadhera and Joe Sommerlad explain the symptoms of the Omicron variant:
What are the symptoms of Omicron variant?
Government preparing for 1 in 4 public sector staff to be off sick
Saturday 1 January 2022 23:44 , Tom Batchelor
Boris Johnson has tasked ministers with developing “robust contingency plans” for workplace absences as the government acknowledged high Covid levels could hit businesses hard over the coming weeks.
Public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for a worst case scenario of up to a quarter of staff off work as the virus continues to sweep across the country, the Cabinet Office said.
Steve Barclay, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is chairing “regular meetings” with ministers to assess how the highly transmissible Omicron variant is affecting workforces and supply chains.
He is also watching the situation in schools ahead of pupils returning for the new term.
The department said Mr Johnson has charged ministers with working with their respective sectors to test preparations and contingency plans to limit disruption from mounting Covid infections.
France cuts isolation period to seven days
Saturday 1 January 2022 23:24 , Tom Batchelor
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday the isolation period for fully vaccinated people who test positive for Covid would be cut to seven days from 10 days.
French authorities followed other countries such as the UK and US, which this week cut the isolation period to prevent disruptions in industries for lack of staff.
“This isolation could be lifted after five days in case of a negative test. Those who are not vaccinated will have to self-isolate for 10 days, with a possibility to come out of isolation after seven days under the same terms”, Mr Veran told newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, published on Sunday.
He also said the Omicron variant was too contagious to be stopped unless a “strict lockdown” was re-imposed.
Covid outbreak at Antarctic research station
Saturday 1 January 2022 23:04 , Tom Batchelor
An Antarctic research station has been hit by a Covid outbreak with more than a dozen staff at the Belgian facility testing positive for the virus.
At least 16 of the 25 workers at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have become infected since 14 December.
Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC: “The situation isn’t dramatic. While it has been an inconvenience to have to quarantine certain members of the staff who caught the virus, it hasn’t significantly affected our work at the station overall.
“All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work.”
Cathay Pacific sacks crew over breach of Covid protocols
Saturday 1 January 2022 22:44 , Tom Batchelor
Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said on Saturday two of its aircrew who have tested positive for the Omicron variant were sacked for breaching medical surveillance regulations.
The airline gave no further details but regulations include quarantining at home after flying.
“The actions of these individuals are extremely disappointing, as they undermine the otherwise exemplary dedication and compliance shown by our over 10,000 aircrew,” Cathay said.
NHS ‘already overwhelmed, in a parlous state'
Saturday 1 January 2022 22:24 , Tom Batchelor
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chairman, has said it is “wholly erroneous to talk about the risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed”, adding that the new year began with the NHS “already overwhelmed, in a parlous state, and with patient care suffering”.
He described staff as “exhausted”, and added: “A key priority for the government this year must be to properly invest in doctors’ wellbeing, recognising that the NHS cannot afford to lose any more of its workforce without dangerously jeopardising patient care.”
Unions urge government to provide air-cleaning units to every school
Saturday 1 January 2022 22:02 , Tom Batchelor
The government has been called upon to support schools before they reopen as teachers “moved heaven and earth” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Six trade unions representing education staff across the country have issued a joint call to arms before schools and colleges reopen next week.
They are urging the government to provide air-cleaning units to every school and college that needs them, to commit to providing schools with more resources if on-site coronavirus testing is needed, and to provide improved financial support to schools and colleges for the costs of supply staff to cover for Covid-related absences.
The unions are also asking for the government to make it clear that schools and colleges due for an Ofsted inspection in the coming term can have it deferred to allow teachers to focus on supporting pupils.
Covid triggers flight cancellations across globe
Saturday 1 January 2022 21:45 , Tom Batchelor
More than 2,500 US flights and about 4,300 worldwide departures have been cancelled, in part because of Covid, according to tracking service FlightAware.
That is the highest single-day US toll yet since just before Christmas, when airlines began blaming staffing shortages on increasing Covid infections among crews.
More than 12,000 US flights have been cancelled since 24 December.
Saturday’s disruptions weren’t just due to the virus, however. Wintry weather made Chicago the worst place in the country for travellers, with 800 flights scrubbed at O’Hare Airport and more than 250 at Midway Airport.
Among international carriers, China Eastern scrubbed more than 500 flights, or about one-fourth of its total, and Air China cancelled more than 200 flights, one-fifth of its schedule, according to FlightAware.
Reporting by AP
French children six and older will have to wear masks in indoor places open to public
Saturday 1 January 2022 21:25 , Tom Batchelor
French authorities announced on Saturday that children six and older will have to wear masks in indoor places open to the public as new cases of Omicron surge past 200.000 for the fourth consecutive day.
By lowering the age of children obligated to wear masks from 11 to 6, the government is hoping to avoid shutting down schools after the holiday break.
Classes resume on Monday and young children will have to wear masks in public transport, in sports complexes and places of worship. The mask mandate extends to outdoor spaces in cities such as Paris and Lyon that have recently re-introduced mask wearing outside.
On the first day of the new year, France registered 219,126 new infections, down only slightly from the daily record of 232,200 noted on the last day of 2021.
The French government is betting that fifth wave of the pandemic driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant can be tamed without returning to economically damaging lockdowns or curfews and without hospitals collapsing under growing numbers of gravely sick.
How long is Omicron’s incubation period?
Saturday 1 January 2022 21:01 , Chiara Giordano
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread around the world at a rapid pace since it was first discovered in southern Africa last month but there is still a great deal we do not know about it.
My colleague Joe Sommerlad explains how long it takes for symptoms to materialise in people infected by the variant:
How long is Omicron variant’s incubation period?
Ireland reports record number of daily cases
Saturday 1 January 2022 20:21 , Chiara Giordano
Ireland is another country to report a record amount of daily Covid cases.
The Department of Health reported 23,281 new cases today - the highest daily total since the pandemic began.
It is the third day in a row that case numbers have exceeded 20,000.
At 8am on Saturday, there were 656 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 85 were in intensive care.
NHS boss warns new rules may be needed to take pressure off ‘flat-out’ staff
Saturday 1 January 2022 20:02 , Chiara Giordano
A health boss has warned the “next few days are crucial” in the fight to reduce the impact of the Omicron variant, and said the Government “must be ready to introduce new restrictions at pace if they’re needed”.
Chris Hopson the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health trusts, said staff were working “flat out” and that the NHS was under “arguably more pressure” compared with this time last year.
More on this story below:
NHS boss warns new rules may be needed to take pressure off ‘flat-out’ staff
Latest Covid statistics for Italy
Saturday 1 January 2022 18:52 , Chiara Giordano
Italy has registered 137,513 deaths linked to Covid-19 since February 2020, and has reported 6.267 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with Covid - not including those in intensive care - stood at 11,265 on Saturday, up from 11,150 a day earlier.
There were 135 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 119 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 1,297 from a previous 1,260.
Cruise ship carrying 4,000 passengers held in Libson amid outbreak
Saturday 1 January 2022 18:20 , Chiara Giordano
A cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people has been held in the Portuguese capital Lisbon after a Covid-19 outbreak infected crew members, according to the German news agency dpa.
German company Aida Cruises told dpa that it discovered the positive coronavirus cases during routine health checks and has accommodated those infected ashore in co-ordination with Portuguese authorities in Lisbon.
Portuguese media reported that 52 members of the crew of more than 1,000 workers tested positive.
None of the nearly 3,000 passengers had tested positive.
Latest vaccination figures
Saturday 1 January 2022 17:55 , Chiara Giordano
A total of 51,771,476 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by 31 December, government figures show.
This is a rise of 92 on the previous day but only Northern Ireland has reported new statistics. England, Scotland and Wales have yet to update their figures.
Some 47,412,342 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 161, all administered in Northern Ireland.
A combined total of 33,927,775 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 3,037, also just in Northern Ireland.
Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.
England reports another record rise in cases with 162,572 new infections
Saturday 1 January 2022 17:24 , Chiara Giordano
A new record of 162,572 Covid cases has been registered in the past 24 hours in England, government figures show.
The number is up from the 160,276 new lab-confirmed Covid cases in the previous 24-hour period reported on Friday.
My colleague Tom Batchelor has the full story:
England reports another record rise in Covid cases
England records further 162,572 Covid cases
Saturday 1 January 2022 16:54 , Chiara Giordano
A further 162,572 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases have been recorded in England as of 9am on Saturday, the government said, a new record for daily reported cases in England.
The government said a further 154 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Cruise ship detained in Lisbon amid virus outbreak
Saturday 1 January 2022 15:55 , Jon Sharman
A cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people has been held in the Portuguese capital Lisbon after a Covid-19 outbreak infected crew members, according to reports.
Aida Cruises told the German news agency dpa that it discovered the positive coronavirus cases during routine health checks and has accommodated those infected ashore in co-ordination with Portuguese authorities in Lisbon.
Portuguese media reported that 52 members of the crew of more than 1,000 workers tested positive.
None of the nearly 3,000 passengers had tested positive.
All on board had passed a screening test and were vaccinated with two doses before the ship set sail from Germany.
The ship is waiting for the arrival of new crew members to continue its journey to Spain's Canary Islands, dpa reported.
AP
Klopp to miss Chelsea clash after suspected positive Covid test
Saturday 1 January 2022 15:36 , Jon Sharman
Jurgen Klopp will miss Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday after returning what the club called a “suspected” positive test for coronavirus.
Liverpool confirmed Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders will take charge for the fixture, and said no further players have been affected beyond the three previously confirmed by Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp to miss Chelsea clash after ‘suspected’ positive Covid test
Ministers must be poised for rapid introduction of new curbs, says senior NHS official
Saturday 1 January 2022 15:11 , Jon Sharman
The head of NHS Providers has warned ministers they must be ready to clamp down on freedoms “at pace” if they become necessary – just hours after Sajid Javid said such a move would be a last resort.
Chris Hopson tweeted that coronavirus spread in England was accelerating and NHS staff absences were also soaring.
He added: “If growth rates go back up again (e.g. Xmas effect) trusts likely to have to start standing up extra surge capacity late next week. Putting pressure on less urgent elective activity.”
While there are fewer seriously ill older people in hospital than in previous peaks, pressure is mounting and the next few days will be “crucial”, Mr Hopson said.
In addition there is a lack of testing in London, he said, meaning infection rates may be underestimated despite the appearance of a plateu in cases.
So we still need to watch and wait. Govt must be ready to introduce new restrictions at pace if they’re needed. Positive news is that we are still not seeing the large numbers of severely ill older people that we have seen in previous peaks. Vaccine effect very pronounced….24/25
— Chris Hopson (@ChrisCEOHopson) January 1, 2022
Javid warns Covid curbs must be ‘last resort’ as pandemic enters third year
Saturday 1 January 2022 14:50 , Jon Sharman
Restrictions on freedom “must be an absolute last resort” and the UK must look to “live alongside” coronavirus in 2022, the Health Secretary has said.
But Sajid Javid said the record-breaking Omicron wave of infection will “test the limits of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter” as reports suggested a work from home order in England could be in place for most of January to slow the spread of the highly transmissible variant.
Javid warns Covid curbs must be ‘last resort’ as pandemic enters third year
Omicron hospitalisation risk around one third of Delta, new data shows
Saturday 1 January 2022 14:39 , Jon Sharman
The risk of people being hospitalised with the Omicron variant of coronavirus is just one third that of the Delta variant, according to new analysis.
The UK is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with record daily infection levels reported once again on Friday, writes Chiara Giordano.
But while hospital admissions have also started to rise, the new variant is believed to be milder than the Delta variant – and “encouraging” new data suggests it could pose less of a risk of hospitalisation.
Omicron hospitalisation risk around one third of Delta, new data shows
MBE for Garraway who documented husband’s Covid recovery
Saturday 1 January 2022 14:11 , Jon Sharman
Kate Garraway has received an MBE in the New Year Honours after she documented her husband’s recovery from a severe case of coronavirus, writes Saman Javed.
Garraway’s husband, Derek Draper, was hospitalised with Covid in March 2020 and was later placed in a medically induced coma.
He woke up several months later and was allowed to go home in April this year, more than 12 months after he was first admitted.
Kate Garraway receives MBE for documenting husband Derek Draper’s Covid recovery
Emirates to institute ban on foreign travel for unvaccinated
Saturday 1 January 2022 13:50 , Jon Sharman
The United Arab Emirates will ban non-vaccinated citizens from traveling abroad from 10 January, the state news agency WAM reported on Saturday, citing the foreign ministry and the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority.
The report said that fully vaccinated citizens would also require a booster shot to be eligible to travel. The ban would not apply to those with medical or humanitarian exemptions.
Rich nations break pledge to vaccinate 40% of Africa against Covid by end of 2021
Saturday 1 January 2022 13:31 , Jon Sharman
Rich nations have broken their promise to vaccinate 40 per cent of people against Covid in every African country by the end of 2021, new figures show.
Just sevenof the continent’s 54 countries have reached the target, according to the World Health Organisation, with most lagging way behind at under 10 per cent.
Africa’s largest nation, Nigeria, has fully vaccinated just 2.1 per cent of its people, with Ethiopia (3.5 per cent) and Democratic Republic of Congo (0.1 per cent) also having among the lowest rates, writes Rob Merrick.
Rich nations break pledge to vaccinate 40% of Africa against Covid by end of 2021
Ireland reports further 23,281 Covid cases
Saturday 1 January 2022 13:08 , Chiara Giordano
A further 23,281 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Ireland.
At 8am today there were 656 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 85 were in intensive care.
Israel reports first case of ‘flurona’ – rare double infection of Covid and influenza
Saturday 1 January 2022 12:49 , Chiara Giordano
Israel has recorded the first case of a rare mixture of two diseases, influenza and coronavirus, in a woman. The disease has been dubbed “flurona”.
Local reports said the patient is a young pregnant woman, who is currently admitted to the Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva city, where she presented mild symptoms.
My colleague Sravasti Dasgupta has more details:
Israel reports first case of ‘flurona’ – rare double infection of Covid and influenza
Restrictions on freedom ‘must be absolute last resort’, says Sajid Javid
Saturday 1 January 2022 12:21 , Chiara Giordano
Restrictions on freedom "must be an absolute last resort", health secretary Sajid Javid has said, as a health boss warned the prevalence of the Omicron coronavirus variant could prompt hospital managers to close wards to visitors.
Mr Javid and NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor agreed the record-breaking Omicron wave of infection will "test the limits of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter", with reports suggesting a requirement to work from home in England could be in place for most of January.
And Mr Taylor said some hospitals could be forced to exclude visitors as part of the "difficult choices" made to stymie the spread of Omicron on wards.
It came as figures showed that hospital admissions in England have risen to their highest level since January 2021, while the number of NHS hospital staff absent due to the virus nearly doubled in a month.
NHS chief warn hospitals may have to ban visitors
Saturday 1 January 2022 11:33 , Jon Sharman
Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation which represents hospitals, has warned the health service will be pushed to its limits this winter thanks to Omicron.
Mr Taylor said some hospitals could be forced to exclude visitors as part of the "difficult choices" made to stymie the spread.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Hospital managers have to make very difficult choices and excluding visitors is one of those very difficult choices.
"It's not something that anybody wants to do, it's a last resort.
"But, when you're facing the kind of pressures the health service is going to be under for the next few weeks, this is the kind of thing managers have to do."
He added: "I understand how much people want to return to normal and I'm confident that, as this year progresses, we will be able to do that, and we all hope that 2022 is the year in which coronavirus just becomes an illness that we live with, not an illness that dominates our lives.
"But you can have the optimism but still recognise the next few weeks are going to be very tough and we need to do whatever is necessary to get us through these next few weeks."
Kim Jong-un says North Korea will focus on economy, food and Covid in 2022
Saturday 1 January 2022 11:02 , Jon Sharman
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has listed out his government’s major goals for 2022, including a strong focus on domestic issues such as rural development and plans to boost the country’s faltering economy, in a key political conference, state media reported.
Mr Kim’s comments on Friday came at the end of a five-day plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, and coincided with the completion of 10 years since he assumed leadership of the country after his father’s death in 2011.
Kim Jong-un says North Korea will focus on economy, food and Covid in 2022
Why you shouldn’t share pictures of your Covid tests online
Saturday 1 January 2022 10:42 , Jon Sharman
People are being urged not to post pictures of negative Covid lateral flow tests on social media because criminals are using them to make fake passes, writes Matt Mathers.
Some venues in the UK such as nightclubs require customers to provide a negative test or prove their vaccinations status before entering.
Security experts are now warning that an illegal trade is developing where fraudsters use details of tests posted online to provide others with negative results.
They are warning that those who post these images could inadvertently be posing a risk to public health measures.
Why you shouldn’t share pictures of your Covid tests online
‘We need to be faster than the virus’, Germany’s new chancellor warns in New Year’s address
Saturday 1 January 2022 10:23 , Jon Sharman
Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned in his New Year address that his country had to move more quickly in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and that more people need to get vaccinated.
In his first televised end of year address to the nation after taking office 23 days ago, Scholz gave the same sort of sombre speech, filled with vague promises, that his conservative predecessor Angela Merkel did in each of the last 16 years.
‘We need to be faster than the virus’, Germany’s new chancellor warns
Starmer reflects on ‘tough year’ in 2021 address
Saturday 1 January 2022 10:04 , Jon Sharman
Scientists acknowledged in new year honours list for Covid efforts
Saturday 1 January 2022 09:43 , Jon Sharman
After a year in which science helped guide humanity through the darkness of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the UK’s leading experts have been recognised in the new year honours list, writes Samuel Lovett.
England’s chief medical officer (CMO) Professor Chris Whitty, deputy CMO Jonathan Van-Tam, and the Welsh and Scottish CMOs Frank Atherton and Dr Gregor Smith, have all been given knighthoods for their work over the past two years.
There are also damehoods for UK Health Security Agency chief Dr Jenny Harries, and Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), after a year in which the threat of new variants arose and more than 130 million vaccinations were administered.
Overall 19 per cent of honours were handed out for Covid-linked work.
Scientists acknowledged in new year honours list for Covid heroics
Covid hospital admissions continue to rise as NHS falls under ‘unsustainable’ pressure
Saturday 1 January 2022 09:24 , Jon Sharman
#icymi
The number of people hospitalised by Covid soared again as revellers across England headed out onto the streets to enjoy new year celebrations.
The latest NHS figures showed there were 12,395 Covid patients in hospitals across England on Friday, an increase of 73 per cent since Christmas Day and the highest tally since February, while an estimated 2.3 million were infected with the virus last week.
Despite the substantial rise, Boris Johnson insisted that the country was in an “incomparably better” place than a year ago as he urged people to get their booster vaccine.
Covid hospital admissions rise as NHS falls under ‘unsustainable’ pressure
India logs 22,000 new cases
Saturday 1 January 2022 08:55 , Jon Sharman
India reported 22,775 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, health ministry data showed, adding to concerns for authorities around the country about the rising number of cases.
The data indicates that thickly populated cities, such as the national capital New Delhi, financial centre Mumbai and Kolkata in the east, are seeing some of the sharpest rises.
In the eastern state of West Bengal, infections rose to 3,450 in the last 24 hours with at least 1,950 cases reported in Kolkata, the capital. Sixteen Omicron cases have been reported in West Bengal.
Kolkata's municipal corporation declared 17 micro containment zones in residential clusters where more than 5 infections have been reported. People living in the zones are not allowed to leave the area to try to contain the spread of the disease.
Ajoy Chakrobarty, the state's director of health services, said he was holding meetings with private hospitals to ensure health facilities are ready to deal with the rising number of cases.
Reuters
Javid insists Covid curbs must be ‘last resort’ as pandemic enters third year
Saturday 1 January 2022 08:36 , Jon Sharman
#icymi
Restrictions on freedom “must be an absolute last resort” and the UK must look to “live alongside” coronavirus in 2022, the health secretary has said.
But Sajid Javid said the record-breaking Omicron wave of infection will “test the limits of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter” as reports suggested a work from home order in England could be in place for most of January to slow the spread of the highly transmissible variant.
Javid warns Covid curbs must be ‘last resort’ as pandemic enters third year
Britons hit the streets and clubs to celebrate new year, despite record infections
Saturday 1 January 2022 08:18 , Jon Sharman
People up and down the UK crammed into nightclubs and street venues to celebrate the new year last night, despite a new one-day record for Covid-19 infections.
Britain notched 189,846 cases yesterday, as politicians continued to urge caution in social settings.
Nonetheless, plenty of people were out and about.
Travel disruptions continue as 2021 ends with more cancelled flights
Saturday 1 January 2022 07:31 , Sravasti Dasgupta
Air travel continued to be disrupted across the world due to the surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on the final day of 2021.
By Friday afternoon, more than 1,550 US flights and roughly 3,500 worldwide had been cancelled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
Overall, more than 10,000 flights have been cancelled in the US since Christmas Eve, reported the Associated Press.
Flight cancellations have surged with the spike in Omicron cases, which has infected several crew members and flight pilots.
On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration said that many of its employees had tested positive but did not provide concrete numbers.
The FAA said that flight volumes had been reduced as a result, and may result in further delays as the holiday season draws to a close.
Read here about how thousands of flights have been cancelled worldwide in the holiday season:
Thousands of flights cancelled due to Covid surge and Omicron fears
China ends 2021 with highest weekly cases since pandemic started
Saturday 1 January 2022 06:34 , Sravasti Dasgupta
China ended the year 2021 with its highest tally of local Covid cases for any seven-day period since the pandemic began two years ago.
The country’s National Health Commission said the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China rose to 1,151 after 175 new community infections were recorded on Saturday.
While China has enforced some of the strictest restriction measures under its “zero-tolerance” policy to contain Covid, the present surge has been fuelled by an outbreak in Xian.
The northwestern city has reported 1,451 local cases since 9 December, the highest for any Chinese city in 2021.
After the outbreak, authorities placed a stringent lockdown on the city of 13 million people.
On 30 December, thousands left messages on the social media account of the late Chinese Covid whistleblower Li Wenliang on the anniversary of the day he learned of possible pneumonia-causing virus cases. The Independent's Martin Pollard reports
Thousands message late Chinese Covid whistleblower doctor two years on from discovery
New York records highest single-day rise
Saturday 1 January 2022 05:17 , Sravasti Dasgupta
New York state reported more than 76,000 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, setting a dubious record for most infections in a single day.
Hospitalisations have also recorded a sharp increase along with the spike in cases.
On Thursday, 8,000 hospitalisations were recorded, an increase of 8 per cent since the previous day. But when compared to Monday, Thursday’s hospital admission numbers were a massive 20 per cent higher.
“Get vaccinated, get boosted, mask up and avoid large indoor public gatherings when possible,” governor Kathy Hochul said.
She also extended the masking and vaccine mandates for businesses till 1 February.
Earlier in December, Ms Hochul had assured New Yorkers that the situation was not as bad as it was in March 2020 or even January 2021.
She had cited January’s hospital admission numbers of around 9,300, and said that the current situation was well below those peaks. However, that seems to no longer be the case.
Last week, Dr Anthony Fauci asked people to stay away New Year’s Eve parties amid a spike in Covid cases. My colleague Namita Singh reports
Dr Fauci asks Americans to cancel their New Year plans
WHO chief hopes pandemic can be ended in 2022
Saturday 1 January 2022 04:36 , Sravasti Dasgupta
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that 2022 could be the year the world beats the coronavirus pandemic.
In a post titled “My hope for ending the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022” on LinkedIn, Dr Tedros said that as New Year’s Eve marked the second anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, it also offered “a moment for pause, reflection and...renewed action to end the pandemic in 2022”.
He also reiterated his warning against vaccine hoarding and “narrow nationalism”.
“Narrow nationalism, me-first approaches, vaccine hoarding and inequity: all these failures and more have powered the pandemic,” Dr Tedros said.
“The longer inequity continues, the greater the chance of this virus mutating into new variants that we can neither prevent nor predict, locking us into a cycle of continued loss, hardship and restrictions.”
“But if we end inequity, we end the pandemic, and end the global nightmare we have all lived through,” he added.
Earlier this week, the WHO chief said “tsunami” of Omicron and Delta 'twin threats' driving cases to record highs across the world. My colleague Namita Singh reports
‘Tsunami’ of Omicron and Delta will pile pressure on health systems, warns WHO
US breaks weekly Covid cases record
Saturday 1 January 2022 03:57 , Sravasti Dasgupta
As infections soar due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the US has set yet another grim record with 2.2 million cases in the past week. This is the highest number of infections recorded in the US in a week.
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the country recorded an average of 355,990 infections every day in the past week.
This shatters the previous weekly record, which was set just a few days earlier with 1.9 million cases recorded between 22 December and 29 December.
Before that, the last record was from January 2021, when 1.75 million cases were recorded between 5 January and 11 January.
Experts in the US have predicted cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant will peak in the US by the end of January. My colleague Harriet Sinclair reports
Experts predict date for Omicron peak in US
Future variants could be tackled with ‘much greater certainty’, says expert made CBE
Friday 31 December 2021 23:04 , Chiara Giordano
Scientists should be able to deal with future variants of Covid-19 with "much greater certainty" and vaccines might eventually give protection against some common colds, an expert honoured for his work has said.
Professor Peter Openshaw said "vast" knowledge had been gained since the coronavirus pandemic hit as to how to treat people with respiratory viruses, describing the past two years as a "very intensive period".
The professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London has been made a CBE for services to medicine and immunology in the New Year Honours.
The past president of the British Society for Immunology described the emergence of the Omicron variant as "a very significant development" in the pandemic by "causing more of a sort of common cold-like syndrome", but he cautioned that it is "still causing a very significant amount of serious lower respiratory tract and systemic disease".
He added: "Whether there will be another variant or whether this is going to be an opportunity to really see the end of it, I don't know. I slightly suspect that there will be future variants, but I think with all that we've learned now about vaccinology, the immune response and how to treat Covid-19 we actually should be able to deal with future variants with much greater certainty."
Scientists identify antibodies that can neutralise Omicron and other variants
Friday 31 December 2021 22:31 , Chiara Giordano
Scientists have identified antibodies that can target the unchanged parts of the novel coronavirus as it continues to mutate and evolve, an advance that could lead to new therapeutics to neutralise Omicron and other Covid-19 variants.
Identifying such “broadly neutralising” antibodies on the coronavirus spike protein, which the virus uses to enter human cells, can help develop better vaccines and antibodies which will be effective not only against Omicron but also against other variants that may emerge in the future, according to David Veesler from the University of Washington School of Medicine in the US.
My colleague Vishwam Sankaran has more on this:
Scientists identify antibodies that can neutralise Omicron and other variants
Experts predict date for Omicron peak in US
Friday 31 December 2021 22:00 , Chiara Giordano
Experts in the US have predicted cases of the Omicron coronavirus variuant will peak in the US by the end of January.
Dr Anthony Fauci this week predicted an end-of-January peak for Omicron cases, while a recent study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin suggested the peak would be around 18 January.
My colleague Harriet Sinclair has more details:
Experts predict date for Omicron peak in US
More than 60% of critical care patients with Covid in England not jabbed
Friday 31 December 2021 21:43 , Chiara Giordano
More than 60 per cent of patients admitted to critical care in England with confirmed Covid-19 in December were unvaccinated, the latest figures show.
A report from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC), published today, said the percentage had begun to rise again in November, after decreasing in the previous months.
It stated that in May, 75 per cent of patients admitted to critical care with the virus were unvaccinated, falling to 47 per cent in October "consistent with the decreasing proportion of the general population who were unvaccinated", but rising to 50.8 per cent in November and 60. per cent in mid-December.
The figures were for patients admitted from 1 May to 15 December this year.
Larges crowds gather in central London to see in new year
Friday 31 December 2021 21:14 , Chiara Giordano
Large crowds have gathered in central London to see in the new year.
Pictures show scores of people, some wearing face coverings, packed into Leicester Square this evening.
The traditional fireworks are expected to go ahead in nearby Trafalgar Square, but people have been urged to stay away and watch from their TV screens amid surging Omicron cases.
France faces ‘difficult’ weeks ahead, says Emmanuel Macron as country reports more than 230,000 cases
Friday 31 December 2021 20:40 , Chiara Giordano
French president Emmanuel Macron has said the next few weeks will be difficult as the country heads into subdued new year celebrations after registering 232,200 new Covid cases over the last 24 hours, its highest-ever recorded total.
"The weeks to come will be difficult, we all know that", he said in a broadcast new Year's eve address.
New infections over the last 24 hours were above 200,000 for the third day running, making France one of the epicentres as a wave of infections linked to the Omicron variant sweeps across Europe.
Infections in France, one of the countries carrying out widespread testing, stood well above the tally recorded in Italy and the UK, which also reported new records on Friday.
Revellers enjoy New Year’s Eve celebrations
Friday 31 December 2021 19:39 , Chiara Giordano
Revellers have been out enjoying New Year’s Eve celebrations across the UK this evening, including in Liverpool, London and Edinburgh.
Restrictions vary across the UK, but there are none affecting the festivities in England.
London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are going ahead tonight after previously being cancelled, however people are being urged to watch the display on their TV screens rather than heading down in person this year.
New year revellers urged to ‘behave responsibly'
Friday 31 December 2021 19:19 , Chiara Giordano
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, asked the public to “behave responsibly” and encouraged new year partygoers to take a test and “avoid taking unnecessary risks”, while also voicing support for the call for NHS workers to be prioritised for coronavirus testing.
He told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “If we have the lateral flow tests, then people can get back to work earlier and that is vital for NHS workers and other essential workers, so yes, I would absolutely prioritise those workers because, without them, really important systems are in danger of grinding to a halt.”
Next few weeks will be ‘pretty tough’ for health service, says NHS boss
Friday 31 December 2021 19:18 , Chiara Giordano
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it was looking "pretty tough" for the health service over the coming weeks due to the rising number of Covid infections and hospital admissions.
He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "We must not underestimate the dangers we face over the next few weeks.
"The health service is always under a lot of pressure in winter, the middle of January is normally the very most busy time, and we are facing that time with this twin challenge of rising numbers of people coming into hospital, we're getting on for a doubling of the number of people in hospital over the last two or three weeks, and also this very high rate of staff absence as a consequence of staff having the virus.
"So getting through the next few weeks is going to be pretty tough."
UK daily Covid cases could be closer to 500,000, says expert
Friday 31 December 2021 18:38 , Chiara Giordano
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a leading statistician, said the UK's daily Covid-19 cases could be closer to 500,000.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) adviser told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "The case data that has just come out today shows around about 190,000 (new cases) but even that we should take with a pinch of salt because we don't actually count reinfections... and testing is limited - people are finding it more difficult to find tests - so normally the number of cases are around half the number of infections, so we could be talking about half a million new infections per day.
"This is a huge unprecedented wave of infection and very daunting. It does look encouraging that London cases look like they may have peaked."
The Cambridge University academic added that, while hospital admissions are around a third of what they were at the same time last year, they are "rising fast and will continue to do so as older cases are now rising".
Covid hospital admissions ‘sadly’ starting to rise ‘particularly in over 60s’, said Sajid Javid
Friday 31 December 2021 18:21 , Chiara Giordano
The health secretary has said hospital admissions are "sadly" starting to rise as a result of record coronavirus infection numbers, "particularly in over 60s".
Sajid Javid told broadcasters: "Fortunately we have some of the strongest defences this country has ever had during this pandemic, that includes our huge vaccination programme, our juggernaut of a testing system and also our world-leading antivirals programme."
As he encouraged "more people to come forward" to join the 75 per cent of eligible adults in England who have received a booster vaccination, he added: "We've got new data from UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) that suggests you are eight times more likely to be hospitalised if you are unvaccinated, so it can never be more important now to get vaccinated if you haven't been so already."
People urged to limit contacts in Northern Ireland amid record daily cases
Friday 31 December 2021 17:44 , Chiara Giordano
People have been urged to limit their contacts over the coming days after Northern Ireland recorded its highest ever number of daily Covid cases.
A further 7,215 positive cases were notified by the Department of Health today, while one further patient who had previously tested positive for the virus has died.
Health minister Robin Swann has urged people to limit their contacts over coming days amid growing concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.
He said: "This is a time when everyone can play a crucially important part in protecting ourselves, those we care for and our essential health services which are under unrelenting pressure."
"Each of us can make a difference by making the right choices. Let's limit our contacts, prioritise those people who mean most to us and take all the precautions we can before we meet."
UK Covid hospital admissions rise
Friday 31 December 2021 17:00 , Chiara Giordano
Across the UK, there were 1,915 Covid-19 hospital admissions on 27 December, up 62 per cent week and the highest number since 8 February, according to government figures.
During the second wave, UK admissions peaked at 4,583 on 12 January.
There were 11,918 people in hospital in the UK with Covid-19 on 29 December, up 44 per cent week on week and the highest number since 2 March.
The second-wave peak was 39,254 on 18 January.
Security at UK Covid testing centres being reviewed after anti-vaxxers storm facility
Friday 31 December 2021 16:45 , Chiara Giordano
Security is being reviewed at Covid testing sites across the UK after anti-vaxxers stormed a drive-through facility in Milton Keynes, The Independent understands.
Police are investigating Wednesday’s incident, which saw protesters call members of staff “murdering b******s” and “traitors”.
Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden has the full story:
Security at UK Covid testing centres reviewed after anti-vaxxers storm facility
Covid hospitalisations in England up 68 per cent
Friday 31 December 2021 16:30 , Chiara Giordano
A total of 12,395 people were in hospital in England with Covid-19 as of 8am on 31 December, according to figures from NHS England.
This is up 68 per cent from a week earlier and is the highest number since 25 February.
During the second wave of coronavirus, the number peaked at 34,336 on 18 January.
In London, 3,636 people were in hospital with Covid-19 on 31 December, up 61 per cent week-on-week and the highest number since 12 February.
The second-wave peak for London was 7,917 on 18 January.
UK hits record 189,846 daily cases
Friday 31 December 2021 16:15 , Chiara Giordano
The UK has reported a record 189,846 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, up more than 600 on yesterday’s figure.
A further 203 people have also died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid.
The #COVID19 Dashboard has been updated: https://t.co/XhspoyTG79
On 31 December 189,846 new cases and 203 deaths in 28 days of a positive test were reported in the UK.
Our data includes the number of people receiving a first, second and booster dose of the #vaccine pic.twitter.com/8Kdbppd9ik— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 31, 2021
More hospitals ban visitors to protect patients from Covid
Friday 31 December 2021 15:57 , Tom Batchelor
More than a dozen hospitals across the country have temporarily banned visits in efforts to protect patients and staff amid rising Covid infections.
Patients in London, Yorkshire and Essex are among those who will no longer be able to receive visitors as growing numbers of people are bringing cases on to wards.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in London, which oversees University Hospital Lewisham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, said the decision had been “extremely difficult” to make.
Exemptions apply, including for end-of-life care, women giving birth and children being visited by their parents.
The trust said the restrictions, which came into force at 9am on Wednesday, will be kept under close review and relaxed as soon as it is safe to do so.
Thousands more flights cancelled as Omicron triggers staff shortages
Friday 31 December 2021 15:48 , Tom Batchelor
Thousands of flights within the US and internationally were delayed or cancelled early on Friday, adding to the travel disruptions during the Christmas holiday week due to adverse weather and rising cases of the Omicron variant.
Over 2,400 flights were cancelled around the world as of Friday, including over 1,100 flights within the US or entering or departing it, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. There were nearly 4,000 global flight delays in total.
The Christmas holidays are typically a peak time for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to a sharp increase in Covid infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and crew need to be quarantined.
Partygoers in Scotland and Wales urged to think twice before travelling to England for NYE
Friday 31 December 2021 15:27 , Tom Batchelor
Officials have warned partygoers in Scotland and Wales to think twice before travelling to England for New Year’s Eve.
Boris Johnson has resisted tightening restrictions in England despite the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
But Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have set their own public health rules, imposed new restrictions this week that closed all nightclubs and limited social gatherings. Bars and pubs have had to return to table service only. In Edinburgh, which traditionally hosts one of Europe’s largest New Year’s Eve parties, people have been urged to stay at home.
While no formal travel ban is in place to stop Scottish revellers from making their way to England on Friday, Scotland’s deputy leader John Swinney said travelling would be the “wrong course of action”.
Omicron hospitalisation risk is a third that of Delta, analysis finds
Friday 31 December 2021 15:11 , Tom Batchelor
The risk of hospitalisation with the Omicron variant is around a third that of the Delta variant, new analysis of more than a million cases of both types in recent weeks shows.
The analysis was published by the UK Health Security Agency, after it worked alongside Cambridge University MRC Biostatistics unit to analyse 528,176 Omicron cases and 573,012 Delta cases.
It also found that vaccines can work well against Omicron.
“In this analysis, the risk of hospitalisation is lower for Omicron cases with symptomatic or asymptomatic infection after 2 and 3 doses of vaccine, with an 81 per cent ... reduction in the risk of hospitalisation after three doses compared to unvaccinated Omicron cases,” the UKHSA said.
Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said the analysis was in keeping with other encouraging signs on Omicron but said the health service could still struggle with such high transmission rates.
“It remains too early to draw any definitive conclusions on hospital severity, and the increased transmissibility of Omicron and the rising cases in the over 60s population in England means it remains highly likely that there will be significant pressure on the NHS in coming weeks,” she said.
Reporting by Reuters
Trains removed from schedules to tackle Covid-induced cancellations
Friday 31 December 2021 14:58 , Tom Batchelor
Hundreds of trains are being removed from timetables each day in an attempt to improve reliability following weeks of short-notice cancellations.
At least eight operators have either already reduced frequencies on many routes or will do so in the coming days in response to pandemic-related staff shortages.
Passengers travelling on New Year’s Eve also face major disruption due to industrial action.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said a 24-hour strike by its members employed by CrossCountry was “solidly supported”, causing the majority of the operator’s services to be cancelled.
In recent weeks rail firms across Britain have axed trains at short notice due to staff self-isolating or unwell.
Many have responded by releasing condensed timetables in a bid to create more certainty about which services they can and cannot operate.
Nearly 400,000 boosted on Thursday
Friday 31 December 2021 14:42 , Tom Batchelor
A total of 397,554 booster and third doses of Covid-19 vaccine were reported in the UK on Thursday, new figures show.
More than 33.9 million booster and third doses have now been delivered in the UK, with 1.6 million in the past seven days.
Around 64 per cent of all adults in the UK have now received a booster or third dose.
The figures have been published by the UK’s four health agencies.
How has Covid changed our shopping habits?
Friday 31 December 2021 14:26 , Tom Batchelor
British households splurged on online shopping, takeaways and fast food, home improvements and spoiling their pets in 2021, a review of transactions by Barclaycard has revealed.
Proportion of Covid hospital patients primarily treated for the virus
Friday 31 December 2021 14:03 , Matt Mathers
The proportion of Covid-19 patients being treated primarily for the virus in England's hospitals has dropped slightly, new figures show.
Data from NHS England, published on Friday, shows that, of the 8,321 patients with coronavirus in NHS acute hospital trusts in England on December 28, 5,578 (67 per cent) were being treated primarily for Covid.
This is down from 71 per cent a week earlier and 74 per cent at the start of December.
But the number being treated primarily for coronavirus is still rising - up 26 per cent from 4,432 on December 21 to 5,578 on December 28.
The statistics also show that the number of patients with Covid-19 but primarily being treated for something else also rose from 1,813 to 2,743, a jump of 51 per cent.
NHS England has said that Covid patients primarily being treated for something else still have to be separated from non-Covid patients and the virus can be "a significant co-morbidity".
Covid hospital staff absence in London quadruples
Friday 31 December 2021 13:45 , Matt Mathers
NHS hospital staff absences due to Covid have nearly quadrupled in London since the beginning of December, new figures show.
A total of 4,580 NHS staff at hospital trusts in London were ill with coronavirus or having to self-isolate on Boxing Day [Dec 26], up 18 per cent on the previous week and nearly four times the 1,174 at the start of the month.
The new figures from NHS England, published on Friday, also show that the number reached as high as 5,994 on December 23, but has fallen over Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.
Explainer: How does new Covid pill work? And will it be impacted by Omicron?
Friday 31 December 2021 13:30 , Matt Mathers
Paxlovid, a new antiviral treatment, will be given to Covid patients with mild to moderate infection who are at an increased risk of developing severe disease.
How is the treatment taken and does it work against Omicron?
Our science correspondent Samuel Lovett reports:
What you need to know about the UK’s new Covid pill
2.3 million people in UK estimated to have had Covid in week before Christmas
Friday 31 December 2021 13:13 , Matt Mathers
Latest data showed in England, 2,024,700 were estimated to have Covid and in Wales 76,500, in Northern Ireland 47,500 and in Scotland figures reached 135,400.
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas has more on this story below:
2.3 million people in UK estimated to have had Covid in week before Christmas
Welsh schoolchildren could see return of online learning
Friday 31 December 2021 13:09 , Tom Batchelor
Some schools in Wales may have to return to online learning because of rising levels of the Omicron variant, the country’s first minister has said.
Mark Drakeford said the levels of staff illness would mean that some schools would not be able to have all pupils back in the classroom in January.
But those decisions would be made by individual schools and local authorities and not the Welsh government, Mr Drakeford said.
Schools in Wales are already taking two planning days next week to prepare for the new term and plan for remote learning if necessary due to rising levels of Covid-19.
Most local authorities in Wales said pupils would return to school from January 6 after the two planning days.
Powys County Council said there would be “blended learning” from 7 January but schools would be open for vulnerable children and children of key workers.
Reporting by PA
Security at UK Covid testing centres being reviewed after anti-vaxxers storm facility
Friday 31 December 2021 12:53 , Tom Batchelor
Security is being reviewed at Covid testing sites across the UK after anti-vaxxers stormed a drive-through facility in Milton Keynes, The Independent understands.
Police are investigating the incident on Wednesday, where protesters called members of staff “murdering b******s” and “traitors”.
Some demonstrators threw cones and vandalised signs, while a woman was filmed appearing to steal boxes of equipment.
Here is the story:
Security at UK Covid testing centres reviewed after anti-vaxxers storm facility
2.3 million had Covid in week before Christmas
Friday 31 December 2021 12:40 , Tom Batchelor
An estimated 2.3 million people in the UK had Covid-19 in the week ending 23 December, up from 1.4 million in the week to 16 December.
This is the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, the Office for National Statistics said.
Keir Starmer reflects on 2021 in New Year’s message
Friday 31 December 2021 12:23 , Tom Batchelor
Covid pill from Pfizer approved in UK
Friday 31 December 2021 12:02 , Tom Batchelor
A Covid pill developed by Pfizer has been approved by the UK medicines regulator for use in people who are most at risk of developing serious disease.
A total of 2.75 million doses of the oral pill Paxlovid are expected to be delivered to the UK throughout 2022.
“Final data from our Phase 2/3 trial in high-risk participants confirmed the overwhelming efficacy of Paxlovid in reducing the risk of hospitalisation by nearly 90 per cent compared to placebo when treated within both three and five days of symptom onset and no deaths. We are pleased that the UK government recognizes the importance of this potential treatment option,” said Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO at Pfizer.
Pfizer Covid pill approved in UK for those most at risk
Regular boosters needed to maintain Covid immunity, virologist predicts
Friday 31 December 2021 11:55 , Tom Batchelor
Regular boosters may be needed to maintain sufficient levels of immunity to fight off Covid through 2022, a virologist has said.
Professor Andrew Easton, of the University of Warwick, said while any new curbs to tackle the spread of the virus would likely be short-lived, the vaccine programme is probably here to stay.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “I don’t think any restrictions imposed will be quite as long as last time - because this time last year we didn’t have vaccines - or boosters.
“However, I think it’s very likely the protection offered by boosters is going to be short lived.
“We’re in a situation now where getting regular vaccines will be what allows us to go about our normal lives.”
New restrictions ‘may be needed at pace’, says chief executive of NHS Providers
Friday 31 December 2021 11:31 , Tom Batchelor
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, the group which represents health trusts in England, said that additional restrictions “may be needed at pace if the evidence warrants it”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is the government who sets the rules on restrictions, not the NHS, and we know that the Government has set a high threshold on introducing new restrictions,” said Mr Hopson.
“So, on that basis, trust leaders can see why the government is arguing that, in the absence of a surge of seriously ill older patients coming into hospital, that threshold hasn’t yet been crossed.
“But we still don’t know if a surge will come, and indeed we are exactly talking about the preparations we are making for that surge right now.
“So, in terms of restrictions, I think we are in exactly the same place we’ve been for the past fortnight, which is the government needs to be ready to introduce tighter restrictions at real speed should they be needed.”
Proportion of patients waiting to be handed from ambulance to A&E falls
Friday 31 December 2021 11:14 , Tom Batchelor
The proportion of patients waiting at least half an hour to be handed over from ambulance teams to A&E staff at hospitals in England fell last week.
A total of 11,088 delays of 30 minutes or more were recorded across all acute trusts in the week to 26 December, representing 13 per cent of all arrivals, according to NHS England figures.
This is down from 20 per cent of arrivals in the week to 19 December.
Some 4 per cent of arrivals last week (2,946) took more than 60 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, down from 7 per cent in the previous week.
A handover delay does not always mean a patient has waited in the ambulance. They may have been moved into an A&E department, but staff were not available to complete the handover.
Only a ‘whiff of infected breath’ enough to catch Omicron
Friday 31 December 2021 10:59 , Tom Batchelor
Professor Peter Openshaw also told BBC Breakfast you only need to be exposed to “a whiff of infected breath” to catch the most transmissible variant of coronavirus - Omicron.
He said: “Omicron is so infectious.
“We’re lucky really that it wasn’t this infectious when it first moved into human-to-human transmission.
“We’ve had several iterations of this virus going through different stages of its evolution.
“It has ended up being so infectious that it almost needs just a whiff of infected breath and you could get infected.
“We’re in a relatively good position in countries like the UK but I think you have to remember that in many parts of the world the vaccination rates are only about 5%, and they’re being exposed to this very infectious virus with very little protection.”
NHS likely to be overwhelmed by Covid ‘quite quickly'
Friday 31 December 2021 10:45 , Tom Batchelor
A leading scientist has said it is likely that the NHS will be overwhelmed by the spread of Omicron.
Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), told BBC Breakfast: “I think we haven’t quite reached the threshold that was set by Government in terms of the NHS being overwhelmed, but it looks like that will be reached quite quickly.
“What I’m very concerned about is our NHS staff, my dear colleagues who have worked so, so hard all through the repeated waves of this infection. How are they going to cope?”
Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website
