Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to key eventsSkip to navigation

Covid news: UK reports 51,342 new infections; vaccines protect against new variant – as it happened

This article is more than 2 years old
Christmas shoppers walk a past a sign saying 'Mask Up For Christmas’ in Manchester, UK.
Christmas shoppers walk a past a sign saying 'Mask Up For Christmas’ in Manchester, UK. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Christmas shoppers walk a past a sign saying 'Mask Up For Christmas’ in Manchester, UK. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Live feed

Key events

This blog will now close but you can catch up with all the latest Covid developments by following our new blog here.

You can also read all the key coronavirus stories from our team of reporters here.

Wales extends school day by one hour

A number of schools in Wales are extending their day by an hour to try to help youngsters catch up after Covid lockdowns.

The Welsh government will invest up to £2m on the trial, allowing 14 primaries and secondaries across south Wales to open for groups of children for an extra five hours a week.

Schools can choose what they do with the time and may put on sessions such as art, music and sport or academic lessons.

If successful, the trial could lead to a longer school day being introduced permanently and school leaders, children and parents are also to be asked to think about whether the shape of the academic year should also be reformed with, for example, the summer holiday being made shorter.

Read the full story here.

Omicron may pose higher reinfection risk but could be milder than Delta: WHO chief

Early data indicates the Omicron Covid variant may more easily reinfect people who have already had the virus or been vaccinated than previous variants, but could also cause milder disease, the WHO said Wednesday.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters:

Emerging data from South Africa suggests increased risk of reinfection with Omicron ... there is also some evidence that Omicron causes milder disease than Delta”.

But he stressed that more data was needed before drawing firm conclusions, and urged countries everywhere to boost their surveillance to help provide a clearer picture of how Omicron is behaving.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said that so far the data indicates the variant is “efficiently transmitting, and probably more efficiently transmitting even than the Delta variant.”

“But it means the virus is more efficient at transmitting between human beings. And therefore we have to redouble our efforts to break those chains of transmission to protect ourselves to protect others.”

Even if the new variant turns out to be less dangerous than previous variants, if it transmits more rapidly, it could still sicken more people, overburden health systems, “and more people die,” he said.

Hello I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be taking over the blog from my colleague Tom Ambrose.

As I’m reporting to you from Sydney, Australia, here are some recently released numbers from Down Under.

The state of NSW has recorded 420 new Covid-19 cases and one death.

Victoria recorded 1,232 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths.

The states of Queensland and the Northern Territory just announced they hit the 80% fully vaccinated mark.

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce also announced this morning that he has tested positive for Covid-19 while in Washington.

Share
Updated at 
Jessica Elgot
Jessica Elgot

Reading their phone halfway down a wintry Whitehall early on Wednesday morning, a breathless cabinet minister was agog at the leaked news that the prime minister was about to introduce plan B measures. “It’s just one fucking thing after another, isn’t it?”

By the time plans got to a virtual cabinet signoff on Wednesday afternoon, the response was muted and routine. During the Covid-O meeting that preceded it, Boris Johnson agreed to temper the measures slightly, including adding the option of a rapid negative test to Covid passports – the measure that had been the main focus of opposition.

But though a tense agreement was finally reached, the private mood in SW1 among MPs and cabinet ministers in the run-up to the prime minister’s hastily arranged press conference was nothing short of mutinous.

Many told the Guardian that Johnson’s personal character and authority were now on the line – with no excuses made for bad advice.

Sajid Javid, once seen as the bright hope of anti-lockdown MPs, rose to give his evening statement in the Commons to a shout of “resign” by MP William Wragg. “What a load of old tripe,” another yelled as Javid said the decision was not taken lightly.

UK Omicron cases could exceed 1 million by month-end – Sajid Javid

Hannah Devlin
Hannah Devlin

Omicron cases could exceed 1 million by the end of this month on the current trajectory, Sajid Javid has told MPs, describing the new variant as “an even more formidable foe”.

In a statement delivered to the House of Commons, the UK health secretary said that there were 568 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant but that the estimated current number is “probably closer to 10,000”.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, he said: “The UK health security agency (UKHSA) estimates that the number of infections is approximately 20 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, and so the current number of infections is probably closer to 10,000.

“UKHSA also estimate that at the current observed doubling rate of between two and a half and three days, by the end of this month, infections could exceed 1 million.”

Javid said there was now confidence that Omicron is “far more transmissible” than Delta, but he said there was still a lot to learn about the new variant. He said Delta cases had doubled in around seven days, and that Omicron was spreading at an even faster rate.

“Based on the latest data from here and around the world, our latest analysis is that it’s been around, it’s between 2.5 and three days.”

The statement followed scientific advice to ministers on Tuesday that provided a stark outline of the potential consequences of failing to take action to suppress the spread of the virus.

Good evening. I’m Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you the latest Covid news over the next hour or so.

We start with the news that US federal health officials have authorised a new Covid-19 antibody drug for people with serious health problems or allergies who cannot get adequate protection from vaccination.

Antibody drugs have been a standard treatment for treating Covid infections for more than a year. But the AstraZeneca antibody drug cleared by the Food and Drug Administration is different.

It is the first authorised for long-term prevention against Covid-19 infection, rather than a short-term treatment.

People who could benefit from the antibody drug include cancer patients, organ transplant recipients and people taking immune-suppressing drugs for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Health experts estimate about 2% to 3% of the US population falls into that group.

Summary of the latest news

Sarah Marsh
Sarah Marsh

Below is a snapshot of the latest Coronavirus stories from around the world:

  • In the UK, Boris Johnson has announced a move to further restrictions saying Omicron is spreading faster than Delta and that the known cases are almost certainly an underestimate. Johnson said: “It’s now the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan B.” From Monday, people are advised to work from home if they can.
  • Denmark will again impose restrictions aimed at curbing the rapid spread of Covid including the new Omicron variant, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday.
  • France has reported 93,071 Coronavirus deaths in hospital, up by 129. It reported that 2,426 people were in intensive care units for Covid, up by 75 on the previous day’s figures.
  • Governments should urgently reassess their national responses to Covid-19 and accelerate their vaccination programmes to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
  • The World Health Organsation’s chief scientist said it was too soon to say whether a reduction in neutralising antibodies found in Pfizer’s vaccine against the Omicron variant meant the jab was less effective.
  • Slovakia will on Friday reopen non-essential shops and some services for those vaccinated against Covid-19 while at the same time extending a lockdown for others and closing some schools, health minister Vladimir Lengvarsky said.
  • South Africa has approved Pfizer’s coronavirus booster shots for over-18s, as the Omicron variant dominates rising new infections.The South African Health Products Authority said in a statement that it was authorising a third vaccine dose “in individuals aged 18 years and older, to be administered at least six months after the second dose”.
  • Italy has reported 17,959 Coronavirus cases, up from 15,756 on Tuesday.Elsewhere, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia continue to see an increase in cases, while Ecuador, Chile and Argentina saw a drop.
  • UK figures show 51,342 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported on 8 December 2021.Between 2 and 8 December, 339,861 people had a confirmed positive test result, an increase of 11.3% compared to the previous week.
  • BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their Covid-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test and they could deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022 if needed.

This post was amended on 9 December 2021 to clarify the guidance on working from home.

Share
Updated at 

Further restrictions announced for UK

In the UK, Boris Johnson has announced a move to further restrictions saying Omicron is spreading faster than Delta and that the known cases are almost certainly an underestimate.

Johnson says: “It’s now the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan B.” From Monday, people are advised to work from home if they can.

Additionally, from this Frida the legal requirement to wear face masks in public indoor venues will be extended to include theatres and cinemas. Johnson said: “[We] will also make the NHS COVID pass mandatory for entry into nightclubs and venues where large crowds gather, including unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, and seated outdoor venues with more than 4000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people.”

This post was amended on 9 December 2021 to clarify the guidance on working from home.

Share
Updated at 

France’s Ile-de-France region on Wednesday said that all hospitals are activating an emergency plan due to the strained Covid-19 situation. The plan includes stepping up the number of intensive care unit beds and, if necessary, reschedule treatments to free up capacities. With more than 12 million people, the Ile-de-France - with the capital Paris at its centre - is France’s biggest region.

Denmark will again impose restrictions aimed at curbing the rapid spread of Covid including the new Omicron variant, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

Denmark covid measures: Nightclubs, bars and restaurants to close at midnight starting Fridayhttps://t.co/L5jMHEvHDu

— Nordic News (@Nordic_News) December 8, 2021

France has reported 93,071 Coronavirus deaths in hospital, up by 129. It reported that 2,426 people were in intensive care units for Covid, up by 75 on the previous day’s figures.

Elsewhere, South Africa reported nearly 20,000 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, a record since the Omicron variant emerged.

Share
Updated at 

The World Health Organsation’s chief scientist said it was too soon to say whether a reduction in neutralising antibodies found in Pfizer’s vaccine against the Omicron variant meant the jab was less effective.

“I think it is premature to conclude that this reduction in neutralising activity would result in a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness. We do not know that,” Soumya Swaminathan told a media briefing, adding a coordinated research effort was needed to avoid jumping to conclusions.

Slovakia will on Friday reopen non-essential shops and some services for those vaccinated against Covid-19 while at the same time extending a lockdown for others and closing some schools, health minister Vladimir Lengvarsky said.

The central European country of 5.5 million people has struggled with one of the world’s worst coronavirus waves in the past few weeks, and shut shops and services for all people for two weeks ending 9 December.

Lengvarsky had sought to extend the general lockdown until 26 December, and to ease it for the vaccinated from 17 December. But the government, seeking to raise the appeal of vaccinations in one of Europe’s least inoculated countries, opted to ease rules now for those who received the shots while extending them until 9 January for the rest.

South Africa’s economy has rebounded after Covid, the IMF said while predicting slower growth than the government’s forecast with a “lackluster” mid-term outlook.

While the country’s finance ministry predicts the economy will grow by 5.1% this year, the International Monetary Fund said it expects growth to be 4.6%.

“The recovery was also supported by external factors, such as favourable commodity prices and benign financial conditions, which are likely temporary,” the IMF said.

South Africa’s economy contracted 6.4% last year, when a strict lockdown brought most economic activity to a standstill in the continent’s most industrialised country.

Rolling power cuts forced by ageing and poorly designed power plants have added to the economic woes.

Most viewed

Most viewed