Babak Belurs

Jumat, 01 Januari 2021

Covid: England records highest daily rise in cases since pandemic began | ITV News - ITV News

England has recorded its highest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began with 50,746 positive tests.

This is the fourth day in a row that there were more than 50,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the UK recorded in the past 24 hours, which brings the total number of cases in the UK to 2,542,065. It comes amid concern over the spread of the new variant strain of the pandemic.

Another 2,434 people have been admitted to hospital and 613 people have died.

Nurses caring for a patient in an intensive care ward Credit: Steve Parsons/PA

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show that more than 88,000 deaths involving coronavirus have now occurred in the UK.

But the figures for deaths and cases are likely to be higher as Wales and Northern Ireland are not releasing death or case data on New Year's Day, and Scotland are not providing death data over that same period.

The latest figures come as Nightingale hospitals across England are being readied for use but the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned the expectation of a mass rollout of staff for the venues is "misplaced".

Mobile testing centres set up in parts of London to test secondary school pupils for Covid. Credit: PA

England

A further 420 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 50,668, NHS England said on Friday.

Patients were aged between eight and 100. All except 12, aged between 55 and 90, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between November 24 and December 31.

There were 39 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Wales

Public Health Wales are not releasing their daily Covid-19 figures on New Year's Day.

Instead, they will be combined with Saturday's data.

Scotland

A further 2,539 people have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the latest data from the Department of Health.

It is unknown how many deaths have occurred in the last 24-hour reporting period as the Scottish government are limiting the amount of data they release between 1 January to 4 January.

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2021-01-01 18:01:00Z
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COVID news live - latest UK updates: New Year's Day party in Chinese city where first COVID cases detected - Sky News

BMA says change in vaccination schedule 'grossly unfair'

Doctors' union the British Medical Association (BMA) said advice that first doses of the Pfizer vaccine should be prioritised and second doses be done within 12 weeks was "grossly unfair" for patients whose imminent second jab appointments could be rescheduled.

Following the approval of the Oxford vaccine, the government said they would be prioritising first doses to cover as many at-risk people as possible. A booster jab for the Oxford and Pfizer jabs will now be given between 4 and 12 weeks later.

Previously, people were told to expect their booster dose 21 days on. Nearly 800,000 people have been vaccinated in the UK so far.

Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the BMA GP committee, said: "This group of very elderly patients is at the highest risk of death if they contract Covid-19, which is why GPs are so concerned for them.

"It is grossly and patently unfair to tens of thousands of our most at-risk patients to now try to reschedule their appointments.

"Local leaders are telling us that is unprofessional and impractical to amend the appointments for thousands of frail elderly patients, particularly those booked and who have already made arrangements to have their second vaccination in the next two weeks.

"The decision to ask GPs, at such short notice, to rebook patients for three months hence will also cause huge logistical problems for almost all vaccination sites and practices.

"It is grossly and patently unfair to tens of thousands of our most at-risk patients to now try to reschedule their appointments."

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2021-01-01 18:14:03Z
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COVID-19: Eight-year-old dies with coronavirus as cases exceed 50,000 for fourth day running - Sky News

An eight-year-old child in England has died after testing positive for coronavirus, as the number of new cases in the UK exceeded 50,000 for the fourth day running.

The government announced a further 53,285 COVID-19 cases on New Year's Day, with 613 more deaths recorded.

The figures are down on those announced on New Year's Eve, when the UK recorded 55,892 new cases - the highest figure on record - and 964 deaths were confirmed.

It brings the total number of UK cases to 2,542,065and the total number of deaths with 28 days of a positive test to 74,125.

Live COVID-19 updates from the UK and around the world

Among the UK figures announced on Friday, NHS England said a further 420 patients had died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus - including a patient aged eight.

Twelve of the patients who died had no known underlying health conditions and they were aged 55 to 90. The deaths of the 420 patients were recorded between 24 November and 31 December.

After a recent surge in cases, Nightingale hospitals across England are being readied for use and the Royal College of Nursing has said staff leave is being cancelled to deal with the demand.

But Mike Adams, the RCN's England director, warned that the expectation of a mass rollout of staff at the Nightingale hospitals is "misplaced".

He told Sky News: "If we are having to cancel leave to staff these areas, the obvious question is where will the staff come from to open the Nightingales?

"I have real concerns that the expectation that this mass rollout in capacity can happen is misplaced because there aren't the staff to do it."

Meanwhile, the UK's chief medical officers have warned that vaccine shortages are likely to cause problems for "several months".

More than a million people have now received their first coronavirus vaccination in the UK.

However a joint statement from England's Professor Chris Whitty and the chief medical officers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the public would "understand" and "thank" them for a plan to give first jabs as a priority, delaying the follow-up vaccination for others.

The deployment of the newly approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will begin on Monday, almost a month after the rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, but second doses of either will now take place within 12 weeks rather than 21 days as initially planned.

The chief medical officers said: "Currently the main barrier to this is vaccine availability, a global issue, and this will remain the case for several months and, importantly, through the critical winter period.

"Vaccine shortage is a reality that cannot be wished away."

The makers of the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine said they are working flat out to boost production of their COVID-19 vaccine, but they warned there will be gaps in supply until other vaccines are rolled out.

It comes as an expert at Imperial College London has said the high rate of infection in the new coronavirus variant meant that transmission of the disease was likely to have tripled even during England's November lockdown conditions.

Professor Axel Gandy said the new variant increases the coronavirus reproduction number - or R number - "by about 0.4 to 0.7".

"That doesn't sound like much but the difference is quite extreme," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He added that since the November lockdown had been eased, it did not look like there was evidence to suggest children of school-going age were more likely to carry the new variant.

The reopening of secondary schools in England has been delayed until later in January, and in some of the areas hardest hit by COVID-19, primary school pupils will also not return as planned next week.

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2021-01-01 16:52:30Z
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COVID-19: UK cases rise by 53,285 with 613 more deaths recorded - Sky News

An eight-year-old child in England has died after testing positive for coronavirus, as the number of new cases in the UK exceeded 50,000 for the fourth day running.

The government announced a further 53,285 COVID-19 cases on New Year's Day, with 613 more deaths recorded.

The figures are down on those announced on New Year's Eve, when the UK recorded 55,892 new cases - the highest figure on record - and 964 deaths were confirmed.

It brings the total number of UK cases to 2,542,065and the total number of deaths with 28 days of a positive test to 74,125.

Live COVID-19 updates from the UK and around the world

NHS England announced on Friday that a further 420 patients had died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus - including a patient aged eight.

Twelve of the patients who died had no known underlying health conditions and they were aged 55 to 90. The deaths of the 420 patients were recorded between 24 November and 31 December.

After a recent surge in cases, Nightingale hospitals across England are being readied for use and the Royal College of Nursing has said staff leave is being cancelled to deal with the demand.

But Mike Adams, the RCN's England director, warned that the expectation of a mass rollout of staff at the Nightingale hospitals is "misplaced".

He told Sky News: "If we are having to cancel leave to staff these areas, the obvious question is where will the staff come from to open the Nightingales?

"I have real concerns that the expectation that this mass rollout in capacity can happen is misplaced because there aren't the staff to do it."

Meanwhile, the UK's chief medical officers have warned that vaccine shortages are likely to cause problems for "several months".

More than a million people have now received their first coronavirus vaccination in the UK.

"Vaccine shortage is a reality that cannot be wished away."

Professor Axel Gandy said the new variant increases the coronavirus reproduction number - or R number - "by about 0.4 to 0.7".

"That doesn't sound like much but the difference is quite extreme," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He added that since the November lockdown had been eased, it did not look like there was evidence to suggest children of school-going age were more likely to carry the new variant.

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Boris Johnson hails ‘amazing moment’ as Brexit transition ends - Financial Times

Boris Johnson described the new year’s severing of ties with the EU as “an amazing moment” for Britain, but he faced warnings that Brexit could hasten the disintegration of his own country.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, intends to put Brexit at the centre of her campaign in May’s Holyrood elections, at which the Scottish National party will campaign for a second independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon, who wants to lead an independent Scotland back into the EU, wrote on Twitter: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.” Scotland voted 62:38 to stay in the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The first minister claimed an independent Scotland would be “a bridge to aid understanding between the EU and UK”, as she kicked off a year that could have a profound impact on the future of the union.

Writing for Politico, she added: “We have been inside the European Union family of nations for nearly 50 years. We didn’t want to leave and we hope to join you again soon as an equal partner as we face the opportunities and challenges of the future together.”

Nicola Sturgeon’s post highlighted the tensions the UK union is likely to face in 2021 © Nicola Sturgeon/Twitter

Mr Johnson has vowed to block a second Scottish independence referendum — which would have to be approved by Westminster — arguing that the 55:45 vote in 2014 for Scotland to stay in the UK was meant to settle the issue for a generation.

The British prime minister’s claim that Brexit had put “freedom in our hands” and that the UK would be able to do things “differently and better” outside the EU is not widely shared in Scotland.

“This is an amazing moment for this country,” Mr Johnson said in his New Year’s message, released to coincide with the end of the Brexit transition period and the end of Britain’s 47-year legal and institutional ties to the EU.

The prime minister has downplayed the “non tariff barriers” to trade with the EU thrown up by Brexit — including an estimated £7bn in bureaucracy for business — and their potential impact on the integrity of the UK.

Aside from inflaming nationalist sentiments in Scotland, Brexit has also placed new obstacles to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; the region, which also voted against Brexit, remains part of the EU’s customs code.

The prime minister insists his trade deal with the EU — which has a tariff-free arrangement for goods at its heart — had been achieved while extricating Britain from the EU’s legal structures.

But Mr Johnson’s critics have long warned that such an agreement would inevitably lead to friction at the border, as companies faced a wave of new checks, controls and paperwork to trade across a previously open frontier.

Ministers fear there could be disruption at ports on Monday when business returns to normal after the festive break; freight on New Year’s Day was running at a fraction of normal levels and few problems were reported.

Emmanuel Macron, French president, said in his New Year’s message that Britain would remain “our friend and ally” but he said Brexit was “the child of European malaise and lots of lies and false promises”.

However, Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative party, spoke of the joy of Eurosceptics that the Brexit saga had reached its conclusion. “I just wish I was 21 again,” he told the BBC. “My goodness what prospects lie ahead of us for young people now: to be out there buccaneering, trading, dominating the world again.”

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson hinted in an article for the Telegraph at the “state activism” he intends to pursue to rebuild the economy after the coronavirus crisis. Many Tories believe Brexit will allow the UK to be more versatile in deploying state aid to boost growth.

The prime minister said it was “thanks to government scientists” that Oxford university had partnered with AstraZeneca to develop its Covid vaccine and “thanks to government cash that the vaccine was developed”.

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2021-01-01 13:41:00Z
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Brexit in action! Boris Johnson immediately BANS pulse fishing in UK waters - Daily Express

Britain left the European Union's Single Market and Customs Union when the Brexit transition period between the two sides ended at 11pm on New Year's Eve. It sealed the UK's full departure from the bloc, freeing the nation from Brussels' rules and regulations to become its own independent country. During months of negotiations with the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal, fisheries became a key focal point, with fishermen warning the Boris Johnson not to sell-out and betray the industry in terms of the access rights and catch quotas for EU vessels.

Mr Johnson has wasted no time following the end of the transition period to appease fishermen who had expressed fears over what the conceded to the EU in negotiations.

On Thursday - just hours before the UK's full departure from the EU - UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed EU and English vessels would not be able to take part in pulse fishing.

The Government department wrote: "With effect from 23:00 tonight, pulse trawling by EU and English vessels in UK waters will no longer be licensed."

David Jones, deputy chairman of the Conservative-led and Brexit-focused European Research Group (ERG), hailed the move from DEFRA.

The MP for Clwyd West wrote on Twitter: "Excellent that @DefraGovUK has banned pulse fishing in UK waters from 11:00 pm yesterday.

"A good example of the environmental, conservation and welfare improvements we can make after leaving the EU.

"Now let’s stop live animal exports."

Brexiteer and former MEP Martin Daubney hailed the quick move from Downing Street to ban pulse fishing and called on the Government to now "kick super trawlers out of our waters".

The deal reached in February 2019 enables the remaining 27 EU member states to ban or restrict the use of pulse fishing within their coastal waters.

The new framework agreed by the European Parliament and EU member states aim to simplify the existing set of 31 regulations on fishing gear and methods allowed within the EU waters, on the minimum size of fish to be caught, as well as on restricting fishing activities in certain areas or during certain periods.

The discussions took nine months to complete, predominantly because of the disputed use of electric currents in the water, which deadlocked the entire legislation as the European Parliament and European Council could not agree common ground on the issue.

The controversial practice of pulse fishing involves sending electric signals to scare fish away from the seabed before scooping them up into nets.

In 2006, a system of derogations enabled the practice of pulse trawling to continue after catches involving the process were banned eight years earlier in 1998.

Opponents of the fishing technique have warned it has negative effects on juveniles and eggs, and also damages marine wildlife.

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2021-01-01 13:21:00Z
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New Year fireworks watched by 10 million viewers on BBC One - BBC News

More than 10 million people celebrated the arrival of 2021 by tuning in to BBC One for London's spectacular fireworks and light display.

The 10-minute show used 300 drones to "paint" the sky with tributes to NHS staff and notable figures from 2020.

An average audience of 10.75 million tuned in for the display.

Despite strict coronavirus restrictions keeping people at home, the figure was slightly lower than 2020, when 11.18 million watched the celebrations.

BBC Scotland had it's own Hogmanay special, hosted by Susan Calman, which was watched by an average of 1.05 million people, peaking at 1.3 million at midnight.

Up to 100,000 revellers usually gather on the banks of the River Thames for London's New Year fireworks display - but this year, the streets were virtually deserted as most people obeyed the capital's Tier 4 lockdown rules.

The fireworks display spanned the length of the Thames, with fireworks launched from the O2 Arena and Tower Bridge and a light display on The Shard.

Amid the fireworks, several images filled the sky - including the NHS logo encased in a love-heart, while a child's voice said "Thank you NHS heroes".

There was a special mention for Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised £33m by walking in his back garden. The drones formed an outline of his figure, standing behind his walking frame, and giving a thumbs-up.

Viewers also saw the clenched-fist symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement, and a humorous reference to one of 2020's most familiar sights for people who have worked from home - the icon of a microphone, accompanied by the phrase "You're on mute".

Most-watched programmes - New Year's Eve 2020. . .

In recent years, BBC One has broadcast a live concert from London either side of the midnight celebrations - but this year US pop star Alicia Keys provided the entertainment from Los Angeles, playing hits including Girl On Fire, Empire State Of Mind and If I Ain't Got You.

Music also heralded the New Year on BBC Two, with Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny marking its 29th year.

The show featured musical guests Michael Kiwanuka, Roisin Murphy, Rick Wakeman, Ruby Turner, Chris Difford, and Sir Tom Jones, who discussed his recent Covid-19 vaccination.

Other than BBC One's midnight show, Graham Norton had the most-watched programme of the night, with 5.2 million people tuning in to see the star chat to guests Jessica Chastain, Tom Hanks, Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan and Nish Kumar.

That figure, like all the others, is based on "overnight ratings" so does not include viewers who will watch the show on catch-up services over the coming days. In recent years, New Year's Eve has overtaken Christmas Day as an occasion on which more viewers watch live television.

Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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2021-01-01 12:22:00Z
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Jumat, 01 Januari 2021

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