Babak Belurs

Senin, 20 Desember 2021

Boris Johnson will not impose more Covid restrictions before Christmas - The Times

Boris Johnson is unlikely to impose further coronavirus restrictions before Christmas after delaying a decision today.

The prime minister called a cabinet meeting this afternoon to discuss the latest data on the spread of the Omicron variant and whether a two-week circuit breaker banning indoor mixing was needed.

Speaking after a cabinet that ran for well over three hours, Johnson said that he would wait until the data was clearer before taking further action. “But we will not exclude going further if we have to to protect the public”.

He said that the government was looking at the latest data on an “hour by hour” basis.

He said: “In view of the balance of risks and uncertainties, particularly around the infection hospitalisation rate of omicron

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2021-12-20 17:45:00Z
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Queen to stay at Windsor for Christmas and not travel to Sandringham - Sky News

The Queen will be spending Christmas at Windsor Castle and will not be travelling to Sandringham, as is traditional.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the decision, which Sky News understands is a personal one and taken after careful consideration.

Family members will be visiting Windsor over the festive period and sensible precautions will be taken.

The Queen and her family normally walk from the Sandringham estate in Norfolk to a local church on Christmas morning.

This Christmas is the Queen's first since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Her Majesty and Prince Philip spent Christmas Day together at Windsor last year without the rest of the family.

It emerged last week that the Queen had decided to cancel a traditional pre-Christmas lunch with other members of the Royal Family amid fears over spiking coronavirus cases and the arrival of the Omicron variant.

The 95-year-old monarch hosts the event each year for her extended family and plans were reportedly fully in place at Windsor.

The Queen generally invites her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to join her at Buckingham Palace before she departs for her annual Christmas stay at Sandringham.

The palace is undergoing major renovation works at present.

Last year's gathering was also scrapped because of the COVID-19 crisis.

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2021-12-20 18:26:25Z
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Boris Johnson will not impose more Covid restrictions before Christmas - The Times

Boris Johnson is unlikely to impose further coronavirus restrictions before Christmas after delaying a decision today.

The prime minister called a cabinet meeting this afternoon to discuss the latest data on the spread of the Omicron variant and whether a two-week circuit breaker banning indoor mixing was needed.

The Times has been told that both he and cabinet ministers do not believe the latest information is sufficient to justify a circuit breaker.

Johnson has pledged to recall parliament if he decides to implement further restrictions, a process that takes 48 hours. Given that millions of people are travelling for Christmas in the coming days, a government source said that the logistics meant it was unlikely there would be pre-Christmas restrictions.

A government source said: “The

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Yearly lockdown warning and call to 'treat people like adults' - Devon Live

A leading expert on evidence-based medicine has warned that we could 'talk ourselves' into annual winter lockdowns.

Professor Carl Heneghan, director of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, also suggested it is time to "treat people like adults"

Professor Heneghan told the Today programme “we are in deep, deep trouble of potentially talking ourselves into annual lockdowns”.

He said: “This time last year, there were over 2,000 people being admitted. So we’re in a very different place with the presence of vaccines, the presence of the boosters, antivirals on board, and you have to reflect on that information.

“We’re in deep, deep trouble here of potentially talking ourselves into annual winter lockdown. Because what happens is this is as good as it gets.”

The Professor said the question is “When are we going to treat people like adults?”

He told the Today programme the behaviour of people in England has “already changed” and added: “It’s already changed in response to the messages.

“If you’re in Greater London now, (population in) the workplace is down by 40%, public transport down by 40%.

“In the city of London, it’s up to 60%. So people are able to respond to information or adapt their behaviour accordingly. The question here is when are we going to treat people like adults?

“People will moderate their behaviour accordingly. That’s what we need to trust people to do going forward because that’s the only sustainable policy.”

However, Patricia Marquis, England director at the Royal College of Nursing, said it is looking like a “very bleak picture” for nursing staff over the next few weeks.

She told BBC Breakfast: “Across the system, the pressures have been there now for a long time. Before the pandemic, there weren’t enough staff to deliver what was needed.

“As the pandemic has gone on, people have become more and more physically exhausted, but also mentally exhausted by what’s happened over the last 18 months, two years. So, staff are looking forward now thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, what is coming?’

“In many places they’re already under immense stress and pressure, and so they are starting to go off sick themselves with Covid, but also mental and physical exhaustion.

“It is looking like a very bleak picture for them over the next few weeks.”

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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2021-12-20 08:34:51Z
1223622503

Minggu, 19 Desember 2021

UK health minister doesn't rule out new COVID curbs before Christmas - Reuters UK

People walk through the Piazza in Covent Garden amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in London, Britain, December 18, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

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LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain's health minister on Sunday declined to rule out the chance of further COVID-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast moving situation.

Britain has reported a surge in Omicron cases, which government advisers said could be just the tip of the iceberg. On Saturday, London's mayor declared a "major incident" to help the city's hospitals cope. read more

Asked whether he could rule out new restrictions before Christmas, health minister Sajid Javid told BBC Television: "We are assessing the situation, it is very fast moving."

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"There are no guarantees in this pandemic I don't think. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review."

Javid said the government was watching the data on an "almost hourly basis" and listening to its scientific advisers and would balance that against the broader impact of restrictions on things such as businesses and education.

He said there was a still a lot that is not known about Omicron but waiting until data is clearer may leave it too late to react to it.

Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay held a meeting of the government's emergency committee on Sunday to discuss the situation with the UK's devolved administrations and agreed to increase their funding to tackle the spread of Omicron.

"They agreed to continue to monitor the emerging data over the coming days, working closely with businesses and public agencies across the UK to understand the impact on industry and services," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said.

More than 100 of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own Conservative lawmakers voted against the government's latest measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 earlier this week and Johnson is facing the biggest crisis of his premiership after a litany of scandals and missteps.

Asked if Johnson was too weak to bring in further curbs, Javid said: "No ... if the government felt that further action had to be taken of course we would present that to parliament and it would be for parliament to decide."

The number of confirmed Omicron cases recorded across the country was 37,101 as of 1800 GMT on Dec. 18, the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday, up by more than 12,000 cases from 24 hours earlier. Twelve people believed to have had the Omicron variant had died as of Friday.

Javid said the actual number of Omicron infections was likely to be a lot higher.

The number of all new COVID-19 cases reported in official data on Sunday was 82,886, up 51.9% over the seven days to Dec. 19 compared with the previous week.

Javid said the government believed about 60% of new COVID-19 cases in England were now Omicron.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he thought new restrictions were inevitable otherwise the health service would be on the verge of collapse under the joint pressures of staff shortages and increased hospitalisations.

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Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Susan Fenton, William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2021-12-19 20:15:00Z
1192911586

COVID-19: Record day for booster jabs with more than 900,000 - as 82,886 new cases reported - Sky News

More than 900,000 COVID booster jabs were given out across the UK on Saturday - a daily record.

In addition to the 904,598 people who received a third dose yesterday, 44,599 had their second and 37,492 came forward for their first one.

Another 82,886 coronavirus cases have also been reported in the latest data - down on recent days but much higher than last Sunday's total of 48,854.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

There have been 45 more deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, which is down on yesterday's 125, and also on the 52 reported this time last week.

The average number of deaths over the past seven days is down 6.5% on the previous week, but infections are up by more than 51% and hospital admissions are up by 8.1%.

Latest data says there are 7,611 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 875 on ventilators.

'Actual number of infections will be significantly higher'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News the "actual number of infections will be significantly higher than case numbers suggest" because not everyone will be taking a test and there is a lag for people to get their results.

Appearing on Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Javid did not rule out plans for a two-week circuit breaker after Christmas, saying the government will "do what is necessary".

He added that ministers are discussing the latest data "almost on an hourly basis" with scientific advisers.

Daily Omicron cases

Another 12,133 Omicron cases were reported by the UK Health Security Agency.

This brings the total confirmed cases of the variant in the UK to 37,101.

The health secretary said the new variant is spreading "very, very quickly" - but added that not enough is known about it at the moment.

Warnings issued by medical experts

Professor Sir Mark Walport, who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), warned infections are "rising fast" and more time is needed for recently administered vaccines and boosters to take effect.

He said: "We need to act to hold down the rate of hospital admissions, reduce the pressure on the workforce - and of course a lot of people are off sick at the moment.

"And most importantly of all, give people the chance to get vaccinated, to get boosted, and allow time for those vaccinations to have effect."

Projections considered by the SAGE advisory committee on Thursday show that hospitalisations are expected to increase from their current level of 900 a day to between 1,000 and 2,000 a day by the end of the year.

They are likely to peak in January at well over 3,000 every day, even with the current Plan B restrictions.

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2021-12-19 17:37:30Z
1214065659

Sajid Javid does not rule out circuit breaker Covid restrictions before Christmas - The Times

Sajid Javid has refused to rule out imposing a circuit breaker banning household mixing before Christmas and said that there can be “no guarantees” given the spread of the Omicron variant.

The health secretary suggested that the government may need to act even if the data on Omicron is still not clear. “If we wait until the data is perfect, it may be too late,” he said.

Pushed on whether the circuit breaking could be imposed before Christmas, Javid told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic, I don’t think. At this point we just have to keep everything under review.”

He added: “We are assessing the situation, it’s very fast-moving. We’ve seen with Omicron there’s a lot

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2021-12-19 18:00:00Z
1192911586

Senin, 20 Desember 2021

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Minggu, 19 Desember 2021

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More on Covid-19

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