Plans to allow families to reunite over Christmas will be thrashed out by leaders of all four UK nations today.
The government hopes to come to an agreement on loosening restrictions over the festive period with the leaders of the devolved administrations.
It comes after the prime minister set out a 'tougher' tier system for England, which will come into force when the national lockdown lifts on December 2.
According to the latest official statistics, the number of weekly deaths in England and Wales has exceeded 2,000 for the first time since May.
In Greater Manchester, schools have been forced to u-turn on plans to close early for Christmas, while mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of wanting to 'punish' him over his stance on Tier 3 restrictions.
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Four nations meet to discuss Christmas restrictions
The government is meeting with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss plans to allow families to reunite over Christmas.
A Cobra meeting bringing together the UK government and the devolved administrations will be held this afternoon to agree on a four-nation approach to relaxing coronavirus restrictions over the festive period.
Boris Johnson has acknowledged the risks involved in a Christmas relaxation, saying it is the “season to be jolly careful”, but is determined to give families the chance to meet up at the end of a grim year.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there could be a “slight and careful” easing of the rules for a few days while Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has suggested tough measures to control the virus before Christmas could allow “more headroom for the festive season”.
In England, the government has already announced new tiered restrictions which will come into effect on December 2 and could last until the end of March – apart from any Christmas relaxation.
More regions than before the lockdown are expected to face Tier 2 or Tier 3 restrictions, banning simple acts such as popping to the pub for a pint of beer or a glass of wine.
In Tier 2, alcohol can only be consumed with a “substantial meal” while in Tier 3 pubs and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway or delivery services.
People in England will find out which tier they are being placed in later this week.
Weekly deaths pass 2,000 for first time since May
The number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus has exceeded 2,000 in England and Wales for the first time since May, official figures show.
There were 2,466 deaths involving Covid-19 registered in the week ending November 13 in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This is the highest number since the week ending May 22, when 2,589 deaths were registered, and a rise of 529 deaths (27 per cent) from the previous week (ending November 6).
The Covid-19 deaths, which rose for the tenth consecutive week, made up a fifth of the overall deaths in England and Wales in the week ending November 13.
Nuffield Trust deputy director of research Sarah Scobie said the figures are a “sobering reminder of the dreadful impact of this virus”.
She said: “This growing number will be piling on the pressure for NHS staff. For some hospitals, particularly in Covid hotspot areas, it will feel as if they are in the depths of winter already.
“This pressure on services has implications both on the wellbeing of exhausted staff and the ability to work through the growing waiting list of patients for routine operations and care.”
Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at the Open University, said a positive is that the week-on-week rise in deaths involving Covid-19 is becoming smaller.
He said: “Deaths are still rising, but a bit more slowly than they were. I’d be happier if the rise had been even smaller, and delighted if the numbers of deaths had started to go down, and they haven’t – but death registrations lag well behind numbers of new infections, so I wouldn’t really have expected a fall yet.”
Greater Manchester schools forced to U-turn on plan to close early for Christmas
Schools have been forced to U-turn on plans to close early for the Christmas holidays.
The MEN reported yesterday how leaders of Focus Trust were under pressure from the government to reverse their plan to shut a week earlier than planned.
They had announced last week that all 15 of their schools - seven of which are in Greater Manchester - would close on December 11, instead of the original planned date of December 18.
The decision came amid growing concerns over the number of families that could be forced to isolate over the festive period because of positive cases in the run-up to the holidays.
Stockport Council has taken a similar stance and given schools permission to close two days earlier than planned.
Families with children at Focus Trust schools were initially told that during the week, pupils would be be expected to work from home, but it was then decided to class it as a normal holiday.
Unhappy with the plan to shut early, the Department for Education asked the Trust to review its decision, stressing that it 'remains a national priority' to keep schools open full-time and 'avoid further disruption to education'.
The Trust has now written to parents, telling them the original closure date now stands.
It said that 'while the plan to commence the holiday early had been made in the best interest of families and staff', the Trust 'received a formal letter directing them to overturn the decision by the DfE'.
The Trust was also informed by the Regional Schools Commissioner that under the Coronavirus Act 2020, it was not permitted to change the term dates for Covid related reasons. And a further request for two inset days at the end of term - instead of the five days' holiday - was also rejected.
Andy Burnham says government 'wants to punish and blame' him amid Tier 3 row
Andy Burnham has accused the government of wanting to 'punish me and blame me for everything' as the row over Tier 3 lockdown negotiations rumbled on.
The Mayor hit out after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had appeared to blame him for the row for Greater Manchester's high coronavirus infection rates.
Speaking earlier today, Mr Shapps said 'individual negotiations' last time led to rates not being 'gotten on top of as quickly as possible'.
He said that Liverpool, which agreed to Tier 3 'quite quickly' had seen cases come down quickly and called the city 'a success story'.
Asked by Sky News host Kay Burley for his response to what she described as Mr Shapps' 'thinly veiled attack on you personally', Mr Burnham said he took a stand based on a 'matter of principle' and would 'do it again'.
He added: "It just seems to me that they can't leave it alone now and they want to come back and they want to punish me and blame me for everything.
"Can't we just agree there was a difference of opinion, it was resolved and now we all must look forward to getting things right going forward.
"That's the right way for everyone to go about things."
Travellers returning to UK will be able to end quarantine with negative test
Travellers arriving in England will be able to end their quarantine period with a negative coronavirus test after five days from December 15, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
The travel industry welcomed the policy but described it as “long overdue”.
Under the new rules, passengers who arrive from a destination not on the Government’s travel corridors list will still need to enter self-isolation.
But they can reduce the 14-day period by paying for a test from a private firm on or after day five at a cost of £65-£120.
Results will normally be issued in 24 to 48 hours. This means people could be released from quarantine six days after arrival.
The change does not apply to people arriving in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, who must continue to self-isolate for 14 days.
Russia says its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine is up to 95 per cent effective
A coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia is up to 95 per cent effective at stopping people developing Covid-19 symptoms, according to its developers.
Second interim data from the Sputnik V vaccine appears to provide 91.4 per cent protection 28 days after the first dose and the researchers say the figure is as high as 95 per cent 42 days after the first dose.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund – which is the country’s sovereign wealth fund – said that the vaccine will cost less than 10 US dollars (£7) per dose for international markets, and is expected to become available in February 2021.
Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said: “The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different human adenoviral vectors which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to the vaccines using one and the same vector for two doses.”
He added: “We are ready to start deliveries of the Sputnik V vaccine to foreign markets thanks to partnerships with manufacturers in India, Brazil, South Korea, China and four other countries.”
The two-part Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the state-run N F Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, is based on weakened versions of adenoviruses modified to express the coronavirus spike protein.
The findings, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, are from new clinical trial data based on 39 confirmed cases and 18,794 patients.
