Babak Belurs

Rabu, 30 Desember 2020

COVID-19: Further 20 million people now under tougher Tier 4 restrictions as rules extended - Sky News

A further 20 million people are under tighter restrictions after the government announced an extension of Tier 4 rules in England in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

On the day the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was approved to tackle COVID-19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a new strain of the virus was "surging across the country" and immediate action was needed.

Areas escalated to Tier 4 at 00.01am on Thursday include large parts of the Midlands, North East, parts of the North West and parts of the South West.

The Isles of Scilly is the only area in England still in Tier 1, with the region not reporting any coronavirus cases since September.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that although the changes will "place a significant burden on people, and especially on businesses affected", they were "absolutely necessary because of the number of cases that we've seen".

He told MPs: "Sharply rising cases and the hospitalisations that follow demonstrate the need to act where the virus is spreading."

Mr Hancock spoke as concerns grow about a new variant of the virus, which appears to be more transmissible and which he said was "now spreading across most of England".

Referring to new tier allocations announced by Mr Hancock, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street briefing: "At this critical moment, with the prospect of freedom within reach, we've got to redouble our efforts to contain the virus.

"No-one regrets these measures more bitterly than I do, but we must take firm action now."

It comes as the UK recorded 981 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Wednesday - the highest number since 24 April. The high fatality figure could be partly down to a delay in reporting deaths over Christmas.

The number of new infections reported in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday was 50,023 - slightly down on Tuesday's 53,135 which was the most since the pandemic began.

Political leaders in areas placed into the highest COVID-19 restrictions have called on the government to consider a national lockdown.

Six council leaders, two mayors and a police and crime commissioner came together in the North East of England to issue a statement after the whole of the region was plunged into Tier 4 from Thursday.

They said: "Our view is that the government should consider a national lockdown now to ensure the spread of the new variant is slowed and efforts can be focused on the crucial rollout of the vaccine. This is a national problem and a national solution is required now."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the return of many schools will be delayed beyond the government's earlier promise.

Exam year students will return on 11 January, with other secondary school students to follow a week later on 18 January, to enable preparations for the testing of pupils and staff to take place.

Tier 4 restrictions include a warning to stay at home, a limit on household mixing to two people outdoors, and the closure of non-essential shops, as well as hairdressers and gyms.

Areas that will be covered by the Tier 4 rules from 00.01am on Thursday are:

Leicester City
Leicestershire - Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton
Lincolnshire - City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey
Northamptonshire - Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough
Derby and Derbyshire - Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire - Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe
Birmingham and Black Country - Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton
Coventry
Solihull
Warwickshire - Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent - East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent
Lancashire - Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre
Cheshire and Warrington - Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington
Cumbria - Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale
Greater Manchester - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan
Tees Valley - Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees
North East - County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland
Gloucestershire - Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham
Somerset council - Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset
Swindon
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Isle of Wight
New Forest

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2020-12-31 00:02:31Z
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20m more people in England under toughest Tier 4 rules as deaths soar - BBC News - BBC News

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20m more people in England under toughest Tier 4 rules as deaths soar - BBC News BBC News
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2020-12-30 22:37:35Z
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Tier 4 areas MAPPED: When do the new tiers start? - Express

The main restrictions in Tier 4 are:

- No household mixing allowed, though one person can meet one other person outside in a public space

- All non-essential shops and businesses must close, including personal care and indoor entertainment

- Nobody can enter or leave Tier 4 areas

- Residents must not stay overnight away from home

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2020-12-30 19:57:00Z
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Brexit bows out with a whimper, not a bang - BBC News

Compared to the pyrotechnics of the last few years, when the votes that would turn the EU treaty into law came to pass, it was rather a whimper not a bang.

Outwardly, at least, a calm conclusion to a period of huge uncertainty, political agony, and great anxiety in many ways: the fear of Brexiteers that their victory of 2016 would never be turned into the kind of reality they wanted to see; and worry from those who were on the other side of the argument about what might be lost.

And maybe, most commonly, frustration, and boredom too, for swathes of voters stuck in the middle - frustrated that our political system didn't seem able to cope with the task, and who by the time of the election last year, even before the trade negotiations were under way, would have been happy never to hear the 'B' word again, however they voted in 2016.

A long-term trade deal was agreed. And it sailed over the parliamentary hurdles.

What a difference a majority makes: explaining the screaming irony of Parliament's daily neuroses over every tiny point of the Brexit process between 2017 and 2019, compared to the relatively anodyne debate today. Reluctance from Brexit's one time opponents to protest too much - and real rage left to a sprinkling of Labour rebels and the smaller political parties.

For Boris Johnson, who we saw strolling down the famous yellow staircase in Downing Street today, past the portraits hanging on the wall of Conservative prime ministers whose careers were ended by splits over Europe, there is the prospect that he is the Tory leader who took us out of the EU, and also managed to bring years of vicious infighting to an end.

It was his former friend and rival, David Cameron, who wanted their party to stop 'banging on' about it.

But it may be Mr Johnson, who campaigned for the more disruptive solution of leaving the union, who is the one who brought closure to the fight.

The relative political calm, however, does not mask two big factors.

First, many aspects of how the country does business and interacts with the rest of the world are about to change in a dramatic way.

If you are Boris Johnson this is huge, and exciting.

If you are a business that's affected it might mean a big new opportunity, but it might also mean really big disruption and lots of extra hassle.

The fact that there is a trade deal doesn't take all of the risk away.

The treaty contains lots of uncertainty, not least for the biggest part of the economy: the service sector. Getting the agreement finalised in the time was a big achievement for both sides but there is a lot that it just doesn't cover that will, in time, have to be worked out somehow.

Second, the prime minister is right now simply refusing to accept that in a couple of days, even under this deal, that for a lot of businesses and individuals it's going to be more complicated, not less, to interact with our nearest neighbours.

In our interview today, he just refused to admit that there would be new barriers - whether that's work permits for some European countries, different paperwork for taking your pet on holiday, more customs paperwork, some qualifications not being recognised on the other side of the Channel...the list goes on and on.

In the end, Boris Johnson accepted that there would be "changes".

But he seems allergic to admitting that his political choices could make it harder in many ways, even suggesting that actually businesses might find it more straightforward because, as with the rest of the world, there will be customs admin to deal with for EU countries too.

It is perfectly legitimate to argue, as many Brexiteers have, that the extra costs and hassle will be well worth the potential of what the UK stands to gain.

Surely though, there is a political risk to pretending there is almost no downside at all?

(Reminder, you can get a flavour of just some of the things that are changing here.)

But tonight Brexit is 'done' because we left the EU last January on the back of Boris Johnson's thumping victory in the general election.

And the deal that shapes how the UK's relationship with the rest of the continent works is 'done' too - signed, sealed, voted on, and almost delivered - it will get Royal Assent tonight, or perhaps early tomorrow (depending on how late the Queen stays up to sign it).

The last official day, at least, of specific Brexit debate did not have the hysterics that were the soundtrack to so much of the last few years.

Bizarrely muted perhaps, but an ending to a journey that mattered so much.

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2020-12-30 21:02:00Z
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Return to school delayed for secondary pupils to allow for COVID testing preparations - Sky News

The return of many schools will be delayed beyond the government's earlier promise, the education secretary has announced.

Exam year students will return on 11 January, with other secondary school students to follow a week later on 18 January, to enable preparations for the testing of pupils and staff to take place.

And while the majority of primary schools will open as planned on 4 January, some primaries in areas with the highest rates of coronavirus will not open on that date, with no date of return set as yet.

This will include primaries in 22 London boroughs, which between them have more than half a million pupils, and many primaries in Essex and Kent and some in East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire.

But it does not include primaries in Greenwich, which was forced to back down in the face of government legal action in late December after saying it wanted to close schools before the end of the autumn term.

It appears that primary pupils in the affected areas will be expected to learn remotely.

The Department for Education has said their return to school will be reviewed in two weeks, on 13 January.

Revealed: Full list of areas where primary schools face delayed return

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted the government may need to take "further action" in the worst affected areas.

Setting out a new plan in the House of Commons, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools up and down the country face a "rapidly changing situation".

He told MPs: "The 1,500 military personnel committed to supporting schools and colleges will remain on task providing virtual training and advice on establishing the testing process with teams on standby to provide in-person support if required by schools.

"Testing will then begin the following week in earnest with those who are in exam years at the head of the queue.

"This is in preparation for the full return of all pupils in all year groups on January 18 in most areas."

The news comes just 24 hours after the government insisted it was pushing ahead with plans for primary school and older secondary school children to return to classrooms next week.

There had been demands for the post-Christmas return of pupils to be delayed - including from teaching unions - until later in January.

Scientists have advised that keeping schools and universities closed will dampen infection rates.

Teaching unions had also expressed concern after Mr Williamson outlined before Christmas plans to test staff and students from the first week of January.

At least one of them remained unimpressed.

Joint general secretary of the National Education Union Dr Mary Bousted said she was "astonished" at Mr Williamson's announcement.

She said: "With warnings from eminent scientists of an 'imminent catastrophe' unless the whole of the UK is locked down, and with more cases in hospitals than ever before and our NHS facing an enormous crisis, the secretary of state is sending the majority of primary pupils and staff back on Monday to working environments which aren't COVID secure.

"The government has not, despite being repeatedly asked, published the scientific guidance on the risks involved in school and college reopening. This information is desperately needed - particularly as the new variants of the virus are 50% more transmissible.

"The government in Scotland will not reopen schools till 18 January at the earliest. The Government in Westminster should have done that at least."

Cllr Judith Blake, chair of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said she was also worried about how the plan to test pupils would be implemented.

She said: "We have continuing concerns about the operational logistics of testing in secondary schools and the challenges posed by this timetable.

"Ensuring there is a suitable number of staff and volunteers, identifying the number of stations needed and finding a safe space for students to wait for their results are all significant challenges. It is vital that the tests, PPE and other support being promised by the government is delivered on time and in the quantities needed."

In the subsequent parliamentary debate, a number of questions about the government's plans for schools went unanswered by Gavin Williamson.

He was asked how many primary schools in England will be forced to switch to remote learning next week, whether exams can go ahead in the summer and whether school staff will be prioritised in the latest vaccine roll out.

He did not provide clear responses on any of these issues, simply stressing that the government's plans to roll out testing would enable schools to get pupils back into face-to-face learning as quickly as possible.

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2020-12-30 19:18:45Z
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Covid-19: Twenty million in England added to toughest tier of restrictions - BBC News

A further 20 million people in England will join the toughest tier of Covid restrictions from Thursday.

The Midlands, North East, parts of the North West and parts of the South West are among those escalated to tier four.

And secondary schools across most of England are to remain closed for an extra two weeks for most pupils.

The public must "redouble" its efforts at this "critical moment", the PM said, before adding he was confident things will be "very much better" by 5 April.

"All of these measures in the end are designed to save lives and protect the NHS," he said at a Downing Street briefing. "For that very reason, I must ask you to follow the rules where you live tomorrow night and see in the new year safely at home."

Earlier, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in the UK, with the first doses to be given on Monday.

But Boris Johnson warned that people should not "in any way think that this is over" as "the virus is really surging".

His comments came as a further 50,023 new Covid cases were recorded in the UK on Wednesday, as well as 981 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test - more than double Tuesday's total.

Under tier four rules, non-essential shops, beauty salons and hairdressers must close, and people are limited to meeting in a public outdoor place with their household, or one other person.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs that rising cases across England mean it is "therefore necessary to apply tier three measures more broadly too, including in Liverpool and North Yorkshire".

In tier three areas, household mixing is banned indoors and in private gardens, while the rule of six applies in public spaces. Shops, gyms and personal care services can remain open, but hospitality settings must close except for takeaway.

All of the tier changes will come into effect at 00:01 GMT on Thursday 31 December.

Following his colleague in the Commons, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said secondary schools across most of England will remain closed for an extra two weeks for most pupils.

He added that exam-year pupils will return a week earlier than their schoolmates in the week of 11 January, and in a small number of areas with the highest infection rates, primaries will remain closed temporarily.

Commenting on the delay, the prime minister said: "We must face the reality, the sheer pace of the spread of this new variant, requires us now to take even tougher action in some areas, and that does affect schools."

Speaking to the BBC earlier, Mr Johnson said that 60% of UK coronavirus cases were now the new, more transmissible, strain of Covid-19.

Asked by political editor Laura Kuenssberg if the government had been too slow to act, he said: "What we, unfortunately, were not able to budget for was this this new variant."

He added: "It's spreading rapidly from the places where it's started, in the east of London and in Kent. And, alas, it's starting to seed across the country."

The areas joining tier four from Thursday are:

Leicester City
Leicestershire (Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton)
Lincolnshire (City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey)
Northamptonshire (Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough)
Derby and Derbyshire (Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak)
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe)
Birmingham and Black Country (Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton)
Coventry
Solihull
Warwickshire (Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon)
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent)
Lancashire (Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre)
Cheshire and Warrington (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington)
Cumbria (Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale)
Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan)
Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees )
North East (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland)
Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham)
Somerset Council (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset)
Swindon
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Isle of Wight
New Forest

The areas joining tier three are:

Rutland
Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest)
Herefordshire
Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens)
York & North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Selby, Craven, Ryedale, Harrogate, City of York)
Bath and North East Somerset
Devon, Plymouth, Torbay (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Plymouth, Torbay)
Cornwall
Dorset
Wiltshire

Analysis box by Nick Triggle, health correspondent

It is a bitter-sweet day. News of approval for a second Covid vaccine has been followed by more restrictions.

It means, with the exception of a few pockets, the whole of the UK is pretty much in lockdown.

The fear now is that this will become the status quo for weeks.

Hospitals are clearly struggling, with close to 24,000 patients in hospital with Covid - that's around one in five beds.

Until those numbers start coming down, the restrictions are likely to stay in place.

The jury is still out on how significant the impact of these will be on the new faster-spreading variant.

If the effect is limited, a quick rollout of the vaccine is crucial for not just saving lives but returning the country to some normality.

The approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is vital. It is easier to store and distribute than the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and there are already millions of doses in the country.

A network of local vaccination centres are also ready to go with GPs believing they can vaccinate two million people a week reasonably comfortably if there is good supply.

With global demand for vaccines and the ingredients and facilities needed to produce them, it is clear where the biggest hurdle now lies.

Announcing the rule changes, Mr Hancock said: "I know that tier three and four measures place a significant burden on people, and especially on businesses affected, but I am afraid it is absolutely necessary because of the number of cases that we've seen."

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said people across England "will be deeply worried" that they have now been "in a form of restriction for months and months and months".

"It's having a huge impact on families and small businesses," he added.

Meanwhile, a statement on behalf of nine council and other leaders in the north-east of England urged the government to replace its regional approach with a national lockdown "to ensure the spread of the new variant is slowed and efforts can be focused on the crucial roll-out of the vaccine".

"This is a national problem and a national solution is required now," they added.

Elsewhere in the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland are both in lockdown, as is mainland Scotland.

The approval of the Oxford vaccine - of which the UK has ordered 100 million doses - means vaccination centres will now start inviting patients to receive the first of their two doses from next week.

Priority groups for immunisation have already been identified, starting with care home residents, the over-80s, and health and care workers.

The health secretary told the Commons the UK already has 530,000 doses available from Monday, "with millions due from AstraZeneca by the beginning of February".

He added that the "clinical advice is that the Oxford vaccine is best deployed as two doses up to 12 weeks apart".

More than 600,000 people in the UK have been given the Pfizer-BioNTech jab since Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to be given a Covid vaccine outside a clinical trial.

It is hoped that about two million patients a week could soon be vaccinated with the two jabs that have now been approved.

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam - the deputy chief medical officer for England - said that both Pfizer and AstraZeneca were currently testing to see if their vaccines worked against the new Covid strain.

However, it could be 12 to 14 days before either company can give a "solid steer", he added.

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2020-12-30 18:52:00Z
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COVID-19: UK records 981 more coronavirus deaths in latest 24 hour period, with another 50,023 cases - Sky News

The UK recorded 981 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Wednesday - the highest number since 24 April.

The number of new coronavirus cases reported in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday was 50,023 - slightly down on Tuesday's 53,135 which was the most since the pandemic began.

The high fatality figure could be partly down to a delay in reporting deaths over Christmas.

Live COVID updates from UK and around world

There have now been a total of 72,548 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK and 2,432,888 cases.

The news came shortly after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that an additional 20 million people in England will move into Tier 4 restrictions in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

This will mean 44 million people will be in Tier 4 from Thursday (78% of England's population), 12 million people will be in Tier 3 (22% of the population), while no area will be in Tier 2.

Mr Hancock warned that the new highly-transmissible variant of COVID-19, first reported in the UK, was now spreading across England, adding that cases are "doubling fast".

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said that, despite calls for pupils to stay at home, most primary schools will open as planned on 4 January.

Some primary schools in areas with the highest rates of coronavirus will not open on that date, he added, although it was not clear at that stage which areas this would include.

Exam year students will return on 11 January, with other secondary school students to follow on 18 January, to enable preparations for the testing of pupils and staff to take place.

But there was some good news earlier on Wednesday, with the UK's medicines regulator announcing it had approved a second vaccine for use.

The vaccine by Oxford University and AstraZeneca offers a "route out of this pandemic", Mr Hancock told Sky News.

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2020-12-30 18:31:59Z
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Rabu, 30 Desember 2020

More from Covid-19

More from Covid-19

The areas joining tier four from Thursday are:

The areas joining tier three are:

More from Covid-19