A summary of today's developments
- Half of adults in the UK have now had a Covid-19 booster dose, Boris Johnson has said, after the programme was accelerated this week in the face of Omicron.A total of 26.3 million people aged 18 and over have received a vaccine top-up. The government said the milestone makes the UK’s booster rollout one of the fastest in the world.
- Health experts have advised the Dutch government to adopt a “strict” lockdown to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, RTL Nieuws reported on Friday.
- Germany has designated France and Denmark as high-risk zones for the transmission of coronavirus and will impose quarantine on unvaccinated travellers from the two countries, a public health agency said.The requirement will be imposed from Sunday and will also apply to travellers from Norway, Lebanon and Andorra, with those unvaccinated or who have not recovered from the virus subject to quarantine with the possibility of testing on day five, AFP reports.
- Ireland has announced an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% limit on capacity for events in a bid to slow the spread of Omicron. The new measures will come into force on Sunday (19 December) and remain in place until 30 January.
- England had 65 patients in hospital with Omicron today, the UK Health Security Agency said. The total number of deaths from the new variant in England remains unchanged at one.
- The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there needs to be “swift engagement with the treasury” on Covid-19 support funds during a phone call with Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
- The risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta and shows no sign of being milder than the previous coronavirus variant, according to a study by Imperial College London. The results, based on data from the UK Health Security Agency and Britain’s National Health Service, analysed people who tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test in England between 29 November and 11 December.
- The UK reported 93,045 new Covid cases today, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day. There were also 111 new Covid deaths reported and 7,611 patients in hospital, 875 of whom were on beds with ventilators.
- There were an additional 3,201 confirmed Omicron cases in the UK today, reports the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), nearly twice the number of infections announced yesterday (yesterday it was 1,691).
- Thousands of British tourists rushed to travel to France today in an attempt to beat the country’s ban on UK travellers, due to start at 11pm tonight. There were long queues at the port of Dover, reports PA Media, as people brought their Christmas travel plans forward in a bid to avoid the new restrictions.
- Switzerland has announced plans to tighten Covid measures - including working from home and entry restrictions for venues. From Monday, the government said it will expand proof of vaccination or recovery to many indoor venues, including restaurants, reports Reuters. For venues such as discos and bars, where masks are less likely to be worn, visitors will have to show a negative test result.
- Omicron could account for 80% of all new Covid cases in Portugal by the end of the month, the country’s health minister said today.
- England’s R value has risen to 1.0-1.2, the UK government said. An R value of between 1.0 and 1.2 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 10 and 12 people.
- The Danish prime minister today said her government would introduce new Covid restrictions, including closing theatres and cinemas, to try to control its spread. Mette Frederiksen said Omicron now accounts for a fifth of all coronavirus cases in Denmark.
- Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that Omicron is now the dominant Covid variant in Scotland, making up 51.4% of cases. She said that Omicron has “now replaced Delta” as the dominant Covid strain circulating in Scotland.
Mexico’s health ministry reported 2,650 new cases of coronavirus infection and 211 additional deaths on Friday, Reuters reports.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3,930,015 and the death toll from the pandemic to 297,567.
Officials have said the ministry’s figures likely represent a significant undercount of both Covid-19 cases and deaths.
UK officials are drawing up plans for a two-week circuit breaker lockdown after Christmas, reports have suggested, including a ban on indoor mixing.
The Times reported that draft regulations were being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Boris Johnson was presented with a number of options on Friday under a so-called Plan C, ranging from “mild guidance to nudge people, right through to lockdown”.
Updated
Boeing Co has suspended its coronavirus vaccination requirement for US-based employees, the plane manufacturer said.
In an internal announcement, Boeing said its decision came after a review of a US District Court ruling earlier this month that halted the enforcement of President Joe Biden’s vaccine requirement for federal contractors, Reuters reports.
Some big healthcare chains and companies such as General Electric, Spirit AeroSystems and Amtrak have also suspended vaccine mandates for workers.
Updated
The US administered 491,892,649 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the country as of Friday morning and distributed 606,975,165 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Those figures are up from the 490,030,849 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Thursday out of 602,523,315 doses delivered. The agency said 240,775,382 people had received at least one dose while 203,479,206 people were fully vaccinated as of 6am ET on Friday, Reuters reports.
Updated
People are waiting in long queues at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras in London to beat new French restrictions set to come into force at midnight.
The ban will mean only those with “compelling reasons” will be able to travel between the UK and France after 11pm and tourist or business trips will not be permitted.
Updated
Egypt reported its first three cases of the Omicron variant, the health ministry said.
“Two cases are not showing any symptoms, while the third suffers mild symptoms,” the ministry said.
Updated
France president Emmanuel Macron has cancelled a December 20-21st trip to Mali to visit French troops due to France’s deteriorating health situation over the spread of the Omicron variant, his office said.
“This decision was taken in order for there to be coherence between national measures and the president’s international agenda, and in order not to expose troops,” Macron’s office said.
With France in the grip of its fifth wave, prime minister Jean Castex announced a new push on Friday to get people vaccinated and said people would have to show proof of vaccination to enter some venues, Reuters reports.
Castex also cancelled a trip planned to visit French troops stationed in Jordan from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.
Updated
Half of UK adults receive booster vaccination
Half of adults in the UK have now had a Covid-19 booster dose, Boris Johnson has said, after the programme was accelerated this week in the face of Omicron.
A total of 26.3 million people aged 18 and over have received a vaccine top-up. The government said the milestone makes the UK’s booster rollout one of the fastest in the world.
On Twitter, the prime minister said: “A record day for vaccinations yesterday with an incredible 936,480 people coming forward.
“That means 50% of adults have now received a booster dose.”
Updated
Health experts have advised the Dutch government to adopt a “strict” lockdown to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, RTL Nieuws reported on Friday.
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau said a spike in cases of the Omicron variant was “scary”, while the country’s top medical official made clear the healthcare system could soon be swamped.
Case numbers are rapidly increasing in Canada, with several of the 10 provinces reporting big jumps as Omicron replaces Delta as the dominant variant, Reuters reports.
“I know the record numbers we’re seeing in parts of the country are scary – but I also know we can get through this,” Trudeau tweeted, urging Canadians to get vaccinated and keep their distance from other people.
Health minister Jean-Yves Duclos earlier urged provinces to impose more public health measures, and said Canada would once again require people returning home after foreign trips of less than 72 hours to produce a negative test.
Updated
The UK’s cabinet secretary Simon Case has “recused himself” from leading an investigation into lockdown-breaking parties across Whitehall following allegations of gatherings in his own department.
He had been tasked by the prime minister to investigate parties reported to have been held in Downing Street and the Department for Education in November and December 2020.
And it was confirmed the scope could be widened to other alleged parties if Case thought it necessary.
But following reports there were two parties held in the Cabinet Office in December 2020, a No 10 spokesperson said: “To ensure the ongoing investigation retains public confidence the Cabinet Secretary has recused himself for the remainder of the process.”
“The work will be concluded by Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“She will ascertain the facts and present her findings to the prime minister.”
Updated
Germany has designated France and Denmark as high-risk zones for the transmission of coronavirus and will impose quarantine on unvaccinated travellers from the two countries, a public health agency said.
The requirement will be imposed from Sunday and will also apply to travellers from Norway, Lebanon and Andorra, with those unvaccinated or who have not recovered from the virus subject to quarantine with the possibility of testing on day five, AFP reports.
Updated
France’s prime minister Jean Castex likened the spread of the Omicron variant in Europe to “lightning”, adding that it would be the dominant strain in France from the start of 2022.
Nearly 3,000 people are in intensive care with Covid-19 in France according to the latest figures.
Meanwhile, eligibility for booster jabs will be reduced from five months from the date of the second vaccination to four, Castex added.
He said the government would announce new measures to tackle non-vaccination from next year, AFP reports.
Updated
Spain’s coronavirus infection rate rose above 500 cases per 100,000 people on Friday, crossing the threshold considered “very high risk” by the country’s health ministry.
The rate has more than doubled since the start of December, Reuters reports.
On Friday the infection rate, or incidence, as measured over the preceding 14 days, was 511 cases per 100,000, up 38 points on Thursday’s 473. There were 33,359 new infections and 41 deaths according to Health Ministry data.
Roughly 80% of Spain’s population of 47 million has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and about 10m have received booster shots.
Updated
Omicron is having a significant impact on staff at a large hospital trust in England with hundreds off work due to illness, leading to the cancellation of non-essential services to tackle a surge in admissions driven by the variant.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust (GSTT) in London is preparing to redeploy staff to work in its A&E and intensive care units to cover for the growing number of staff who are off sick.
It has seen the number of hospitalised patients with Covid it is treating jump by a third over the last week and is bracing itself for worse to come in the days ahead.
Updated
Here's a summary of the latest developments...
- Ireland has announced an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% limit on capacity for events in a bid to slow the spread of Omicron. The new measures will come into force on Sunday (19 December) and remain in place until 30 January.
- England had 65 patients in hospital with Omicron today, the UK Health Security Agency said. The total number of deaths from the new variant in England remains unchanged at one.
- The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there needs to be “swift engagement with the treasury” on Covid-19 support funds during a phone call with Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon. A spokesperson for Sturgeon told PA Media the call was constructive “though at this stage inconclusive” and that they “shared respective views on the current Omicron situation and agreed that it represents a significant threat to health and the economy”.
- The risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta and shows no sign of being milder than the previous coronavirus variant, according to a study by Imperial College London. The results, based on data from the UK Health Security Agency and Britain’s National Health Service, analysed people who tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test in England between 29 November and 11 December.
- The UK reported 93,045 new Covid cases today, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day. There were also 111 new Covid deaths reported and 7,611 patients in hospital, 875 of whom were on beds with ventilators.
- There were an additional 3,201 confirmed Omicron cases in the UK today, reports the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), nearly twice the number of infections announced yesterday (yesterday it was 1,691).
- Thousands of British tourists rushed to travel to France today in an attempt to beat the country’s ban on UK travellers, due to start at 11pm tonight. There were long queues at the port of Dover, reports PA Media, as people brought their Christmas travel plans forward in a bid to avoid the new restrictions.
- The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, played down claims of disagreement with England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, over public advice on Covid as he warned of a “big wave of Omicron”. He said that Omicron is “a very serious threat to us now” and urged people to get booster jabs.
- Switzerland has announced plans to tighten Covid measures - including working from home and entry restrictions for venues. From Monday, the government said it will expand proof of vaccination or recovery to many indoor venues, including restaurants, reports Reuters. For venues such as discos and bars, where masks are less likely to be worn, visitors will have to show a negative test result.
- Omicron could account for 80% of all new Covid cases in Portugal by the end of the month, the country’s health minister said today.
- England’s R value has risen to 1.0-1.2, the UK government said. An R value of between 1.0 and 1.2 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 10 and 12 people.
- The Danish prime minister today said her government would introduce new Covid restrictions, including closing theatres and cinemas, to try to control its spread. Mette Frederiksen said Omicron now accounts for a fifth of all coronavirus cases in Denmark.
- The German health minister, Karl Lauterbach, said he expects the Omicron variant to lead to a “massive fifth wave” of the pandemic. Lauterbach, a former epidemiology professor, said during a visit to the Lower Saxony region that Germany must prepare for a challenge “that we have never seen in this form before”, reports Reuters.
- Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that Omicron is now the dominant Covid variant in Scotland, making up 51.4% of cases. She said that Omicron has “now replaced Delta” as the dominant Covid strain circulating in Scotland.
- The German government is looking into whether the UK should be classified as a “virus variant area”, reports Reuters, following the rapid rise of Omicron in the country. Classification as a virus variant area would mean that travellers arriving in Germany from the UK would be required to quarantine for two weeks, even if they are vaccinated.
That’s it from me for today. Handing over now to my colleague Nadeem Badshah. Thanks for reading.
The UK chancellor has met with business groups to talk about possible support amid the rising threat posed by Omicron.
Rishi Sunak met virtually with the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the British Chambers of Commerce on Friday afternoon, after he returned early from a trip to California, reports PA Media.
A Treasury spokesperson said:
The chancellor spoke to business and industry leaders this afternoon.
We recognise how important the festive period is for so many businesses and the government will continue to engage constructively on how it can best provide ongoing support to the businesses and sectors affected.
The groups raised concerns about the impact of cancellations and the importance of clear messaging from the government.
Updated
Earlier today a spokesperson for the German health ministry said the government was considering classifying the UK as a “virus variant area” following the rapid rise of Omicron in the country (see also 11:19) and said the government was expected to make a decision later today.
No news on that as yet, but the latest update to the designation of international risk areas by the Robert Koch Institut this evening did not feature any new countries in the virus variant areas list. For now, the UK remains on the “high risk areas” list.
Ireland announces 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and 50% capacity limit on events
Ireland has announced an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% limit on capacity for events in a bid to slow the spread of Omicron.
The new measures will come into force on Sunday (19 December) and remain in place until 30 January.
Announcing the measures, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said Covid is “exploding throughout Europe”.
He said they are still “in the early days” but already it is “very clear” that they are dealing with a much more transmissible variant.
“It is here, it is in our country and we’re going to see a massive rise in infections. Already, in just a few days, more than a third of all new cases in the country are as a result of Omicron,” he said.
He added: “It spreads so aggressively throughout all age groups that we are likely to see infections at a rate that is far in excess of anything we have seen to date. It is that serious.”
BREAKING: Ireland is to introduce an 8pm curfew for hospitality venues and a 50% limit on event capacity, from December 19 until January 30, in a new effort to prevent the spread of the Omicron #COVID19 variant.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 17, 2021
Latest: https://t.co/gSGxf9y321 pic.twitter.com/g4s7kEzjvu
Updated
64% of local authority areas in the UK saw an increase in Covid rates last week, with the highest in Lambeth
Across the UK, 64% local authority areas have seen an increase in Covid rates week-on-week, while Lambeth in London has the highest rate.
According to an analysis by PA Media, Lambeth had 4,021 new cases in the seven days to Monday (13 December) - the equivalent of 1,249.5 per 100,000 people. Wandsworth and Southwark had the second and third highest rates, at 1,178.8 and 1,160.3 per 100,000 respectively.
The give UK areas with the biggest rises were all in London: Lambeth, Hackney and City of London, Southwark, Wandsworth and Islington.
Newry, Mourne and Down had the highest rate per 100,000 in Northern Ireland (758.0) and West Lothian had the highest in Scotland at 410.7. Isle of Anglesey had the highest rate in Wales at 665.8 per 100,000 people.
Updated
Pfizer today said that it expects the Covid-19 pandemic to continue until 2024.
The pharmaceutical company also said that it is testing a lower-dose version of its vaccine for two to four-year-olds but that it generated a weaker immune response than it had hoped, potentially delaying its authorisation, reports Reuters.
“The data are illustrating the impact of a booster and that our vaccine works best as a primary regimen of three doses,” the company’s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, said on a conference call.
Pfizer said it expects its vaccine, which it developed with BioNTech, to generate a revenue of $31bn next year.
England reports 65 patients in hospital with Omicron
England had 65 patients in hospital with Omicron today, the UK Health Security Agency said.
The total number of deaths from the new variant in England remains unchanged at one, reports Reuters.
Updated
Care homes in England have been warned not to impose blanket visiting restrictions over Christmas.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care, said it is important for residents to be able to spend time with friends and family during the festive period.
It said it had received reports of some care homes have issued “general policy” on visiting and that it had taken action on 54 concerns about potential blanket bans, reports PA Media.
The Relatives and Residents Association, which supports people in care and their families, said it is “astonishing and simply unacceptable that the regulator has not taken a proactive role”.
Kate Terroni, CQC chief inspector of adult social care, said:
The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on many people and we know it has been particularly difficult for those who are living in care homes and their families and loved ones.
It is important that people are able to spend time with their loved ones over the festive season, including Christmas day and new year.
Recently updated government guidance limits visitor numbers who can visit regularly to three plus one essential caregiver. It said it expects and encourages providers to “facilitate visits wherever possible, and to do so in a risk-managed way”.
UK PM tells Scotland's first minister there needs to be 'swift engagement with the treasury' on Covid support funds
The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there needs to be “swift engagement with the treasury” on Covid-19 support funds during a phone call with Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
A spokesperson for Sturgeon told PA Media the call was constructive “though at this stage inconclusive” and that they “shared respective views on the current Omicron situation and agreed that it represents a significant threat to health and the economy”.
The spokesperson added:
The first minister emphasised the extreme urgency of the crisis for businesses in the hospitality, events, culture and related sectors which are already suffering a severe financial impact, and stressed that they needed immediate assurances of support from the treasury.
The prime minister agreed that there needed to be swift engagement with the treasury on the immediate action needed, and committed to further talks over the weekend.
The first minister also made clear that the devolved administrations require clarity that additional funding support would be available, and also on how it can be triggered by any or all of the UK administrations, in the event of further protective measures being necessary to tackle the virus in the period ahead.
Peter Beaumont reports on the latest from South Africa:
Vaccines and high levels of prior exposure to coronavirus in South Africa appear to be protecting against the more severe symptoms seen in the previous three waves of the pandemic, according to the country’s health minister.
The suggestion that previous exposure to another variant of coronavirus – or vaccination – might provide protection from the Omicron variant echoes analysis by South African experts earlier this week that suggested prior exposure or vaccination gave a degree of protection from serious disease.
That has been backed by several reports, including by public and private health providers, that suggest a lower level of hospital admissions during the current wave.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has given emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine made by US-based Novavax and the Serum Institute of India.
It is hoped that the approval of the new vaccine, CovavaxTM, could pave the way for its inclusion in the UN-backed Covax programme to enable access to vaccines to poorer countries, reports Reuters.
Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant-director general for access to medicines and health products, said:
This listing aims to increase access particularly in lower-income countries, 41 of which have still not been able to vaccinate 10% of their populations, while 98 countries have not reached 40%.
Updated
Pubs and restaurants in Ireland reportedly set to get 8pm curfew under new proposals
Pubs and restaurants in Ireland are set to close at 8pm under new proposals (see also 16:02) going to cabinet this evening in response to Omicron, reports the Irish Independent.
The newspaper reports that the cabinet sub-committee has rejected a recommendation by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) to close hospitality venues at 5pm, instead opting for 8pm.
It also reports that the curfew would also apply to hotel bars and restaurants as well as other indoor events.
Swiss ski resorts are open for foreign visitors as long as they respect the rules that the government has introduced to try and break the momentum of the coronavirus pandemic, said health minister Alain Berset.
Reuters reported Berset’s comments:
“The government’s goal is to keep as much as possible functioning, of course under different conditions as if there were no pandemic.”
Canada will lift the travel ban on people who have visited 10 African countries from 19 December while all passengers returning from short foreign trips will be required to submit negative pre-arrival Covid-19 tests from 21 December, Reuters reports.
Tour operators say the testing measure is onerous and deters travel, but Covid-19 case numbers are rapidly increasing in Canada and the federal government has implored residents to avoid international trips.
Updated
Unvaccinated children in the US will be allowed to stay in school even if they have been exposed to Covid-19 provided they test negative daily, according to a new strategy published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Reuters reported that the institute’s director Rochelle Walensky said:
“If exposed children meet a certain criteria and continue to test negative , they can stay at school instead of quarantining at home.”
Ireland has announced that 35% of Covid cases are now of the Omicron variant, up from 27% on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Risk of reinfection from Omicron more than five times higher than Delta, finds study
The risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta and shows no sign of being milder than the previous coronavirus variant, according to a study by Imperial College London.
The results, based on data from the UK Health Security Agency and Britain’s National Health Service, analysed people who tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test in England between 29 November and 11 December, reports Reuters.
“We find no evidence (for both risk of hospitalisation attendance and symptom status) of Omicron having different severity from Delta,” the study said, although it noted that data on hospitalisations remains very limited.
“Controlling for vaccine status, age, sex, ethnicity, asymptomatic status, region and specimen date, Omicron was associated with a 5.4-fold higher risk of reinfection compared with Delta,” the study, which was dated Dec. 16, added.
Imperial College said in a statement: “This implies that the protection against reinfection by Omicron afforded by past infection may be as low as 19%.” The institution also noted that the study had not yet been peer reviewed.
Following the prime minister’s earlier announcement (see also 13:53) of a partial shutdown, the Danish parliament has approved new Covid restrictions on public spaces, with most coming into force at 8am on Sunday.
The measures, announced by Mette Frederiksen earlier today, include the closure of theatres, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and galleries and limitations on shops and restaurants, reports Reuters.
Shops and restaurants smaller than 2,000 square metres will have to impose limits on customer numbers and restaurants must stop serving food and alcoholic drinks at 10pm and close at 11pm.
The government is also advising people to limit social contacts over Christmas and urged people to work from home where possible.
“We are not talking about shutting down the whole country as we did last year,” Frederiksen said. “Our goal is still to keep as large sections of society open as possible. We need to curb activity. We all need to limit our social contacts.”
The country reported 9,999 new cases on Thursday, and the number was above 11,000 on Friday, the prime minister said.
UK breaks Covid record for third consecutive day with 93,045 new cases
The UK reported 93,045 new Covid cases today, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day.
There were also 111 new Covid deaths reported and 7,611 patients in hospital, 875 of whom were on beds with ventilators.
It comes after yesterday there were 88,376 new cases reported and 78,610 new cases the day before, both breaking all previous pandemic records.
Tensions between the Irish government and its public health advisers are rising after it was suggested that all pubs should close at 5pm to combat the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
Government ministers are meeting members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (PHET) but are facing a backlash from the hospitality sector, which only saw the last of 20 months of restrictions eased in October with some reintroduced this month.
The deputy taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, tweeted “Omicron beginning to show in the figures, unfortunately” with the finance minister Paschal Donohoe saying some further restrictions are likely.
Omicron beginning to show in the figures, unfortunately. Highest daily number of positive laboratory swabs since January if not ever pic.twitter.com/uAGuG9o85K
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) December 17, 2021
Around one in 20 Omicron cases identified in England has been linked with a previous infection of Covid, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
A new analysis found that of 5,153 individuals identified with an Omicron infection between 1 November and 11 December, 305 (5.9%) were connected to a previous confirmed infection and were at least 90 days from previously testing positive, reports PA Media.
The age range of these cases ranged from six to 68 years, while there were four people for whom Omicron was their third coronavirus infection.
Meanwhile, Dr Jenny Harries, the UKHSA’s chief executive, said that lateral flow tests are just as likely to detect Omicron as they are other Covid variants.
She said:
Our data shows that LFD [lateal flow] tests are similarly able to detect Covid-19 in individuals who have been exposed to Omicron as in those exposed to previous variants. This is very encouraging.
As we all work to limit the high levels of transmission of this variant over the Christmas period, we are urging people to test regularly, particularly before attending social gatherings.
As always, the booster vaccine remains the best protection against infection. Please come forward to receive your booster as soon as possible.
Updated
The far right is using Covid misinformation to expand their reach, report David Klepper and Lori Hinnant for the Associated Press after a study found that nine out of 10 of the most viewed posts in a sample contained misleading claims about the safety of vaccines or pharmaceutical companies.
“Covid-19 has served as a catalyst for radicalisation,” said Ciaran O’Connor, the author of a new study and an analyst at the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue. “It allows conspiracy theorists or extremists to create simple narratives, framing it as us versus them, good versus evil.”
Updated
If the spread of Omicron continues at this rate, a small proportion of Covid hospitalisations is a serious matter, reports science correspondent Nicola Davis:
This is not about individuals. This is about the population.
In most regions of the UK, Omicron infections are doubling more quickly than every two days, with Dr Susan Hopkins, thechief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), noting infections could reach 1m a day by the end of the month.
While it is not yet clear what the ratio of hospitalisations to cases will be with Omicron, no vaccine offers 100% protection, meaning a proportion of those infected will still end up in hospital, while many have yet to receive all of their doses of the jabs. And, as many experts have pointed out, even a small proportion of a very large number is still a large number.
Updated
Visitors from the UK will face the same pandemic rules entering Switzerland as any other travellers, the country’s health minister said today.
Speaking at a press conference, Alain Berset made the comments in response to a question about France’s entry restrictions for visitors from Britain, reports Reuters.
It comes as Switzerland today announced plans to tighten Covid restrictions (see also 14:43).
Updated
Pfizer has said that it plans to start a small clinical trial testing its updated vaccine targeting Omicron next month, reports Reuters.
The comments were reportedly made in an investor call.
UK daily Omicron cases almost double to 3,201, bringing total to 14,909
The UK’s latest Omicron figures have been published.
There were an additional 3,201 confirmed cases today, reports the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), nearly twice the number of infections announced yesterday (yesterday it was 1,691).
The latest figures bring the total number of UK confirmed Omicron cases to 14,909.
#OmicronVariant latest information
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 17, 2021
3,201 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across the UK. Confirmed Omicron cases in the UK now total 14,909. pic.twitter.com/SfWundIFVa
Updated
Queues at Dover as thousands of British tourists try to avoid French travel ban
Thousands of British tourists rushed to travel to France today in an attempt to beat the country’s ban on UK travellers, due to start at 11pm tonight.
There were long queues at the port of Dover, reports PA Media, as people brought their Christmas travel plans forward in a bid to avoid the new restrictions.
After the deadline, UK citizens will need a “compelling reason” to enter France, with trips for tourism or business banned.
P&O Ferries warned there were “large queues” at border control in Dover, with an estimated wait time of two-and-a-half hours, and Eurostar told people to avoid London St Pancras station unless they had a pre-booked tickets, as many trains were sold out. Several flights from the UK to France were also fully booked.
The office of French prime minister, Jean Castex, said the decision was made “in the face of the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom”.
British PM warns of "big wave of Omicron" as he downplays claims of disagreement with experts
The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, played down claims of disagreement with England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, over public advice on Covid as he warned of a “big wave of Omicron”.
Asked about conflicting messages from the government and its advisers on socialising over Christmas, he said during a visit to a vaccination centre in Hillingdon, west London:
What both Chris Whitty and I are saying is that there is a big wave of Omicron coming through. People need to be prudent. You need to think about your budget of risk.
He said that Omicron is “a very serious threat to us now” and urged people to get booster jabs.
He said:
We are seeing a considerable wave coming through and people have got to be prepared and they have got to understand what it entails.
It comes after some Conservative MPs claimed that experts are “running the show”.
Fire crews in London are facing “unprecedented” staff shortages due to Omicron, leaving almost a third of fire engines out of action, according to the UK’s Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
The union reports that staff shortages caused by Covid have left many fire engines out of action on several days in the last week.
Citing London fire brigade statistics, the union said that 40 of London’s 142 fire engines were unavailable on both the day and night shift yesterday and that the same situation applied for the 10, 11 and 15 December. Throughout the rest of the week, engine unavailability was generally above 30, the union said.
The union said that Covid has been “skyrocketing” among firefighters, with nearly 10% of operational firefighters having either tested positive or self-isolating. They said that yesterday 141 firefighters had tested positive and 283 were self-isolating.
The FBU fears that staffing levels could worsen amid a potential “mass exodus” of hundreds of staff ahead of pension changes in the new year.
Jon Lambe, the FBU London regional secretary, said:
The new Omicron variant is having a devastating impact on the London fire brigade. But let’s be very clear – this should not be affecting London fire brigade the way it is, with almost a third of our fire engines unavailable. The reason that’s happening is firefighter numbers being too low, due to the devastating cuts imposed on the London fire brigade since 2010. London has lost one in five of its firefighters, 10 fire stations and 27 fire appliances since 2010, and seen huge cuts as a result of austerity such as almost 10% of its budget since 2016.
Lambe added:
Firefighters have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic assisting other agencies. Now, firefighters themselves need assistance and to be given the safety they require – they need to be appropriately resourced and ‘backed up’ at all times.
London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner, Richard Mills, said:
Throughout the pandemic we have consistently met our attendance targets. These are to get the first fire engine to an incident within a London-wide average of six minutes and a second fire engine within a London-wide average of eight minutes.
Like all other emergency services we have faced staffing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We continue to face these challenges as new variants are found and restrictions are updated and changed. We follow the relevant government guidance closely to keep our staff safe.
Our fire cover is planned on a London-wide basis. If staff or fire engines at a particular station are unavailable for any reason, we move them from elsewhere to provide cover. This happens daily as crews deal with emergencies, carry out community safety work or train away from their station.
Updated
Switzerland announces tighter Covid restrictions
Switzerland has announced plans to tighten Covid measures - including working from home and entry restrictions for venues.
From Monday, the government said it will expand proof of vaccination or recovery to many indoor venues, including restaurants, reports Reuters. For venues such as discos and bars, where masks are less likely to be worn, visitors will have to show a negative test result.
The measures, which will be in effect until 24 January, will also require people to work from home and limit private gatherings to 10 people if any adults in attendance have not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid.
The Swiss government also said it is ordering 7m doses each from Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech for the second half of next year to increase its stockpile to 34m doses.
Updated
Andrew Lloyd Webber, the British theatre impresario, has said the theatre industry is being “decimated” by Omicron cancellations and criticised the government for not listening.
He said it was “simply heartbreaking” to see how theatres are being impacted by Covid after he was forced to cancel last night’s performance of Cinderella with three hours notice due to “Covid-related absences”.
Other West End shows impacted include Hamilton and The Lion King.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Lloyd-Webber said:
It has been a terrible few days and it is getting worse. It is simply heartbreaking for me to see our industry decimated by a situation beyond all of our control.
We had to cancel yesterday evening’s performance of Cinderella with three hours’ notice.
Five more members of the company have tested positive, on top of three on Thursday.
We’re a very large production and every cancelled show is devastating, but we simply can’t rehearse around the gaps in the cast and cover the performance.
He added:
I have come to the conclusion that no-one in the Government listens. Certainly not the new Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, who has made it abundantly clear that she doesn’t think commercial theatre needs any support.
It’s a difficult message for all the industries, jobs and people who are now lurching from day to day to hear from someone who is supposed to be a Tory minister representing the arts.
A department for digital, culture, media and sport spokesperson said:
Our unprecedented £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund has given out £1.5 billion in grants and loans, and almost £200 million to the devolved administrations.
The £300 million third round of the Culture Recovery Fund is still open for applications, providing vital ongoing support for the cultural, heritage and creative sectors.
We will keep the delivery of the programme under active review and consider how best to adapt it in line with the needs of the sector.
For more on how the UK’s theatre industry is struggling with Covid, here’s the latest episode of Today in Focus:
The French ban on British tourists, announced yesterday, will bring “economic disaster” to ski resorts, reports Reuters:
In the French ski resort of Val d’Isere, staff had been hired, shelves fully stocked and everyone was looking forward to a good season until, that is, France banned British tourists due to fears over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The ban was announced on Thursday, just two days before the start of the holiday season.
“It’s an economic disaster,” said resort director Christophe Lavaut, pointing out that in Val d’Isere, the bulk of the clients come from Britain. “No business in any sector can make it, losing 42% of its clients in two days.”
While he does not contest the need to take measures to fight the spread of the highly transmissible variant - and infections are soaring in Britain - he said his resort would need help from the government.
The government has so far not announced any specific help.
France’s statistics office forecast this week that the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic had proved stronger than expected this year, with growth on course for a 52-year high as Covid restrictions had been eased and the vaccination campaign gained momentum from mid-year.
But for the ski sector, hoping for better times after the 2020/2021 season was all but wiped out, with ski lifts ordered shut, that is of little comfort.
Jean-Marc Silva, of the France Montagne association, said Britons made up the single biggest foreign group of visitors to French mountain resorts, and accounted for 9% of clients - and an even bigger share of business as they enjoyed the apres-ski hospitality.
“Brits love the mountains and don’t really have that many in their country, so they’ve made the French mountains their own,” Silva said.
“It’s not the same clientele as the French,” Silva said. “The French visitor is here to ski. The British visitor will ski but he will also be the first at the after-ski activities ... They have this pub culture. They spend more than others. They really make the most of being there.”
The White House has no plans for new Covid recommendations as yet, despite rising Omicron cases in the US, press secretary Jen Psaki said today.
But Psaki said that the administration is continuing to assess possible new steps, reports Reuters.
“We are constantly assessing what the impact of Covid is on the economy, whether it’s a new variant or rising cases in different parts of the country,” she said.
It comes after president Joe Biden yesterday warned of a “winter of severe illness and death” for the unvaccinated as Delta and Omicron cases start to surge.
Updated
Omicron could account for 80% of all new Covid cases in Portugal by the end of the month, warns health minister
Omicron could account for 80% of all new Covid cases in Portugal by the end of the month, the country’s health minister said today.
Marta Temido said that at the moment Omicron represented around 20% of cases, but said: “It may be of 50% in the Christmas week and 80% in the last week of the year.”
The country, which has one of the world’s highest Covid vaccination rates, reported 5,800 new infections on Wednesday in the highest daily jump since early February, but deaths and hospitalisations remained considerably lower than then, reports Reuters.
Temido did not announce new Covid restrictions, but said that “more mask-wearing, more testing, more vaccination, more border control” were needed.
Portugal currently requires all new arrivals to present a negative test. Remote working will be compulsory and schools will be closed in the first week of January. Yesterday, the prime minister, Antonio Costa, said those restrictions could be extended.
Updated
Here’s more from the Associated Press on Denmark’s new Covid measures and the latest case numbers, which exceeded 11,000 today:
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday that theatres, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries must shut down to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Frederiksen said stores smaller than 2,000 sq metres (21,528 sq ft) and restaurants in Denmark also must limit their number of customers. The government is advising residents to limit social contacts over the Christmas holidays.
“We are not talking about shutting down the whole country as we did last year,” Frederiksen said.
The shutdown order requires parliamentary approval. Lawmakers on the epidemic committee meet on Friday afternoon.
Like many other European countries, Denmark is seeing an rise in Covid-19 cases, with health authorities saying the number of infections and hospitalisations has risen faster than expected.
The country reported 9,999 new cases on Thursday, and the number was above 11,000 on Friday, the prime minister said.
Last year, Denmark was one of the first European countries to close schools because of the pandemic.
Updated
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said there were about 100 confirmed cases of Omicron in Wales in every health board area.
But he made it clear that the modelling he has seen suggests that half of people in the UK could become infected with the strain. “It is the most serious development in the pandemic to date,” he told his press conference in Cardiff. “We see the storm gathering. The sky has darkened.”
Drakeford said he believed the “epicentre” of the Omicron storm in Wales would be January and hoped the country would be past the peak in February.
He said there were no plans to try to stop people travelling into Wales as Omicron was so fast-moving it would not be an effective measure.
Asked about the disproportionate effect the decision to close nightclubs would have on young people, Drakeford said he wanted to keep them safe.
He said the Welsh Covid pass system had kept clubs open – and could be used to get them re-opened in due course.
England's R value rises to 1.0-1.2
England’s R value has risen to 1.0-1.2, the UK government said.
An R value of between 1.0 and 1.2 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 10 and 12 people.
The latest growth rate range for England is 0% to 2% per day, which means that the number of new infections are growing by up to 2% every day.
The estimates represent the transmission rate of two to three weeks ago. The government warned that “these estimates will not fully reflect the recent rapid growth of Omicron.”
Last Friday, the R range for England was 0.9 to 1.1 and the growth rate range for England was -1% to +2% per day.
According to the latest figures, the R value was highest for London, which was at 1.1 to 1.3 and had a growth rate of 2 to 4% per day.
Updated
Denmark announces additional Covid restrictions, saying Omicron accounts for fifth of cases
The Danish prime minister today said her government would propose new Covid restrictions, including closing theatres and cinemas, to try to control its spread.
Mette Frederiksen said Omicron now accounts for a fifth of all coronavirus cases in Denmark.
Updated
Hundreds of inmates started fires in a prison in southern Thailand in a protest to demand better medical care for those suffering from Covid, reports the Associated Press.
About 400 people at Krabi’s main provincial prison became violent last night when a group demanded that those infected with coronavirus be removed from the facility for treatment, justice minister Somsak Thepsuthin said.
Inmates reportedly started destroying property in a sleeping area and starting fires. Around 300 police and security workers were sent to the prison in response.
After overnight negotiations, 14 inmates with severe Covid symptoms were sent for treatment.
To date, the corrections department has reported a total of 86,432 Covid cases and 185 deaths among Thailand’s prison population.
Updated
Welsh first minister calls for UK treasury to commit to new furlough scheme
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has called for the UK treasury to commit to a new furlough scheme if Wales needs to shut more parts of the economy down.
Drakeford said: “Our ability to provide and sustain longer-term economic support during this new wave of this ongoing public health emergency is severely constrained by the current position of the UK treasury and its refusal to open vital support schemes, such as furlough.
“These schemes should be available for all nations when they are needed and not just at the point at when restrictions are introduced in England.”
Drakeford has ordered that all nightclubs should shut from 27 December and has made £60m from its own funds available to cover the cost of this and other restrictions it is bringing in through January. But Drakeford said it needed the “firepower” of the UK treasury if further restrictions were needed or if they had to last longer. He said it was “unfair” the treasury held the power over the funds.
Nightclubs have threatened legal action against the move but Drakeford said that it was important to close them because of the danger club nights could be “super-spreader” events when one person passed on Omicron to many others.
Updated
German health minister warns of 'massive fifth wave' unlike anything seen before
The German health minister, Karl Lauterbach, said he expects the Omicron variant to lead to a “massive fifth wave” of the pandemic.
Lauterbach, a former epidemiology professor, said during a visit to the Lower Saxony region that Germany must prepare for a challenge “that we have never seen in this form before”, reports Reuters.
Updated
In Scotland, Sturgeon said she has no choice but to act on Covid rise or it would overwhelm the health service and “cripple the economy”.
She said the UK government “has to get its finger out” and provide the support that’s needed. She said people in England are changing their behaviour responsibly, impacting the hospitality industry there too, and that chancellor Rishi Sunak should get together a financial response to support industries that are suffering.
Updated
Omicron has replaced Delta as the dominant Covid strain in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed at a lunchtime briefing. Last Friday, the highly transmissible new variant represented 15.5% of cases, whereas today it was 51.4%.
“The tsunami I warned about last week is starting to hit us”, she said.
Sturgeon underlined that the Omicron surge is not only an issue for the health service, but is putting a significant strain on the economy and other critical services as more and more people become infected and have to self-isolate.
Responding to business leaders, who have pointed out the catastrophic impact of advice to stay at home and limit indoor social interaction over the festive period, she said she appreciated that this advice is a “cruel blow”.
The Scottish government is putting £100m into helping the food and drink supply chain, wholesalers, culture and wedding sectors, but Sturgeon reiterated that the situation “now needs the type and scale of financial support available earlier in the pandemic that can only come from the UK government because it has borrowing powers that the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments simply do not have”.
Sturgeon added that “I think many of us are finding it even harder this Christmas than last year”, and that it was understandable that people were feeling “sad upset , frustrated, even angry” but urged the public to “hold on to hope”.
Updated
One in 50 in London, south-east and south-west of England had Covid last week, says ONS
More on today’s ONS figures (see also 12:16), the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in eastern England and London in the last week is estimated to have increased last week.
In London, south-east England and south-west England, around one in 50 people were likely to have tested positive – the highest proportion for any region.
The lowest proportion was in north-east England and Yorkshire and the Humber at around one in 80.
Updated
Sturgeon said that the financial mechanisms need to be put in place across the UK to properly compensate people for the impact of Covid on businesses.
“Think very carefully about every interaction you’re having,” she said, warning if you get Covid now, you’ll be isolating on Christmas day.
In the immediate term, boosters won’t be fast enough alone to “outrun” Omicron in Scotland, said Sturgeon.
Potentially we have 7 more doubling cycles between now and the end of the year which could “pose the most severe challenges yet” for the NHS and the economy, she said.
Businesses must now implement social distancing, enable home working and people must “reduce as much as possible” social contacts, with no more than three households, and test themselves beforehand.
“In the run up to Christmas stay at home much more than you normally would and stay at home as much as you can,” she said.
“Don’t risk” going out before Christmas and catching Covid, she said, adding that mixing with others comes with a strong risk of catching Covid.
After Christmas if everybody continues limiting contacts, can hopefully minimise cases.
Emergence of Omicron has been “the cruellest of blows,” she said, but urged people to “hold on to hope”.
“We face a really difficult period again, ahead,” she said. But added: “We will get through it.”
“Look out for each other and be kind,” she urges the country, adding that this is a time to pull together and support each other in every possible way.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, also confirmed a £100 million fund to help with the impact of Covid - £66 million of which is for the hospitality industry, £8 million for the food and drink supply chain and £20 million for the culture sector.
Yesterday saw the highest number of vaccines they have ever delivered in a single day, she said.
Majority of Covid cases in Scotland are now Omicron, says Sturgeon
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that Omicron is now the dominant Covid variant in Scotland, making up 51.4% of cases.
She said that Omicron has “now replaced Delta” as the dominant Covid strain circulating in Scotland.
She said: “The tsunami I warned about a week ago is now starting to hit us.” But she warned people should not be “fatalistic” about this and that there are actions that can be taken to slow the spread.
She said there are 522 people in hospital with Covid, 10 fewer than yesterday, and a further 7 deaths were reported in last 24 hours.
As of 5pm yesterday she said there were 696 confirmed Omicron cases in Scotland, however warned that it “very significantly underestimates the true volume of Omicron cases”.
“Omicron cases have been rising exponentially, indeed faster than anything previously experienced in the pandemic,” she said, with cases doubling every 2-3 days.
Omicron cases rising across most of UK, reports ONS, while one in 60 people in England had Covid last week
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that the number of Omicron cases rose last week in England, Scotland and Wales, but that Delta was still the most common variant.
It found that one in 60 people in England had Covid in the week ending 11 December. In Wales the figure was 1 in 55, in Northern Ireland it was 1 in 50 and in Scotland it was 1 in 80.
Latest #COVID19 estimates show uncertain trends in infections across England, Wales and Scotland.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) December 17, 2021
Infection levels have decreased in Northern Ireland https://t.co/nbz1QN9Po3 pic.twitter.com/UNburAhGTw
One in 60 is the equivalent of about 936,000 people, reports PA Media. The proportion of people who were estimated to have coronavirus at the peak of the second wave in early January was one in 50.
President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is effective against the Omicron variant, reports Reuters.
Sputnik V is one of Russia’s four domestically approved Covid vaccines.
German government considering classifying UK 'virus variant area', meaning travellers would be required to quarantine
The German government is looking into whether the UK should be classified as a “virus variant area”, reports Reuters, following the rapid rise of Omicron in the country.
Classification as a virus variant area would mean that travellers arriving in Germany from the UK would be required to quarantine for two weeks, even if they are vaccinated.
A spokesperson for the health ministry said the government is expected to make a decision later today.
It comes after France yesterday announced that it was banning all non-essential travel from the UK, starting from tonight.
Hi, I’m looking after the blog for the next few hours covering UK and global Covid news. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@guardian.co.uk
Updated
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa is making good progress with his recovery from Covid-19 while continuing to receive treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said on Friday.
Ramaphosa, who was given Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in February, tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.
Updated
Wales prioritises Covid vaccinations for pregnant women
The Welsh government has said it is prioritising pregnant women for booster jabs after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised they should be considered an at risk group and given priority for Covid vaccinations.
A statement said:
For any mother-to-be, getting their first, second and booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is one of the most important things they can do to protect themselves and their unborn baby against coronavirus and, particularly against the new Omicron variant.
New advice from Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reinforces this message.
The number of pregnant women coming forward for vaccination has been lower than we would want it to be, and this places mothers and their babies at risk.
Based on the data about safety, together with the increased risk from Covid-19 the JCVI has advised that pregnant women should be considered as a clinical risk group and prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination.
Those who have not yet had their first and second dose of the vaccine are being asked to contact their health boards for an appointment, while those waiting for a booster will be contacted like other priority groups.
Updated
European Union governments have agreed to order over 180m doses of an adapted Covid-19 vaccine version against Omicron developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, the head of the European Commission said.
Pfizer said it was not aware of the order, Reuters reports.
The EU drugs regulator has so far said that there is no evidence that adapted vaccines are needed against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
“The member states have agreed to trigger a first tranche of over 180 million extra doses of adapted vaccines, in our third contract with BioNTech-Pfizer,” Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference last night at the end of a regular summit with EU leaders.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the bloc’s drug regulator, meanwhile will not decide whether to approve Merck & Co’s Covid-19 pill until after Christmas, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
But the EMA will rule before Christmas on whether to give Gilead’s intravenous antiviral drug Remdesivir full marketing approval, the source said.
Updated
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, has said he is thankful for the clarity the government’s announcement (see 08:36) has given families for Christmas but said the closure of venues such as nightclubs proves that the Covid pass scheme has failed.
Davies said:
The first minister’s decision to tighten in some areas after the festive period, and close venues such as nightclubs, is an admission that restrictions such as vaccine passports have failed and were never going to work in Wales.
This is having a wide-ranging impact on Welsh firms in various sectors and the Labour government must now use the hundreds of millions of pounds left over in Covid support funding to help businesses and protect jobs.
The leader of Westminster city council has said people’s decision to cancel plans in the Christmas period is having a “devastating” impact on hospitality and entertainment businesses in London’s West End, PA Media reports.
Rachael Robathan said:
The situation is deteriorating daily for our theatres, restaurants and bars – widespread cancellations are having a devastating effect and I fear for many hospitality and creative jobs.
In Westminster we have 3,700 restaurants, clubs and bars – the largest number of any local authority – and it’s a sector that supports 80,000 jobs.
The curtain is coming down on production after production in the West End, and it is heart-breaking after theatreland had only just got going again.
I have already written to Rishi Sunak asking for help, but we don’t have time to deliberate – the government needs to step in and act now to avoid permanent damage to the economy of central London.
Updated
South Africa’s health minister said on Friday that the government believes that vaccines and high levels of prior Covid-19 infection are helping to keep disease milder in a wave driven by the Omicron variant.
Anecdotal reports suggests that the Omicron variant driving the fourth wave, which saw the country report a record number of daily infections earlier this week, is causing less severe illness than previous variants in South Africa – but scientists say it is too early to draw firm conclusions, Reuters reports.
“We believe that it might not necessarily just be that Omicron is less virulent, but … coverage of vaccination (and) … natural immunity of people who have already had contact with the virus is also adding to the protection,” health minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference. “That’s why we are seeing mild illness.”
South Africa has given 44% of its adult population at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, more than many African countries but well short of the government’s year-end target. But among the over-50s vaccination coverage levels are over 60%.
Addressing the same news conference, Michelle Groome from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said there had been an uptick in Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths.
“Starting to see a slight increase in deaths nationally, but once again this level is very much lower even than the baseline period we were seeing between the second and third waves,” Groome said.
Phaahla said early indications were that infections might have peaked in the most populated Gauteng province, where cases initially surged. He added that in the coming week the health department would report back to the National Coronavirus Command Council on whether Covid-19 restrictions should be adjusted.
Updated
Wales first minister Mark Drakeford hinted at the prospect of further restrictions in hospitality settings after Christmas, such as the return of the “rule of six”.
He told BBC Breakfast:
We’re seeing this week across the United Kingdom, people are voting with their feet because of anxiety about Omicron.
We’ll be talking with the sector about whether we need to reopen with additional protections so that people feel confident that, if they do go out to a pub or restaurant, everything is being done to keep them safe.
We would go back to the repertoire of things we needed to use earlier in the pandemic - some restrictions on the number of people who can meet wearing masks when you’re moving around inside pubs and restaurants, those sort of things that people are used to and have successfully used in the past.
He said he will make an announcement on Monday about whether changes will be needed to allow large sporting events to go ahead.
Thousands of travellers are trying to make it to France before a travel ban on UK tourists comes into effect on Saturday.
PA Media reports:
Cross-Channel rail operator Eurostar is urging people to avoid London St Pancras station unless they have a pre-booked ticket.
Most of the firm’s train services on Friday were sold out as many people brought their Christmas travel plans forward after the new coronavirus restrictions were announced on Thursday.
Ferry operators and airlines have also experienced a surge in demand.
The French prime minister, Jean Castex, said tough restrictions will be enforced from Saturday, including a requirement for “compelling reasons” to travel to or from the UK.
Trips for tourism or business will not be permitted.
Castex’s office said this is “in the face of the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom”.All arrivals in France will need to provide evidence of a negative coronavirus test taken less than 24 hours in advance, and must isolate for at least two days.
Hauliers are exempt from the new rules.Travel firms described the tourism ban as a “hammer blow”.
Updated
Wales to introduce new Covid measures from December 27
Mark Drakeford, first minister of Wales, has announced new measures for businesses to come into effect after Christmas to help curb the spread of infections.
From 27 December, nightclubs will have to close and a 2m rule on social distancing in offices will be introduced, alongside extra measures to protect customers and staff, such as one-way systems and physical barriers.
Drakeford made the announcement late on Thursday evening ahead of the formal lockdown review on Friday.
While no restrictions limiting gatherings over Christmas or travel were announced and Drakeford said the country would remain at Covid alert level zero, he stressed that the spread of Omicron was “a serious concern”.
In a series of tweets, Drakeford urged people in Wales to get their booster jabs, to reduce socialising and to take “extra precautions”. such as taking a lateral flow test before meeting people, and meeting outdoors and working from home where possible.
He said:
Delta will continue to be the main cause of coronavirus infections in Wales up to Christmas. But we are seeing cases of omicron increasing rapidly every day in Wales – and across the UK.
We need a plan to keep us safe this Christmas and we need stronger measures to protect us afterwards, as we prepare for a large wave of Omicron infections.
Omicron poses a new threat to our health and safety. It is the most serious development in the pandemic to date.
It is one we must take seriously. We will continue to put in place proportionate measures to protect people’s lives and livelihoods.
On 27 December, there’ll be some new rules for businesses and services – to keep us all safe.
— Mark Drakeford (@PrifWeinidog) December 16, 2021
When shops and workplaces re-open, new measures including social distancing will be in place to protect customers and staff.
Updated
The French ethics body CCNE has approved vaccination against Covid-19 for all children aged 5-11, BFM television reports on Friday.
The ethics committee said it should be up to parents whether their children should be vaccinated or not, adding that a Covid health pass for children showing a person’a vaccination status should not be imposed.
The government has pledged to follow this advice, Le Figaro reports.
“It is important to vaccinate children and that take up of this vaccination is high”, said obstetrician Alexandra Benachi, a member of CCNE, during a press conference.
Several European nations started vaccinating children aged five to 11 against the virus on 15 December, with Germany, Spain, Greece and Hungary among those opening up their inoculation drives to this age group.
Medics reported strong initial demand from parents amid concerns about the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Updated
The chairman of UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party said on Friday the country had appropriate support in place for those businesses being hit by a wave of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant, and that no new money had been assigned.
Oliver Dowden told Sky News:
If you look at the kind of support that’s available – take the business rate relief, through to spring that will mean that businesses are paying a quarter of the business rates they would normally pay for. That’s why we’ve cut VAT and kept VAT cut at 12.5%.
There’s also over a quarter of a billion pounds still with local authorities that could go to support businesses, and I know that the chancellor is working with them to get that money out.
So we have proven that we’ll put the resources in and we will support those businesses and I know the Chancellor is committed to doing that.
He added:
We have already put support in place, of course we watch this hour by hour, day by day, and I know the chancellor is very closely engaged but at the moment we have appropriate support in place.
Businesses in various sectors, especially hospitality, have been urging the government to provide more financial support after customers cancelled bookings in the crucial Christmas period due to record daily Covid-19 infections.
Updated
New Covid guidance for businesses in Scotland has come into force to help prevent further spread of Covid-19.
As of Friday, the Scottish government said businesses across the country are legally required to take “reasonable measures” to minimise transmission of the virus as Omicron infections continue to rise.
PA Media reports:
Its advice includes a return to one-way systems in premises, app-based ordering and the use of screens at service points.
The hospitality sector has been encouraged to return to table service where practical and to consider measures to reduce crowding.
Businesses have also been asked to consider a ticketing system during peak festive opening hours where appropriate, according to the latest advice.
By law in Scotland, everyone over the age of 12 must wear face coverings indoors, unless exempt, and the new guidance stressed masks should be worn inside all businesses.
Economy secretary Kate Forbes said it is “crucial” that everyone follows the latest advice to support businesses to keep their premises safe and prevent further transmission of Omicron.
“All of these layers of protection will help to limit the spread of Omicron, especially as we approach the festive period,” she said.
“I am also making a plea to be considerate to staff who are doing their best during this challenging period.”
With the new guidance likely to have a financial impact on industry, the Scottish government said a £100m financial package for eligible businesses is being established to support them through this period.
A sum of £100m for self-isolation support grants – grants for low-income workers who are required to self-isolate – is also being made available to those who need it.
Forbes said the Scottish government is calling on the UK treasury to “step up and provide urgent funding” to businesses as the new Covid guidance comes into force.
She added: “We are working to get funding out to businesses as soon as we can but the Treasury must also step up and provide urgent funding beyond what we are able to provide.
“I wrote to the chancellor last night and the first minister has requested talks with the prime minister – this situation is serious and we need the UK government to engage with us on further support.”
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Hello, I’m Jedidajah Otte and I’ll be taking over for the next few hours. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have something to flag you think is relevant for our coverage, I’m on Twitter @JedySays or you can email me.
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Hospitals in England draw up plans for significant Covid staff absences
Hospitals in England are drawing up contingency plans for “significant staff absences” to ensure they can still provide “essential” care for the most seriously ill patients, as health leaders warn the Omicron variant is already triggering staff shortages in the NHS.
Staff absences have tripled at one NHS trust in London in just a week, the Guardian has been told. Doctors say they are concerned about their ability to provide care if a significant proportion of colleagues are off sick.
Amid mounting concern that soaring numbers of infections could take out large parts of the health workforce, the chief executives of all hospitals in England have been urged to review staff numbers for the next three months and draft workforce plans “to ensure essential services can be maintained”.
Hospital bosses have also been told to begin training staff for potential redeployment immediately, according to a memo from Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, and Prof Stephen Powis, its medical director.
Read the full story here.
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Hello and thanks for joining us for today’s live blog.
I’m Samantha Lock and I can certainly say that it feels as though a long week is finally drawing to a close.
And what a week it has been with the Omicron variant continuing to cause chaos and uncertainty across the globe as we all hope to enjoy the holiday season with as much normalcy as possible.
Finally some good news to share from the UK as the NHS reports a record 745,183 booster shots of the Covid-19 delivered on Wednesday. The previous record was 656,711 doses on Tuesday.
Of the total number of boosters recorded yesterday 626,846 were delivered in England – the highest daily number on record.
Bookings for boosters also continued to surge with a record number of appointments for top-ups made, the NHS said.
The news follows data published by the UK Health Security Agency that showed two doses of a vaccine are not enough to stop people becoming unwell from Omicron. A third booster prevents around 75% of people getting any Covid symptoms, the NHS said.
The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has also continued to resist a lockdown. “We’re not saying that we want to cancel stuff, we’re not locking stuff down, and the fastest route back to normality is to get boosted,” he said.
However, the good news does not come without caution after the G7 called the Omicron variant the “biggest current threat to global public health”, warning it is now “more important than ever” for countries to “closely cooperate”.
“Deeply concerned by the rise in cases, ministers agreed that these developments should be seen as the biggest current threat to global public health,” Britain, which is currently chair of the group, said in a statement.
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To lighten an otherwise sombre mood in light of Covid concerns, First Dog on the Moon has published a new cartoon, looking back at the long year we’ve all just had.
As the weekend approaches, some of us could take heed of this advice.
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Summary
If you’ve just joined us here is a quick snapshot of the latest Covid developments over the past few hours:
- The European Union’s drugs regulator has said that member states can use Pfizer’s antiviral Covid pill Paxlovid early after diagnosis of an infection even though its full review for regulatory approval has not been completed yet.
- France’s president Emmanuel Macron has said he will look at hospital capacity to make decisions about any future possible tightenings of restrictions in France and not just case numbers.
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it had received reports of eight cases of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, in children aged 5-11 years who received Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reports.
- A panel of outside advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted to recommend shots by Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna in the US in preference to Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, because of the risk of rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting.
- US president Joe Biden on Thursday warned of “a winter of severe illness and death” for those not vaccinated against Covid-19, amid a wave of Delta infections and as new Omicron cases are beginning to surge in America
- The G7 has called the Omicron variant the “biggest current threat to global public health”, warning it is now “more important than ever” for countries to “closely cooperate”.
The demand for Covid boosters in surging in Australia where the shortening of booster intervals and spread of Omicron has created a huge demand for third jabs.
Covid case numbers have also risen significantly in New South Wales and Victoria, with people across Australia are being urged to get a vaccine booster dose as soon as they are eligible.
Health professionals have warned of problems caused by an increased demand for booster shots, after the emergence of the Omicron variant and a shortening of the interval between vaccine doses.
Both GPs and pharmacist have spoken of issues with the booster rollout, from running out of vaccine to staff shortages.
Read the full story here:
South Korea has also just released its daily Covid numbers.
Another 7,435 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours alongside 73 deaths.
The updates comes as the country is one day away from reinstating social distancing rules and a 9pm curfew for restaurants and cafes to combat spiralling numbers of new infections and hospitalisations.
Curbs will return from 18 December to 2 January, limiting social gatherings to no more than four people - as long as they are vaccinated.
Germany has just released its daily Covid report, confirming a further 50,968 coronavirus cases and 437 deaths in the past 24 hours according to the Robert Koch Institute.
The figures are a slight increase in deaths on yesterday’s numbers as the European nation continues to battle a resurgence of the virus.
On Wednesday, newly appointed health minister, Karl Lauterbach, warned that the country has insufficient vaccine doses to keep the population’s Covid defences up over the winter, especially with the predicted rise of the Omicron variant.
Here is a bizarre story out of the US to add a little light relief to an otherwise sombre news day.
A Florida man wearing a red thong as a face mask was forced off a United Airlines flight after failing to comply with the federal mask mandate.
Adam Jenne, 38, was asked to leave the aircraft before it took off from Fort Lauderdale airport on Wednesday.
He told local news channel NBC2 that he wanted to show the “absurdity” of forcing passengers to wear masks on planes while allowing them to be removed to eat and drink on board.
“It’s all nonsense. Covid doesn’t know that we’re at cruising altitude. It’s stupid. The whole thing is theater,” Jenne told NBC2.
He added he had worn underwear on his face during previous flights, and told the air crew that “it is a mask, doing its job.”
Video of the incident, filmed by another passenger, showed the flight crew informing Jenne that he would not be able to stay on board if he kept the thong on his face. After some discussion, he finally left his seat.
Adam Jenne of Cape Coral, Florida was banned from United Airlines for using a thong as a mask, while wearing a “let’s go brandon” shirt. 😂 12 other passengers got off the plane with him..tired of mask rules. Lots of interviews w him now. 😀 pic.twitter.com/pvnt79HKrW
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) December 17, 2021
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Guardian reporters Nick Evershed, Josh Nicholas and Andy Ball have compiled a fantastic interactive map showing how the Covid vaccine rollout has progressed globally.
The visual tool provides a snapshot revealing which countries rolled out vaccines faster – and why.
There has been a vast and continuing inequality in the global Covid vaccine rollout.
In the case of Covid, inequality has been compounded by wealthy nations buying up doses, and the need to ramp up adult vaccination programs in countries that hadn’t had them before.
The European Union’s drugs regulator has said that member states can use Pfizer’s antiviral Covid pill Paxlovid early after diagnosis of an infection even though its full review for regulatory approval has not been completed yet.
“The Agency’s advice can now be used to support national recommendations on the possible use of the medicine before marketing authorisation,” the European Medicines Agency said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the company said the experimental antiviral pill is highly effective in protecting against severe disease from coronavirus and is also effective against the Omicron variant, citing laboratory testing.
In clinical trials, Paxlovid showed almost 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalisation and death in high-risk patients, Pfizer stated, replicating the results of a smaller-scale trial announced last month.
A curious study just published in the Nature Communications journal has found unique antibody-like proteins found in a shark’s immune system that could possibly prevent the virus that causes Covid-19, its variants, and related coronaviruses from infecting human cells.
The proteins, known as VNARs, are one-tenth the size of human antibodies.
Aaron LeBeau, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of pathology who helped lead the study, said:
These small antibody-like proteins can get into nooks and crannies that human antibodies cannot access.
They can form these very unique geometries. This allows them to recognise structures in proteins that our human antibodies cannot.”
LeBeau and his team identified three candidate VNARs from a pool of billions that effectively stopped the virus from infecting human cells.
The new VNARs will not be immediately available as a treatment in people, but they may help prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks. The shark VNARs were able to neutralise WIV1-CoV, a coronavirus that is capable of infecting human cells but currently circulates only in bats, where SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, likely originated.
LeBeau added:
The big issue is there are a number of coronaviruses that are poised for emergence in humans. What we’re doing is preparing an arsenal of shark VNAR therapeutics that could be used down the road for future SARS outbreaks. It’s a kind of insurance against the future.”
Our data also suggest that the three VNARs we identified would be effective at neutralising the existing Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants as well as variants yet to emerge. Should vaccination fail due to the emergence of a viral variant, alternative therapies like our VNARS, alone or in combination, are essential to maintaining control over the spread of the virus.”
LeBeau and his lab in the School of Medicine and Public Health collaborated with researchers at the University of Minnesota and Elasmogen, a biomedical company in Scotland that is developing therapeutic VNARs.
A quick snap from Reuters here that France’s president Emmanuel Macron has said he will look at hospital capacity to make decisions about any future possible tightenings of restrictions in France and not just case numbers.
On Wednesday, Macron said it was possible the Covid vaccine would eventually be made compulsory in France, but added it was not the priority for now.
We will have more on this story as it develops.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had received reports of eight cases of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, in children aged 5-11 years who received Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reports.
The CDC had previously said that reporting rates of myocarditis for boys aged 16 to 17 could be more than 69 cases per million second doses administered and around 40 cases per million second doses in boys aged 12-15 years old.
The CDC did not say whether it believes there is a link between the myocarditis cases and the vaccine, or disclose the rate of myocarditis in the age group without vaccination.
The agency said there had been over 7m vaccine doses in the 5-11 age group at the time it examined the data, with 5.1m first doses and 2 million second doses. The cases had a mild clinical course, the CDC said.
The cases were reported in the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and presented by the CDC to a panel of its expert advisers.
CDC recommends Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson
A panel of outside advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted to recommend directing Americans towards the mRNA vaccines for protection against Covid-19 – meaning the shots by Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna in the US – in preference to Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, because of the risk of rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting.
The CDC’s advisory committee on immunisation voted unanimously to make the recommendation. The regulator still needs to sign off on the guidance.
Cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), which involves blood clots accompanied by a low level of platelets, have previously been reported in recipients of the J&J vaccine. The highest reporting rates are in women under 50.
The CDC said that the rate of such incidents is higher than previously estimated, both in women and men, with at least nine dead following such blood clotting incidents in the US, the CDC has noted.
Members of the panel also said J&J’s vaccine is less effective in preventing coronavirus than the other two vaccines authorised for use in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Read the full story here.
Biden warns of ‘winter of severe illness and death’ for unvaccinated
US president Joe Biden on Thursday warned of “a winter of severe illness and death” for those not vaccinated against Covid-19, amid a wave of Delta infections and as new Omicron cases are beginning to surge in America.
The US president spoke as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned the Omicron variant could peak as early as January and states are scrambling to prepare for overloaded hospitals.
The US has passed 800,000 coronavirus deaths, including one in 100 Americans over the age of 65.
After a briefing on the pandemic from advisers on Thursday afternoon, Biden said Omicron is “now spreading and it’s going to increase”.
“For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death,” he said, urging Americans to get vaccinated and get their boosters as soon as possible.
Read the full story here.
G7 calls Omicron ‘biggest current threat’ to world health
The G7 has called the Omicron variant the “biggest current threat to global public health”, warning it is now “more important than ever” for countries to “closely cooperate”.
Britain, which is currently chair of the group, said in a statement on Thursday:
Deeply concerned by the rise in cases, ministers agreed that these developments should be seen as the biggest current threat to global public health.
It is more important than ever to closely cooperate, and monitor as well as share data.”
The G7 health ministers earlier held their final meeting hosted by Britain, which has seen a surge in cases over recent days, registering record numbers and a record day of booster jabs on Thursday.
The ministers focussed on global access to diagnostics, genome sequencing, vaccines and therapeutics in a bid to combat its spread.
“They also agreed on the increasing importance of booster campaigns and regular testing alongside continued non-pharmaceutical measures,” the statement said.
Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you on the blog as we go through all the latest coronavirus developments.
Let’s start with the news that the G7 has called the Omicron variant the “biggest current threat to global public health”, warning it is now “more important than ever” for countries to “closely cooperate”.
“Deeply concerned by the rise in cases, ministers agreed that these developments should be seen as the biggest current threat to global public health,” Britain said in a statement on Thursday.
US president Joe Biden has also warned that the Omicron variant is “now spreading and it’s going to increase” as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested the variant could peak as early as January.
“For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death,” he said, urging Americans to get vaccinated and get their boosters as soon as possible.
There’s been a flurry of new developments over the past 24 hours so here is a snapshot of the key stories.
- CDC advisers recommend Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson. The panel cited the risk of rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting as well as a lower level of effectiveness against Covid in the J&J shot.
- The European Commission says it has struck a deal with US pharmaceutical company Moderna to speed up delivery of its Covid vaccine, particularly with a view to supplying Germany with 10 million doses in December.
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Denmark broke its daily Covid record for the fourth day running, warning new restrictions were on the horizon.
- The UK recorded its highest tally of lab-confirmed Covid cases since the pandemic began – for the second day running – with almost 90,000 new infections. Independent SAGE said it’s urging a circuit-breaker lockdown until 24 December.
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England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty told MPs hospital admissions could peak above levels seen last winter, before the vaccine roll-out, given Omicron’s infectiousness.
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Italy reported its highest Covid case rate since 12 March, with
26,109 cases, jumping 90% on three weeks ago. - Germany’s health minister Karl Lauterbac warned the country is lacking millions of Covid vaccine doses, imperilling the country’s defence against the highly-mutated Omicron strain.
- Poland reported its first case of the Omicron variant.
- In the UK Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled plans for a pre-Christmas family lunch.
- The R number for Omicron in the UK is estimated to be between 3 and 5, Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health and Security Agency, said.
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Indonesia is urging people not to travel abroad after the country detected its first Omicron case.
- Sweden is to end vaccine pass exemption for its Nordic neighbours.
- France is banning British tourists from Saturday amid concern over Omicron cases in the UK. Travel to and from the UK without “compelling reasons” – which does not include travel or business – will be banned.
- Israel says it is donating 1m Covid vaccines to the UN-backed COVAX program to reach African countries.
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New Zealand detected its first case of Omicron in an isolation facility.
- The Welsh government will bring in new restrictions including closing nightclubs and imposing a 2-metre social distancing rule in offices from 27 December
- UK prime minister Boris Johnson attended a pizza party in No 10 Downing Street during the May 2020 lockdown, a joint investigation by the Guardian and Independent reported.
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