UK records 119,789 new Covid cases and 147 more deaths
There have been 119,789 new Covid cases and 147 more coronavirus-related deaths registered in the past 24 hours in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there had been 16,817 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid reported across the UK.
This brings the total confirmed cases of the variant in the UK to 90,906.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 173,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate.
Here is a round-up of all today’s top Covid and politics stories from the UK:
There have been 119,789 new Covid cases and 147 more coronavirus-related deaths registered in the past 24 hours in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there had been 16,817 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid reported across the UK.
The Omicron variant of Covid is less likely to result in severe disease and hospital admission, government public health experts have said. Publishing preliminary findings of its research into the new variant, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Omicron appears to result in less severe disease for those infected with it.
Nicola Sturgeon has warned against getting “carried away” with the latest Omicron data, as she again rejected pressure to reduce the 10-day Covid isolation period in Scotland.
There is “no doubt that if you are unvaccinated you are hugely at more risk of hospitalisation, severe illness and even death,” a scientist has said. Prof Anthony Harnden, of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation, told BBC News this is backed up by the “proportion of patients that are unvaccinated that are ending up with severe illness in hospitals around the country”.
The NHS is preparing to expand capacity in case a “surge” of healthcare is needed, but will be able to manage increased hospital cases.
The number of NHS staff off sick because of Covid is soaring, new figures show, raising fresh fears about how hospitals will be able to respond to any Omicron-driven surge in patients needing care.
Latest estimates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have found that around one in 45 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to 16 December, up from one in 60 the previous week.
Nightclubs in Scotland are to close from 27 December for a three-week period, the deputy first minister, John Swinney, has announced.
More than six in 10 care home staff in England have not received a booster jab, figures suggest, despite the ramping up of the vaccine rollout as Omicron spreads.
A decision on whether all children aged five to 11 might get the jab “is still under very active consideration”, a member of Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said.
A total of 2,097 people were in hospital in London with Covid as of 8am on 23 December, according to new figures from NHS England. This is the highest number since 27 February and is up 44% from a week earlier. During the second wave of coronavirus, the number peaked at 7,917 on January 18.
A total of 840,038 booster and third doses of Covid vaccine were reported in the UK on Wednesday, new figures show.The is the lowest daily figure since 15 December.
Some people may need a fourth dose of Covid vaccine to remain protected, a government scientific adviser has said, with a decision expected shortly after the Christmas and new year holidays.
Two Premier League games scheduled for Boxing Day have been called off because of Covid outbreaks at Leeds and Watford.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be with the Queen on Christmas Day, a Clarence House spokesman has confirmed.
People crossing the Channel in small boats to claim asylum could be tagged on arrival under Home Office plans, it has emerged. The home secretary, Priti Patel, is expected to announce the plan early in the new year as part of her overhaul of the immigration system.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged Russia to enter talks in January over its military build-up on the border of Ukraine.
That’s it for today from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed from the UK politics and Covid blog. You can still keep across all breaking news in the global coronavirus blog here. Goodbye for now.
Evidence that infections caused by Omicron may be less severe than other Covid variants is good news but is likely to make little or no difference to the duration of the pandemic, according to experts.
Several pieces of research published this week suggested that those infected with Omicron were much less likely to require hospitalisation.
People with the variant are estimated to be between 31% and 45% less likely to attend A&E compared with the Delta variant, and 50% to 70% less likely to be require admission to hospital, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Thursday.
Separately, researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied infections from the Delta and Omicron variants since November, and said the results “suggest that Omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation when compared with Delta”.
In non-Covid related news from Westminster today, the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged Russia to enter talks in January over its military build-up on the border of Ukraine.
Ms Truss’s call for dialogue comes after Russian troops have reportedly been massing along the border with Ukraine over the last few months, with the Foreign Secretary also warning that any “incursion” would be a “massive mistake”.
The Foreign Secretary said:
I condemn the Kremlin’s aggressive and inflammatory rhetoric against Ukraine and Nato. Nato is a defensive alliance and Ukraine continues to show commendable restraint in the face of Russian provocation and aggression.”
Russia’s military build-ups on the border of Ukraine and in illegally-annexed Crimea are unacceptable. Any Russian incursion would be a massive strategic mistake and would be met with strength, including coordinated sanctions with our allies to impose a severe cost on Russia’s interests and economy.
Omicron less likely to result in hospitalisation - UKHSA
The Omicron variant of Covid is less likely to result in severe disease and hospital admission, government public health experts have said.
Publishing preliminary findings of its research into the new variant, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Omicron appears to result in less severe disease for those infected with it, the Press Association reported.
However, the agency warned that the new strain is more transmissible than previous variants such as Delta, and could still lead to significant numbers of people needing hospital treatment over coming weeks. Health Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the latest data as “promising” but urged the public to remain cautious over the Christmas break, adding it was “still too early to determine next steps”.
The results of the research are consistent with that of two other early studies into Omicron by Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh, both released on Wednesday. According to analysis by the UKHSA, the risk of hospital admission for an identified case with Omicron is reduced compared with a case of Delta.
Health secretary, Sajid Javid visits St George’s Hospital in south west London where he talked to staff and met Covid 19 patients who are being treated with a new anti-viral drug. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Someone with Omicron is estimated to be as much as 45% less likely to attend A&E compared with Delta, and as much as 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital. However, Omicron is believed to be infecting more people who have previously had Covid, with 9.5% of people with Omicron having had it before.
Vaccination is also believed to give less protection against Omicron, although a booster jab provides more protection against symptomatic disease compared with the first two doses alone. Data suggests protection starts to wane 10 weeks after booster vaccination.
Mr Javid said:
This new UKHSA data on Omicron is promising - while two doses of the vaccine aren’t enough, we know boosters offer significant protection against the variant and early evidence suggests this strain may be less severe than Delta.
However, cases of the variant continue to rise at an extraordinary rate - already surpassing the record daily number in the pandemic. Hospital admissions are increasing, and we cannot risk the NHS being overwhelmed.
This is early-stage analysis and we continue to monitor the data hour by hour. It is still too early to determine next steps, so please stay cautious this Christmas and get your booster as soon as possible to protect yourself and your loved ones.
A total of 2,097 people were in hospital in London with Covid as of 8am on 23 December, according to new figures from NHS England.
This is the highest number since 27 February and is up 44% from a week earlier. During the second wave of coronavirus, the number peaked at 7,917 on January 18.
Across England, 7,114 patients were in hospital with Covid on 23 December, the highest number since 4 November and up 11% week-on-week. The second-wave peak for England was 34,336 on 18 January.
There were 307 Covid admissions recorded by hospitals in London on 21 December, NHS England said.
Motorways brought to a standstill and cancelled trains marred the first Christmas getaway in two years.
Millions of people are embarking on trips to spend the festive period with friends and relatives, after coronavirus restrictions forced many to miss out on such visits 12 months ago.
A survey of nearly 2,000 people in Britain for watchdog Transport Focus indicated that 44% plan to travel to spend Christmas with loved ones, the Press Association reported. There was a three-mile-long traffic jam on the M5 northbound between Junction 20 for Clevedon and Junction 19 for Bristol after a vehicle fire caused the closure of two lanes at around 9am on Thursday.
National Highways said there was also severe congestion on several motorways in England, including the M25, M4 and M6. An estimated 5.3 million journeys by people embarking on overnight stays or day trips will take place on Friday with major roads busiest between 11am and 2pm, according to RAC analysis.
Although demand for rail travel is at around 50% of pre-pandemic levels, thousands of people are travelling by train to spend Christmas with loved ones.
A person being hit by a train between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly caused major disruption to operators including Avanti West Coast, Northern and TransPennine Express. CrossCountry is warning it will run a “very limited service” on Friday and New Year’s Eve due to strikes by train managers and senior conductors who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
The firm will not operate any trains on Friday between Aberdeen and Edinburgh; Glasgow Central and Edinburgh; Derby and Nottingham; Leicester and Stansted Airport; Cheltenham Spa and Cardiff Central; Newton Abbot and Paignton; or Plymouth and Penzance.
Hundreds of trains have also been cancelled across Britain due to pandemic-related staff shortages. Affected operators include CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast, Northern, ScotRail, TransPennine Express and Greater Anglia.
More than six in 10 care home staff in England have not received a booster jab, figures suggest, despite the ramping up of the vaccine rollout as Omicron spreads.
Some 37.6% of staff in care homes for older residents and 33.5% of staff in homes for younger adults had received a booster as of December 19, according to the latest figures from NHS England.
This leaves more than 340,000 staff who have not been recorded as having had their booster, without which they do not have the optimum protection against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has asked care home staff to come forward as soon as possible, the Press Association reported. The proportion of residents who have been boosted is much higher, standing at 82.3% of older residents and 68.7% of younger residents.
Residents feet and zimmer frame in a care home. Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy
It comes as government figures showed a total of 51,617,091 first doses of Covid vaccine had been delivered in the UK by 22 December, representing a rise of 39,309 on the previous day. Some 47,210,053 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 53,154.
A combined total of 31,684,926 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 840,038. Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.
UK records 119,789 new Covid cases and 147 more deaths
There have been 119,789 new Covid cases and 147 more coronavirus-related deaths registered in the past 24 hours in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there had been 16,817 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid reported across the UK.
This brings the total confirmed cases of the variant in the UK to 90,906.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 173,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate.
In Northern Ireland, the Stormont health minister, Robin Swann, has warned against Covid complacency following research indicating that the Omicron variant may be less severe than Delta.
The minister said Omicron, which is now the dominant variant in Northern Ireland, still posed a significant threat to health and social care services. He said:
There remains a great deal of uncertainty about Omicron. Some early research from Great Britain suggests it may be less severe than the Delta variant in terms of the proportion of infected people who require treatment in hospital.
More information is still required and the findings are not definitive. I must emphasise that this early research definitely does not mean that Omicron should be taken any less seriously.
It is much more infectious than Delta and will therefore lead to much greater levels of infection. Even with a lower proportion being hospitalised, if the number of cases rises to very high levels, the number of Covid in-patients will increase as well. Pressure on our hospitals could therefore be significantly increased.
Robin Swann in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings at Stormont. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA
The number of NHS staff off sick because of Covid is soaring, new figures show, raising fresh fears about how hospitals will be able to respond to any Omicron-driven surge in patients needing care.
One health service leader said the NHS was now facing “a double emergency” of growing numbers of people hospitalised with Covid alongside increasing sickness absence on the frontline.
The number of staff days lost to Covid across the NHS in England hit 124,855 last week, a 38% jump on the 90,277 the week before, according to the latest “winter sitreps” data published by NHS England.
The total number of staff absences for any medical reason – such as a cold, flu or mental health problem – also increased, though less steeply, from 416,995 to 457,135, a rise of 10%.
Here’s a slightly bewildering story from the Press Association about a group of anti-vaxxers trying - and failing dismally - to serve papers on the former England and Newcastle United footballer Alan Shearer.
The hapless protesters attempted to “serve papers” on ex-footballer Alan Shearer but comically dropped them off at the wrong house. The former England captain and Newcastle United hero last week had urged people to get the booster in a video promoted by the Premier League.
In the clip, Shearer said: “We all want to keep safe on a matchday and the best way we can protect ourselves and other people is to get vaccinated.” His stance led anti-vaccination protesters to film themselves on Wednesday outside an address near Newcastle which they believed to be his family home.
In the video they shared on social media, three men and a woman, plus someone recording the scene, gathered outside a gated property and after pressing an electronic buzzer, one of them posted documents into an external letterbox.
Alan Shearer played for Newcastle United. Photograph: Shutterstock
It is unclear what the papers contained, but anti-vaccination protesters routinely share templates of supposed legal documents which they film themselves depositing. But a commenter on the group’s Facebook post suggested Shearer no longer lived at the property.
And a local person who has seen the video told the PA News agency: “That’s an old address they have for him.” Northumbria police said it had no involvement in the incident.
Lawyer Adam Wagner, a human rights expert and commentator on Covid legislation, poured scorn on the anti-vaccination protesters’ claims of using the law. The Doughty Street barrister said:
It is difficult to overemphasise how spurious it all is. It is wrong and should not be indulged by anyone. This is so far down into the depths of legal fantasy, people should not be doing it, no-one should be sharing it.
Power cables are believed to have been stolen from a vaccination centre in the middle of a surge in Omicron cases.
The leads, used for a generator at a site in Tonbridge, Kent, were reported missing by the local MP Tom Tugendhat on Twitter on Thursday.
Tugendhat took to the social media site to try and source new cables to get the centre up and running for the day, the Press Association reported.
The Tonbridge and Malling MP, who has served as chairman of the foreign affairs committee since 2017, said:
Someone has stolen the leads to the generator of the vaccination centre on Sovereign Way, Tonbridge. We need to replace them urgently.
Shortly before 10am, Tugendhat confirmed the site was operational again and vaccines were going ahead.
Thank you for all the offers. I’m delighted to say @NHSuk is back up and running and vaccinating in Tonbridge. Thank you for pulling together - Tonbridge is a fantastic community and I hope we’re about to see @kent_police at their best..! Merry Christmas…to most people! https://t.co/VbVL21dvOX
He said on Twitter: “Thank you for all the offers. I’m delighted to say NHSuk is back up and running and vaccinating in Tonbridge. Thank you for pulling together – Tonbridge is a fantastic community and I hope we’re about to see kent-police at their best..! Merry Christmas... to most people!”
Kent police said they were “sending a patrol to the scene to try and establish more details”.
Covid infection levels have reached a record high in the UK, new data shows, as the health secretary maintained no further restrictions would be set out before Christmas.
An estimated 1.4 million people in the UK had the virus in the week ending 16 December, the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The data emerged within hours of Sajid Javid telling broadcasters the government was not planning to make any more announcements on restrictions in England this week.
It follows a warning from the NHS England national medical director, Prof Stephen Powis, that the service is on a “war footing” as the Omicron variant sweeps through the country.
Some people may need a fourth dose of Covid vaccine to remain protected, a government scientific adviser has said, with a decision expected shortly after the Christmas and new year holidays.
Prof Adam Finn said:
I think there may well be people who received their boosters early who are in the older more vulnerable age groups who may need a further jab. That has not been decided yet. It is still under review and discussion, and we will be providing recommendations on that at some point in the new year.
Some people may need a fourth jab. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA
Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told LBC Radio on Thursday: “I think there will be people probably who will receive a fourth jab. Whether that will be everyone, I think, is still very much in doubt … We do need to see how things go through this wave and beyond.”
On Tuesday, Israel became the first country to announce it would offer a fourth dose of vaccine to people over 60 and healthcare workers, in an effort to increase protection against the Omicron variant.
Healthcare workers around the world have been on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic for almost two years, which put them through the darkest days of their careers.
Five doctors who have worked in hospitals in Uganda, New Zealand and the US, India, England, and Brazil told the Guardian about how the pandemic has tested them personally and professionally, but how they continue to find hope and resolve to keep working.
Voices of Covid doctors: 'It was always about trying to save you' – video
Cross-Channel asylum seekers could be tagged under Home Office plans
Andrew Sparrow
People crossing the Channel in small boats to claim asylum could be tagged on arrival under Home Office plans, it has emerged.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, is expected to announce the plan early in the new year as part of her overhaul of the immigration system.
According to a government source familiar with the plan, ministers believe that making working-age people wear tags while their asylum claims are processed would make it harder for them to work illegally during this period – reducing the UK’s “pull factor”.
Ministers also believe that tags would stop people absconding during the application process. The government wants more people whose asylum applications fail to be removed from the country, although absconding is only one factor and there are significant legal reasons why removal numbers are low, including the UK’s post-Brexit withdrawal from the Dublin agreements, which enabled people to be returned to EU countries they had travelled through.
More than 27,000 people have arrived in the UK this year by crossing the Channel on small boats, up from 8,500 in 2020, and Patel has faced strong criticism, particularly from within the Conservative party, for not doing more to curb these numbers.
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