COVID-19: England reports 162,572 new cases and 154 further coronavirus-related deaths, daily figures show - Sky News

England has reported a record high of 162,572 new COVID cases along with a further 154 coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to official data.

The latest figures compare with 160,276 cases and 178 fatalities recorded in England yesterday.

The government usually releases daily figures for the whole of the UK, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not released their data today.

The government figures also show there were 12,395 people in hospital with COVID in England on New Year's Eve - the highest number since 25 February last year, when there were 12,449 hospitalisations.

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Data last month showed 71% of COVID patients were primarily being treated for the virus, while 29% were there "with COVID", suggesting they tested positive on arrival for another ailment or tested positive during their stay. Some medics call the latter group incidental COVID patients.

The UK reported 189,846 cases on New Year's Eve - a record total for all four nations in the pandemic.

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A further 203 people died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.

The latest figures for England come as the health secretary said further COVID restrictions are an "absolute last resort" and the UK will have to "live alongside" the virus in 2022.

Image: The UK is experiencing a shortage of COVID tests

Sajid Javid said the wave of Omicron infections will "test the limit of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter", with reports suggesting a return to the work from home order in England could be installed in January to halt the spread of the variant.

The record number of cases in recent days is in spite of difficulties accessing lateral flow and PCR tests.

PCR tests have now completely run out across the UK, according to the government website.

People must have COVID symptoms to be eligible for such a test.

Leading scientists had warned that shortages of COVID tests across the UK were a "great concern" ahead of New Year's Eve.

Image: A COVID walk-in testing centre in Netham Park in Bristol

Mr Javid said the government will triple the supply of lateral flow tests to 300 million per month by February, but added that as current shortages persist "we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks".

It comes as data showed another 92 people had their first dose of a COVID vaccine on 31 December but this figure was just for Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and Wales have yet to update their figures.

Also in Northern Ireland, 161 more people had their second jab, while 3,037 received their booster or third dose.

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2022-01-01 17:27:55Z
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Croydon stabbing: Boy, 15, killed in London park named - BBC News

Metropolitan Police

A 15-year-old boy stabbed to death in south London has been named by police.

Zaian Aimable-Lina was found fatally injured after police were called to Ashburton Park in Croydon shortly after 19:00 GMT on Thursday over reports of an assault.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday but was bailed until late January, police said.

Zaian's death marked the 29th killing of a teenager in London in 2021.

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A 16-year-old boy stabbed in west London on Friday took the total number of teenage homicides in the capital in 2021 to 30 - the highest number since 2008.

Police said the victim's family had been informed and they were being supported by specialist officers.

Det Ch Insp Richard Leonard said: "My thoughts continue to be with Zaian's family and friends as they cope with this tragic loss. My team are continuing to work around the clock so that we can give Zaian's family the answers they deserve.

"Zaian's death has sent shockwaves through the local community and London as a whole.

"He was just 15 years old and had his whole life ahead of him and we need the community to work with us to bring those responsible to justice. No matter how insignificant you may think it, if you have information that can help, you must do the right thing and contact us immediately."

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2022-01-01 16:10:51Z
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COVID-19: NHS leaders warn of intensifying 'health emergency' as coronavirus hospital admissions rise - Sky News

The NHS faces intensifying strain over coming weeks as a "health emergency" created by pressures such as surging hospital admissions and staff absences build further, it has been warned.

Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations in the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, acknowledged the current Omicron-driven wave of COVID cases looked "less bad" than previous waves, with apparently milder symptoms.

But he suggested that if a doubling in hospital admissions seen over the last two or three weeks continues over coming weeks, the stress on the system would build further.

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4:36

'We are in a health emergency'

"We would then be a situation where it would be just very hard for the health service to do anything else than deal with coronavirus," Mr Taylor told Sky News.

Hospital admissions in England have risen to their highest level since January 2021, while the number of NHS hospital staff absent due to the virus nearly doubled in a month.

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And in Wales, one hospital has told people to stay away from A&E.

Swansea Bay NHS trust tweeted: "A staff shortage worsened by COVID means we can only provide a limited service at Morriston ED over the bank holiday weekend. ED is for life-threatening illness or serious injury ONLY. Please use alternatives whenever possible."

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Government figures show there were 12,395 people in hospital with COVID in England on New Year's Eve - the highest number since 25 February last year, when there were 12,449 hospitalisations.

Another top health official, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson, told Sky News that the NHS was already "beyond full stretch" and warned that the knock-on effects of different generations mixing over Christmas could see it come under "extreme pressure".

Mr Hopson stressed that if hospital admissions reach a point where the NHS "is not going to be able to treat the people who need to be treated then obviously the issue of further restrictions will need to come back on the agenda".

The comments from the NHS leaders came after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a newspaper article that further restrictions triggered by the pandemic must be an "absolute last resort" and that the UK would have to "live alongside" the virus in 2022.

His remarks were published a day after figures showed rising infection numbers across the UK, with the rate of infection at one in 25 in England and one in 15 in London, in the week to 23 December.

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1:12

BMA chair: 'Take early action now' on Omicron variant

Mr Taylor echoed Mr Javid by saying that "in the medium term we should be very hopeful" and that this year should reach a stage where COVID is no longer "something which has to disrupt our day to day lives".

But he added: "That doesn't take away from the really acute challenges facing the health service now, challenges which are absolutely bound to continue for several weeks to come."

Mr Taylor said the NHS was heading for its traditional mid-January peak while facing the added strain of waiting lists that have been building over the last couple of years as well as the latest coronavirus surge - causing higher admissions while also adding to staff absences.

Such pressures have created a situation where some hospital managers have been cancelling visiting, itself a last resort for the health service, he added.

"I don't think anyone is denying that we are in anything other than a health emergency right now," Mr Taylor said.

"We cope in difficult circumstances and we'll carry on doing that.

"But if these numbers continue to rise then every day that becomes more difficult to do."

Mr Hopson said that the NHS was currently "absolutely flat out" with emergency cases, surgery that cannot be delayed any longer, and the vaccine booster programme.

He said that in London, which has borne the brunt of the Omicron wave, growth in COVID-19 hospital admissions had slowed over the last few days.

"But what we are very worried about is that if we see the effect of intergenerational mixing over Christmas you could see those rates go back up again - and if they go back up again the NHS really will come under extreme pressure," Mr Hopson added.

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2022-01-01 17:15:00Z
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UK weather latest: Britain could see warmest New Year's Day ever after record-breaking New Year's Eve - Sky News

A record-breaking New Year's Eve could be followed by the warmest New Year's Day on record as Britain begins 2022 with a bout of "exceptionally mild" weather.

The Met Office is expecting highs of 14C or 15C on Saturday, with the previous record temperature on New Year's Day standing at 15.6C.

Friday saw temperatures reach 15.8C in Merryfield, Somerset, and Nantwich, Cheshire, which beat the previous New Year's Eve record of 14.8C.

The Met Office later announced that temperatures rose overnight in some parts of the UK, with Bala in Wales reaching 16.5C to make New Year's Eve provisionally the warmest on record.

Although the higher temperature was reached overnight, the Met Office uses the 9am-9am time period for historical records.

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Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the prospect of records also being broken on New Year's Day were "not out of the realms of possibility".

"It is the first time since December 2016 that we have had three consecutive days reach 15C," he said.

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"It has been a prolonged mild spell.

"It may break records (on New Year's Day), but I was much more confident we would see record-breaking temperatures on New Year's Eve because the record for New Year's Day is a bit higher.

"It will still be an exceptionally mild start to 2022."

Image: The UK is enjoying a mild start to 2022

Mr Snell added that the average temperature in December and the beginning of January is usually around 7C or 8C, and this year's warmer temperatures have been due to a south-westerly wind making its way across the country.

He added that the higher temperatures are usually localised, but "plenty of places" have seen highs of 15C over December.

However, he said January could see a drop in temperatures.

Skate Update: Due to the effect of the on-going warm temperatures on the quality of the ice, we have had to make the difficult decision to also close our ice rink on 1 January. All customers are being contacted directly and given a full refund. 1/2

— Somerset House (@SomersetHouse) December 31, 2021

One victim of the warm weather has been the ice rink at Somerset House in London, which will now be closed on New Year's Day.

A Twitter account for Somerset House said the "difficult decision" was taken "due to the effect of the ongoing warm temperatures on the quality of the ice".

Customers will be given a full refund.

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2022-01-01 11:12:20Z
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New Year Honours 2022: Wales' Covid heroes recognised - BBC News

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Doctors, campaigners and a supermarket worker have been recognised in the New Year Honours for their roles supporting Wales through the pandemic.

Wales' Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Frank Atherton said he was "thrilled" to be knighted.

Dr Bnar Talabani from Cardiff has been appointed MBE after combatting vaccine myths on TikTok.

Supermarket worker Joan Scott from Gwynedd said she was "so emotional" to be honoured for supporting customers.

The 55-year-old from Morfa Nefyn is a community champion at Asda in Pwllheli and has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community.

• Tokyo winners recognised in honours list
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• Q&A: Who decides honours?

Known locally as Jo Asda, through the pandemic she has worked as a safety marshal for the supermarket where she greets customers, hands out personal protective equipment (PPE) and made sure everyone had access to what they needed.

Joan Scott

Over the past 17 months she has also awarded more than £8,600 in Asda Foundation grants to groups and handed out more than £4,500 worth of donations of essential products to 145 groups.

She said after wrestling the letter from her dog, she spotted it was marked "On Her Majesty's Service" and thought it was a speeding ticket or jury summons.

"I opened it and it was it was an honours and I was over the moon, I burst into tears, it's just the most bizarre experience I've had, such lovely news," she said.

Joan Scott

She said she could not wait to tell her grandchildren and wished her parents were alive to share the experience.

"It's so emotional, it's just overwhelming - the joy that I feel from this because somebody has taken the time to nominate me," she said.

"I'm so proud of my colleagues because we've all been through so, so much together so this honour is for them as well."

Dr Bnar Talabani

'Incredibly grateful'

Dr Talabani is a kidney and transplant medical specialist at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales.

She has become a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the NHS and the accessibility of the Covid vaccination to ethnic minority communities in Wales.

The 32-year-old is an Iraqi-born Kurdish refugee who moved to the UK in 1998.

Family photo

As well as her work with Team Halo to dispel the misinformation surrounding the vaccine, she has worked to help Public Health Wales understand the ethnic breakdown of vaccine uptake by conducting multiple surveys to generate good quality data from ethic communities.

She also helped support the vaccine programme in mosque vaccination pop up centres across south Wales.

"It was and it still is a complete shock. I'm so grateful for the recognition but I also know there's so many others that I've worked with who also deserve that recognition," she said.

"It is difficult to put into words because my family has sacrificed so much to be able to bring us to safety and we've been so incredibly fortunate, not just to be given a home in the UK but to be given opportunities through education.

She said there was a "lot of anti refugee and anti asylum seeker sentiment" spreading on social media, adding: "That's a real shame because when you give someone who has lost everything a home and opportunity they will spend the rest of their life repaying that kindness back.

"I'm also incredibly grateful that I've had the opportunity to do that."

Welsh Government

'Really delighted'

Dr Atherton will become a Sir after being knighted for services to public health after he "significantly shaped the distinctive approaches taken in Wales to protect the Welsh population".

"He has, by necessity and with credibility, stepped well beyond the normal boundaries of the Chief Medical Officer role in responding to this global event," the honours committee said.

The former GP, who took up the role of CMO of Wales in 2016 following an extensive career in public health, said he was "absolutely thrilled and really delighted".

"I'm so proud of all my colleagues across Wales and the wider UK... we feel we're in the right place at the right time to try and make a difference."

He said his increased profile following his regular televised briefings during the pandemic had sometimes felt odd but it was "quite nice when people sometimes come up to you in the street to say thank you".

Two others being honoured for their work during the pandemic are campaigner Joshua Reeves and fundraiser Gerald Stanley Beaumont - both are being awarded BEMs for services to people with disabilities.

Mr Reeves, 24, from Cardiff, received the award after highlighting the impact of the pandemic on disabled people by sharing his daily video diaries on social media.

Mr Beaumont, 62, from Usk, Monmouthshire, is a prolific fundraiser and at the start of the pandemic transported PPE supplies, at times through the night, between residential homes across Wales and lifted the spirits of residents and care staff by baking cookies.

Who else is being honoured?

Damehoods are being handed to chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency Jenny Harries, from Monmouthshire, the UK ambassador to France Menna Rawlings and Julie Lydon, the former vice-chancellor of the University of South Wales.

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In the world of sport, sailor Hannah Mills, athlete Aled Sion Davies and boccia player David Smith have been appointed OBEs.

Boxer Lauren Price and fellow Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Matthew Richards, Calum Jarvis, Laura Sugar and Jim Roberts have all become MBEs.

Timothy Walkden-Williams

Timothy Walkden-Williams has been appointed MBE for services to business and his community in Prestatyn, Denbighshire.

He opened his first shop, selling designer menswear, on Prestatyn High Street in 1973 then, 20 years ago, created the Prestatyn Classic Car Show, which attracts thousands of people every year.

"I can't believe it to be honest with you, it was quite a surprise when I opened the envelope, I had to read it a couple of times to believe what had happened," he said.

Desmond Lally

Mortgage broker Des Lally from Brecon, Powys, said he was "extremely humbled" to be appointed BEM after single-handedly raising £85,000 for cancer and armed forces charities.

He said: "Mum and dad have both had three different types of cancer between them and dad spent 26 years the armed forces, so I just wanted to give a bit back to those two organisations and ensure they can continue to help people."

Family photo

Head teacher at Craigfelen Primary School in Swansea, Alison Williams, has been appointed MBE for her services to education and the community.

In 2018, the school received an excellent Estyn inspection report and she was asked to write two best practice guides.

She was also praised for helping to fund a community park, allotment, garden, skate ramp and holiday clubs and setting up a community cafe.

"My passion is to be inclusive, to make sure every child has a chance," she said.

"It's unbelievable really... it is quite humbling because I honestly do just feel I've been doing my job."

Alison Williams

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2022-01-01 07:03:22Z
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Warmest New Year's Eve recorded in Somerset ushers in 2022 - BBC News

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Britain has seen its hottest New Year's Eve ever with temperatures reaching 15.8C (60.4F) in the west of England, the Met Office has said.

The previous record of 14.8C (58.6F) in Colwyn Bay, Wales, in 2011 was toppled this afternoon in Somerset.

Temperatures will continue to rise across England before dropping at night as the UK rings in 2022.

Areas of southern and eastern England including the West Country and London will see the mildest weather.

The Met Office said the extremely mild spell was driven by a flow of warm, moist air from the Canary Islands.

Temperatures have continued to climb this #NewYearsEve afternoon with Merryfield in Somerset recording 15.8 °C so far pic.twitter.com/q2LehhF5me

— Met Office (@metoffice) December 31, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon said the first reading taken at Ryehill in East Yorkshire at 11:00 GMT had "provisionally broken the New Year's Eve record".

"Our station at Ryehill, a small village in East Yorkshire has recorded 14.9C (58.8F) today, which tops the previous record of 14.8C (58.6F)."

That figure has since risen to 15.8C (60.4F) and was last recorded at the Met Office's station in Merryfield in southwest Somerset.

The Met Office said the weather was forecast to get cooler from Tuesday, potentially bringing wintry showers and frosts.

Forget your fleece and coat - it's liberating to take a pleasant New Year's Eve stroll in just your T-shirt.

But it doesn't bode well for the future.

The Met Office say the UK's record temperatures have all been elevated by manmade climate change which has raised temperatures globally by 1.1C.

Cold records are still being broken, as in the Beast from the East storm in 2018.

But the Met Office say warm weather records are being broken nine times more frequently - a clear sign of an over-heating planet.

The winter wildfires in Colorado are even arguably more alarming than unseasonal warmth in the UK.

It's too soon to say what role human-driven climate change may have played in the disaster - but it's the latest episode of regular weather patterns being disrupted.

Meanwhile, different regions of Alaska are experiencing record high and low temperatures at the same time.

Climate scientists warn that we can expect many more extremes as the planet continues to heat. And attempts to reduce emissions have been undermined by several factors, including President Biden's struggle with climate policies in the USA.

The highest UK daytime temperature recorded on New Year's Day is 15.6C (60F) in Bude, Cornwall, in 1916.

Met Office chief forecaster Steve Ramsdale said: "The current weather pattern is bringing extremely mild conditions to the UK - perhaps reaching around 16.0C (60.8F) in some parts.

"We also expect some very mild overnight temperatures as well with minimum temperature records being broken in places."

The Met Office added the warm spell has the potential to challenge records for New Year's Day, creating the unusual situation of one weather system perhaps breaking weather records for two days in separate calendar years.

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2021-12-31 16:16:37Z
1230866435

Cross-border Covid restrictions 'killing pub profits' - BBC News

A pub landlady says strict coronavirus restrictions in Wales had "killed" profits, as customers are expected to head across the border to England to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Restrictions are in place in Welsh pubs and restaurants, while clubs are shut.

Chelly Jones, of the Stanton House Inn in Chirk, Wrexham, said the pub was struggling because of the different restrictions.

People wanting to party only have to walk a mile into Shropshire, she said.

Groups of no more than six people can meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants in Wales and the two metre social distancing rule has returned to public places.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has asked those planning a trip to England to "think consciously and carefully," before travelling.

The Bridge Inn, a short distance from Chirk but over the border in Shropshire, England, where there are no restrictions, said it was hoping to prevent a rush of customers from Wales by selling tickets to its New Year's Eve celebrations.

Pub worker Sian Roberts said locals had told her they were "worried" about the expected influx of customers from Wales.

Back in Chirk, just half a mile from the border, Mrs Jones, who runs the pub with husband Mark, said business over Christmas had been a "disaster".

"It's most definitely because of the different restrictions in England than in Wales," she said.

"There's a pub just across from us who are able to do whatever they want on New Year's Eve.

"We're in the middle of where they can party and we can't."

• Q&A: Can I have a New Year's Eve party in Wales?
• 'It should be the same rules in every country'
• Welsh hospitality hit 'far worse' than in England

Zoe Ellis, co-owner of Palm Cocktail Bar, in Chester, also close to the Welsh border, said she had seen a surge in bookings for New Year's Eve.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, she said: "I think it's to be expected; of course people from Wales, Wrexham way are going to come over to Chester, they would do on a normal New Year's Eve, let alone how it is at the moment.

"I don't really think anyone's seeing it as a major issue. Everyone's still sticking to the guidelines where we are, so I think everyone's happy for people to come over - just try to be as sensible as possible, but really enjoy the new year."

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2021-12-31 11:44:26Z
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