UK Covid news live: 30% of cases in London are Omicron as Govt advised to bring in tougher restrictions

The UK’s top public health officials have advised ministers that “stringent national measures” need to be imposed by 18 December to avoid Covid hospitalisations surpassing last winter’s peak, according to reports.

It comes as research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine warned that tougher restrictions may be needed in order to prevent Omicron causing anywhere between 25,000 and 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, received a presentation from the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) on Tuesday warning that even if the new Omicron variant leads to less serious disease than Delta, it risks overwhelming the NHS with 5,000 people admitted to hospital a day, the Guardian reported.

Another 633 Omicron cases have been recorded in the UK - the biggest daily increase so far for the variant.

The total number of confirmed cases of the Covid variant in the UK is now 1,898.

It comes as Communities Secretary Michael Gove said Omicron already makes up 30 per cent of new Covid cases in London.Department of Health figures show London’s infection rate have risen in all 32 boroughs of London - with 11 seeing a leap of over a third in a week.

People are being urged to get booster vaccaines as data shows without them people’s defences against Omicron will be reduced.

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Under 40s can now book booster jab

21:01 , Barney Davis

The NHS has made booster jabs bookings for Under-40s live.

The move is yet to be announced but people as young as 30 have been able to book their third Covid jab,

Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination

Another zinger from Dominic Cummings

20:48 , Barney Davis

Dominic Cummings, who calls the Prime Minister “the trolley”, says you will need a vaccine passport to get into No 10 after party accusations.

Modelling suggests Omicron could see hospital admissions double previous peak

19:39 , Barney Davis

Almost twice the number of coronavirus patients could be admitted to hospital compared to last year due to the Omicron variant, new modelling suggests.

Experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have calculated figures which propose that a large wave of infections could occur over the next few months if tougher Covid measures are not brought in.

The study projects a median peak of 7,190 daily hospital admissions in England in the worst case scenario – which could see the variant evading vaccines at a high rate as well as low effectiveness against the variant from boosters.

The most optimistic scenario (low rate of the variant evading vaccines, high effectiveness of boosters) “is projected to lead to peak daily hospital admissions around 60% as high as the peak in January 2021 in England”.

Over 400,000 booster shots given in a day

18:48 , Barney Davis

A total of 51,229,132 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 10, Government figures show. This is a rise of 21,636 on the previous day.

Some 46,705,196 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 31,135.

A combined total of 22,594,743 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 409,760.

Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.

Over 400,000 booster shots given in a day

18:48 , Barney Davis

A total of 51,229,132 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 10, Government figures show. This is a rise of 21,636 on the previous day.

Some 46,705,196 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 31,135.

A combined total of 22,594,743 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 409,760.

Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.

The UK reports 132 more Covid-related deaths

18:31 , Barney Davis

Dominic Cummings claims PM ignored him on procuring anti-virals

16:26 , Barney Davis

Boris Johnson’s former right hand man Dominic Cummings has hit out at his former boss again.Mr Cummings claims that the PM ignored his advice on anti-virals and the country was in the “lap of the gods” when it came to Omicron’s hospitalisation rate.

Worst case modelling scenarios for Omicron ‘unlikely’, says expert

15:12 , Sami Quadri

The projected number of deaths and hospital admissions caused by Omicron could be “substantially” overestimated if the new variant causes less severe disease than Delta, according to a professor.

Scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have said tougher Covid restrictions may be needed to prevent Omicron causing anywhere between 25,000 to 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months.

But Professor Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said any model is “only as good as its assumptions”, adding that one key assumption in this model is that severity of disease outcomes for Omicron is the same as for Delta.

“Although we will not know for certain for a few weeks indications from South Africa do suggest that Omicron does cause less severe disease than Delta.

“There is also early as yet not peer reviewed data suggesting that although Omicron mutations are enough to escape antibody, T cell immunity would be less compromised.

“It is thought that T cell immunity is more important for reducing risk from severe disease than it is for reducing the milder nose and throat infections.

“If Omicron is indeed associated with less severe disease as is, in my view, likely to be the case then these models would overestimate hospital admissions and deaths, possibly substantially,” he said.

Prof Hunter said he suspects these models “overstate” risk of hospital admissions and deaths and the “worst case” scenarios are “unlikely to be seen”.

He added: “As better data becomes available in coming weeks we can expect these models to be refined.”

UK records 633 new Omicron cases

15:06 , Sami Quadri

The UK has recorded a further 633 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

That brings the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country to 1,898.

There is currently 1,757 recorded cases in England, 121 in Scotland, 15 in Wales and 5 in Northern Ireland.

PM facing largest rebellion of his premiership over Plan B Covid measures

14:57 , Sami Quadri

Boris Johnson is facing what could prove to be the largest rebellion of his premiership, with more than 60 Conservative MPs said to be against the imposition of extra coronavirus measures.

The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday he would be triggering his winter Plan B protocols in a bid to buy the UK time in the fight against the Omicron variant of the virus.

Tories have reacted with dismay to the proposals, with tens of backbenchers pledging to vote down plans for vaccine passports to be made mandatory for large venues.

Former Cabinet ministers David Davis, Esther McVey, Dr Liam Fox and Greg Clark are among those to have voiced concerns about the scaling-up of restrictions.

Mr Clark, a former business secretary, said the Government had “jumped the gun” in choosing to act before more was known about the impact Omicron could have on hospital admissions.

Former trade secretary Dr Fox, speaking in a debate in the Commons, said it was “difficult to justify these extra measures”.

Hotel party featuring Take That tribute band linked to Covid-19 outbreak

14:11 , Sami Quadri

The new Omicron variant is expected to feature in an outbreak of Covid-19 following a hotel party, an NHS board has said.

NHS Fife has confirmed a cluster of Covid-19 cases linked to a large evening event, featuring a Take That tribute band, at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews.

Enhanced contact tracing is ongoing to identify the known close contacts of all positive cases so they can be given appropriate public health advice and instructed to self-isolate.

NHS Fife’s deputy director of public health, Dr Esther Curnock, said: “We are aware of cases of Covid-19 linked to a particular evening event held at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews on December 4.

“We are working closely with our colleagues in the local environmental health service, and with the management of the Fairmont Hotel to reduce the risk of more widespread transmission of the virus.

“The evidence at this stage suggests at least some of the those who are known to have tested positive are likely to have been carrying the Omicron variant of the virus, which we know is highly transmissible.”

Omicron to become dominant variant in UK within weeks, co-author of major study warns

14:07 , Sami Quadri

Dr Rosanna C Barnard, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine whose modelling predicted that thousands of lives could be lost unless tougher restrictions are imposed, has summarised the report’s findings in a Twitter thread.

New Covid restrictions could be introduced in Scotland next week, minister warns

13:59 , Sami Quadri

Deputy first minister John Swinney says further restrictions could be imposed in Scotland amid surging Omicron infections.

It comes after Nicola Sturgeon announced stricter isolation rules on Friday, with household contacts asked to self-isolate for 10 days regardless of their vaccination status or a negative PCR test.

She warned that Scotland could see a “tsunami of infections” from the new Omicron variant.

4,4004 Covid deaths confirmed in Ireland

13:47 , Sami Quadri

There have been a further 4,004 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health has said.

As of Saturday morning, there were 481 patients in hospitals with the disease, with 111 of those in intensive care units.

Hospitals will be under real pressure in December and January, HSE boss warns

13:38 , Sami Quadri

Hospitals will be under real pressure in December and January as a result of Covid-19, the head of the Health Service Executive has said.

Chief executive Paul Reid has urged people to get the booster vaccine, with walk-in centres across the country open this weekend.

He wrote on Twitter: “In December & January we know our hospitals will be under real pressure with currently 481 #COVID19 patients & 113 in ICU.

“We can all help to make this better by taking up the booster vaccine when offered.

“This weekend many locations open for walk-ins for specified groups.”

Mask-wearing, working from home and booster jabs may not be enough

12:45 , Matt Watts

Here is more on the warnings from experts at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Tougher restrictions ‘could help stop up to 75,000 Omicron deaths’

Tougher restrictions would prevent thousands of death from Omicron, say scientists

12:03 , Sami Quadri

Tougher Covid restrictions may be needed to prevent Omicron causing anywhere between 25,000 to 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months, according to scientists advising the Government.

Experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who also sit on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) or the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), used experimental data to look at how Omicron may transmit as the country heads into 2022.

Even under the most optimistic scenario (low immune escape of Omicron from vaccines and high effectiveness of booster jabs), a wave of infection is projected which could lead to a peak of more than 2,000 daily hospital admissions, with 175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths between December 1 this year and April 30, 2022.

This is if no additional control measures are implemented over and above the current Plan B introduced by the Government in England.

The team said mask-wearing, working from home and booster jabs may not be enough, and predict a peak of daily hospital admissions of 2,400 in January.

Last Christmas we all moved apart, according to new research

11:26 , Sami Quadri

Social mixing and people being on the move rose sharply after the second UK lockdown but dropped days before Christmas 2020, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Southampton tracked the movement of Facebook users for a year from March 2020.

Their findings, published in the International Journal of Health Demographics, show that following lockdown two in November last year, there was a peak in people travelling and mixing – whether for work, shopping, schooling or socialising.

WorldPop director Professor Andy Tatem said: “These fully anonymised data from Facebook shows us trends of how people were moving around their local area, or indeed further afield, during and between the three UK lockdowns and how users were clustered during these periods.

“Our analysis of the weeks approaching and after last Christmas shows there was a sudden surge in activity immediately after the November lockdown ended and then a dramatic drop in the ten days from around 18th-20th December.

“With levels of infection currently still high ahead of this Christmas and concern about the new omicron variant, our study gives useful insights into people’s response to the tightening and relaxation of measures, as well as into mixing patterns during the festive season.”

Police officers disciplined for attending illegal lockdown party

11:17 , Sami Quadri

Two police officers have been disciplined for attending a party in breach of Covid-19 lockdown rules.

Police were called to the gathering at a house in Hove, East Sussex, at 8.46pm on May 15 where they found a number of off-duty colleagues present.

At the time of the incident, coronavirus regulations stated that people should only mix with their own household or linked households.

A total of 10 officers were later issued with fixed penalty notices of £200 each for breaching the rules.

A police constable and an acting police sergeant from Sussex Police who were at the party have now been sanctioned by the force’s Professional Standards Department.

A force spokeswoman said: “An internal investigation carried out into the incident resulted in one of the police officers involved being given a written warning and an acting police sergeant given reflective practice, which requires officers to reflect on their actions and to improve their performance.”

Detective Superintendent Rachel Carr said: “We have taken COVID-related breaches very seriously and we do not tolerate this kind of behaviour which falls below the standards we expect of our officers and staff.”

Crystal Palace cancel Christmas party amid rising coronavirus fears

09:39 , Sami Quadri

Manager Patrick Vieira has revealed Crystal Palace will no longer have a Christmas party due to the escalating coronavirus situation in the country.

Vieira, who revealed he is double vaccinated ahead of Sunday’s game with Everton, remembers celebrating during the festive period as a player but revealed a joint decision had been made to scrap such plans for his squad at this time of year.

“This is part of the culture of this country, this Christmas party the players are doing,” he said.

“We did it a couple of years ago and this is something players like to do but obviously with the situation, we and the players decided to cancel the Christmas party and this was the right thing to do.”

Victoria Derbyshire says her brother has ‘rough’ Covid symptoms despite being triple-jabbed

09:32 , Sami Quadri

Omicron will be dominant variant by early next week, professor warns

09:27 , Sami Quadri

Omicron could overtake Delta as the dominant Covid-19 variant as early as next week, an expert has warned.

Professor Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government, told Sky News: “All four countries are managing this the way they think they should. It’s not any different.

“There may be slight variations regionally around England but you’re pretty much where we are.”

He said Omicron will be the dominant variant by the beginning of next week.

“We’ve done this four times now... we’ve had four variants. Unfortunately two of them have come four weeks before Christmas. You couldn’t make this virus up, it’s like fiction.”

F1 stars urge fans to get vaccinated

08:52 , Sami Quadri

Formula One’s biggest stars – including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris – have teamed up to promote Covid-19 vaccinations.

In the short film, the drivers take turns to urge fans to get the jab this winter.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton can be seen saying: “We’re finding our way back to things we love but Covid has not gone away.”

Verstappen is seen donning a face mask as he says: “Please do your bit.”

Sebastian Vettel says: “Get vaccinated – I think it’s the sensible thing to do.”

F1 Group chief executive Stefano Domenicali says: “I’ve had my vaccine – actually, I did my booster. Do your bit please.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “It is fantastic to see F1 drivers playing their part, encouraging others to get their top up jab to secure the vital protection they need as the virus goes on the advance this winter.

“More than 21 million people have received their booster jab and I urge all those eligible to come forward, roll up their sleeves and get protected as soon as they can.”

People “very likely” to come in contact with Omicron holders, professor warns

08:47 , Sami Quadri

Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious disease, said Omicron is spreading so fast that people are “very likely” to meet someone infected with the Covid-19 variant unless they are “living the life of a hermit”.

The University of Edinburgh academic also warned “a lot of people” could still end up in hospital even if the coronavirus mutation proves to provoke milder symptoms than the Delta variant.

Prof Riley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Omicron is spreading so quickly that, I think, unless you are living the life of a hermit, you are very likely to come across it in the next few weeks.

“I don’t think anyone should be going around thinking they are not going to catch it, I think that situation has changed.”She added: “There is a huge ‘if’ about this, ‘is it milder?’. I think it is very dangerous to compare data from South Africa, say, to the UK.

“Even if it is milder and, therefore, a smaller proportion of infected people end up in hospital, given that so many people are going to come across this virus, even a small proportion of a lot of people is a lot of people in hospital.”

Covid-19 infections close a second hospital ward to new admissions

08:35 , Sami Quadri

A hospital ward has been closed to new admissions due to a Covid-19 outbreak, an NHS spokesman said.

NHS Highland said that Ward 7a at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, is closed to new admissions and visiting following the detection of a small number of cases of Covid-19.

Patients are being clinically assessed and monitored with normal in-patient care continuing.

The NHS spokesman said: “There is no evidence of any link between these cases and those in ward 5a, which also remains closed to new admissions and visiting.”

Tests are establishing whether any of the cases are of the Omicron variant and the results are expected next week.

Consultant microbiologist Adam Brown said: “The fact that we have apparently unrelated instances of Covid-19 in two different wards shows how prevalent the virus is in the community at the moment.

“It is more important than ever to keep to guidance about distancing, hand-washing and wearing a face covering.”

National Care Association hoping to get clarity on new restrictions

08:14 , Sami Quadri

The chair of the National Care Association has said new rules on care homes have “almost” taken people back to the restrictions that were in place a year ago.

Nadra Ahmed, of the National Association of Care Providers, said she is hoping to get clarity on the new guidance.

She told BBC Breakfast: “Families are much bigger than [three people], if you’ve got four siblings, five siblings, you’ve got grandchildren, great grandchildren.

“It was something that we’ve been having to plan for and, of course, now we’re looking at three nominated people. That kind of disempowers anybody else and for the residents, they may have been looking forward to it.

“We raise expectations on this quite substantially and, of course, we’re almost back to where we were, just slightly better, but almost back to where we were last year.”

‘Treasury staff had office drinks during November 2020 lockdown’

08:05 , Sami Quadri

Some Treasury staff who worked on the Autumn Spending Review last year had office drinks while England was in lockdown, it has been reported.

It comes after more than a week of controversy over allegations of rule-breaking festivities in Downing Street in the run-up to last Christmas.

The Times reported that around two dozen civil servants were present for the drinks on November 25, 2020.

The newspaper quoted a Treasury spokesman as confirming that a “small number” of staff had “impromptu drinks around their desks”.

The Times said Chancellor Rishi Sunak was not at the event and that it is understood he was not aware of it at the time.

A Treasury spokesman told the paper: “In line with the guidance at the time, a number of staff came into the office to work on the Spending Review 2020.

“We have been made aware that a small number of those staff had impromptu drinks around their desks after the event.”

People being urged to get booster vaccines to counter Omicron

07:50 , Matt Watts

An additional 448 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant were reported across the UK on Friday, bringing the total number to 1,265.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said while early data should be treated with caution, it indicates that “a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching the Omicron variant compared to Delta strain”.

She added: “The data suggest this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine, so I urge everyone to take up their booster when eligible.”

‘Stringent national measures’ needed before Xmas to tackle Omicron

07:45 , Matt Watts

Britain’s top public health officials have advised ministers that “stringent national measures” need to be imposed by 18 December to avoid Covid hospitalisations surpassing last winter’s peak, according to documents leaked to the Guardian.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is said to have received a presentation from the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) on Tuesday warning that even if the new Omicron variant leads to less serious disease than Delta, it risks overwhelming the NHS with 5,000 people admitted to hospital a day.

In an interview with the newspaper, the epidemiologist Prof Neil Ferguson said the total could be double that number.

No 10 has insisted there are no imminent plans to bring in more measures after plan B measures were announced for England this week but cabinet minister Michael Gove, who chaired a Cobra meeting on Friday, said the government had been presented with some “very challenging information” about the speed of the spread.

The Guardian has seen leaked advice from UKHSA for Javid marked “official, sensitive” saying: “The key point is that under a range of plausible scenarios, stringent action is needed on or before 18 December 2021 if doubling times stay at 2.5 days. Even if doubling times rise to around 5 days, stringent action is likely still needed in December.”