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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

UK Covid: Sajid Javid says Omicron makes up 20% of cases in England – as it happened

Late update: The UK Health Security Agency has been in touch to offer final confirmation as to what Sajid Javid meant when he told MPs earlier that “the current number of daily infections are around 200,000”. He did mean that it is estimated that 200,000 people are getting infected with the Omicron variant every day. That is what we thought originally, but we took down the headline on the post (see 4.19pm) after it was suggested he meant something else, and it has taken a while to get clarity from officials. A UKHSA spokesperson said Javid was “referring to the number of new infections today [13 December] based on modelling, not the number who are currently infected”. I have amended the wording in the summary as a result.

Updated

All eligible adults in Wales are to be offered an appointment for a booster jab by the end of this month. But this does not mean that everyone who wants one will actually get the jab by 31 December becausee some will take place in January.

The Welsh administration has not gone as far as the UK, which has said that the aim is for all adults to get a booster before the end of the year, not just to be able to book one. Welsh ministers believe their ambition is more realistic than the UK’s.

In a televised message to Wales on Monday evening, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, will hint that more restrictions may not be far away, saying:

We have already taken some steps to increase protections in Wales and we may need to take some further steps to keep Wales safe.

Drakeford is to say:

We must be prepared for omicron cases to rise quickly and very steeply – just as they have in other parts of the UK.

We are still learning about this new form of coronavirus. All the information we have tells us we are facing a very serious situation. By the end of the month, omicron will have become the dominant form of the virus in Wales, bringing a new wave of infections and illness.

This could then translate into a large number of people needing hospital treatment just at a time when the NHS is already under significant pressure. The Welsh government will do everything we can to protect people’s health and keep Wales safe.

We have already increased the speed of the roll-out of our booster programme. New clinics have been opened and operating hours extended. Urgent efforts are now underway to accelerate the programme even further so we can offer all eligible adults an appointment by the end of this year if possible.

Drakeford is urging people to come forward for a booster. “Please make getting a booster a priority.”

A health source has clarified what Sajid Javid meant in the Commons when he implied Omicron infections were running at 200,000 per day. (See 4.19pm and 5.2opm.)

Javid was indeed referring to Omicron infections, not Covid infections.

But he was speaking about a UK Health Security Agency estimate for the total number of people currently infected with Omicron, not the number who are catching the infection for the first time every day (ie daily new cases).

UPDATE: Later the UK Health Security Agency said the figure was actually for the number of people being infected with Omicron for the first time on a given day (today). See 7.46pm.

Updated

The Scottish parliament has again cancelled an evidence session with Nicola Sturgeon this week after the authorities reduced in-person hearings because of the fresh Covid crisis. The decision means the first minister has avoided around four potential witness sessions on her policies due to restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

The first minister was due to be quizzed by all Holyrood’s committee convenors on Wednesday, in a session which has previously lasted several hours. These sessions are supposed to take place every six months: the last was in November 2019.

In a statement, Holyrood said:

Due to the decision by the Scottish parliament corporate body to move committee meetings to a virtual format, the conveners group has decided to postpone Wednesday’s session with the first minister.

Instead, the conveners group has determined that they would prefer to question the first minister in person and will look to reschedule the meeting at a time when it can go ahead safely.

Javid says spread of Omicron means strict travel rules for arrivals could be eased

During his statement in the Commons Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said he wanted strict travel rules for people arriving in the UK eased given the spread of Omicron already in this country.

Labour’s Ben Bradshaw called for the “very draconian, costly and complex” travel rules introduced only recently to try and stop Omicron arriving in the UK to be dropped.

Javid replied:

I think [Bradshaw] makes a very good point, given that we already know that the Omicron variant is fast becoming the dominant variant in our capital city, spreading rapidly throughout the country, the justification for having those rules is minimised.

It’s something that I’ve already raised with my colleagues in the Department for Transport and I do hope that we can act quickly.

Getting booster jabs to all Scots aged 18 and above by the end of this year will be a “monumental challenge”, Nicola Sturgeon has conceded. PA Media says:

With the vaccination programme being accelerated in a bid to combat the new Omicron variant of the virus, the first minister said she did not underestimate the scale of the challenge.

But as she stressed vaccination was the “best line of defence” against Omicron, Sturgeon said: “We’ve got to bust a gut to get this programme done as quickly as possible.”

To meet the ambition of offering all eligible adults a booster dose of vaccine by the end of December means that more than 70,000 Scots a day will need to get jagged, it has been estimated.

Sturgeon, who has previously warned Omicron could lead to a “tsunami” of new infections, told BBC Scotland that government officials were currently working with local health boards to speed up the programme.

The first minister said they were considering “all of the possible options to build capacity in a system that is already operating at a very fast pace”.

This will be done by a combination of bringing in additional staff to give the injections, increasing the number of appointments at vaccine centres and looking at opening up new centres.

NHS leaders in England have told MPs that they would be “irresponsible” not to approve the government’s Plan B when parliament votes on its provisions tomorrow. Matthew Taylor, chef executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

Given the rapidly rising infection levels from Omicron and how much pressure the NHS is under already, we are urging MPs to vote in favour of the government’s plan b interventions.

We may find that these measures are not enough but with independent modelling suggesting that Omicron could cause up to 75,000 deaths in England and over 490,000 hospitalisations by the end of April, it would be irresponsible not to give them a go.

Failing to put in place measures to slow the spread of coronavirus could lead to much tougher restrictions being introduced next year, Taylor added. The NHS Confederation represents NHS care provider organisations in England and Wales.

Taylor went on:

If Omicron is allowed to spread out of control then the worry is that far stricter interventions will be needed in the new year and no one wants tougher measures when it is clear they can have a devastating impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

The NHS is working at lightning speed to ramp up the booster programme and our members expect parliament to use its position of influence to send a strong statement in the national interest.

In his opening statement Sajid Javid seemed to be talking about there being 200,000 Omicron infections per day, but he may have been talking about 200,000 Covid infections per day. The Department of Health and Social Care have been asked to clarify this, and an official is due to call me back. In the meantime I have taken down the headline on the post at 4.19pm.

Recorded Covid cases are running at around 50,000 per day - today’s figure is 54,661 - but many people who are ill do not do a test, and many people get infected asymptomatically.

The ONS Covid surveillance report published last week estimated that more than one million people in the UK had the virus, but that was covering the week ending 1 December.

Updated

Mark Harper, chair of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, asked for an assurance that the government would recall parliament over Christmas if it wants to tighten regulations.

He has been asking this question repeatedly in recent days without getting an assurance MPs would get a vote. And Javid did not give him one today. He just said there were no plans for further restrictions over the recess.

The i’s Paul Waugh says that, judging by Sajid Javid’s comments in this statement, now seems keen to argue that the plan for Covid passes, or passports, isn’t really about these documents at all.

Iain Duncan Smith (Con) asked if the government would get rid of the rule requiring people to wait in a clinic for 15 minutes after getting a Pfizer or Moderna jab. (See 3.37pm.) Javid said this was being “very actively looked at” and an announcement would be coming soon.

Javid says people will need boosters to count as fully vaccinated for Covid pass in new year

In his opening statement Sajid Javid also announced that once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get a booster, the Covid pass rules will change so that only people who have had the booster count as fully vaccinated

That means early in the new year, presumably, given the govrenment wants all adults to have the chance to get a booster before the end of the month.

The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw says almost all Tory MPs in the chamber this afternoon are wearing a mask.

No 10 hints it would only close schools in 'direst emergency'

At the afternoon lobby briefing Downing Street indicated schools in England would only be closed in “the direst ... emergency”.

The PM’s spokesman said:

Throughout we’ve always sought to keep face-to-face schooling open and have only restricted it in when there’s the direst public health emergency.

There’s certainly no plans to do that. We think we’ve got the right balance through plan B and our big uptick in boosters.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said that Labour supported the target of getting vaccinations up to 1m per day. He said this may prove impossible, “but we applaud the ambition”. He went on:

If anyone can do it, the NHS can and the whole country will be willing them on and will not knock them for trying.

But he suggested Javid was “living on a different planet” if he thought lateral flow tests were easily available.

And he ended with what he said were words aimed directly at members of the public. He said:

We realise on these benches the prime minister has tested patience by asking people to follow the rules when ... the prime minister’s actions in recent weeks have undermined trust at a critical moment.

So I say to people feeling let down or lied to ... I do trust the chief medical officer. I do trust the chief scientific adviser and I do trust the NHS.

The prime minister might not lead by example, but the rest of us can. We, the Labour party, trust you, the British people, to do the right thing to protect yourselves, to protect the ones you love and to protect the NHS.

Javid says even with plan B England will have 'far fewer' restrictions in place than European countries

Javid says we have also learned that a booster jab provides strong protection against Omicron.

He repeats what Boris Johnson announced last night about the booster rollout being speeded up. To meet the target of every adult getting a booster, vaccinations will have to take rate at a much faster rate than before.

Until now the highest number of jabs that we’ve delivered in a single day in the UK was over 840,000. We’ll not only need to match that but we will need to beat that every day.

He says people who have had Covid recently should wait 28 days until after their infection before getting the booster.

He confirms that non-urgent medical appointment are being postponed.

He says MPs are voting on the new restrictions tomorrow.

Even with plan B, we still have far fewer restrictions in place than Europe.

And he says from tomorrow a fully-vaccinated contact of an Omicron case will be able to take a lateral flow test every day, instead of having to self-isolate.

He says the Covid pass for international travel will be rolled out for 12- to 15-year-olds.

And he says, “with a heavy heart”, the government is limiting visits to people in care homes to just three nominated visitors, not including nominated care-givers.

Updated

Javid says Omicron variant makes up 20% of cases in England

Sajid Javid says no variant has spread as fast as Omicron.

He says that infections are estimated to currently be running at 200,000 per day.

There are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK.

And the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current number of daily infections are around 200,000.

While Omicron represents over 20% of cases in England, we’ve already seen it rise to over 44% in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid 19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.

UPDATE: See 7.46pm for clarification of what Javid meant.

Updated

Hoyle threatens to play 'hardball' with PM over his disrespect for Commons over Covid announcements

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, starts by expressing his disappointment that Boris Johnson is not making this statement himself.

He says given the PM made a TV statement last night he should have been here in person.

He says he is really, really disappointed TV is taking precedence over the Commons.

UPDATE: Hoyle said:

Before I call the secretary of state for health and social care I want to put on record my disappointment the prime minister is not here to make this statement.

Can I say, last night when the secretary of state called me to say that the prime minister felt the need to make the announcement to the country yesterday, I am surprised that he did not therefore think it appropriate to come to this House to answer questions to announce it today.

I have got to say I have respect for the secretary of state for health but I am really, really disappointed that once again this house has become second runner-up to TV news.

Not acceptable. If this is a game we are going to play, we are going to have to play hardball.

Updated

Sajid Javid's statement to MPs on Covid

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is about to make a statement to MPs about Covid.

These are from two journalists reporting bad experiences with vaccine walk-in centres.

From the Sunday Times’ Shaun Lintern earlier

From my colleague Nicola Davis now

There’s been a fantastic start to the Guardian and Observer 2021 charity appeal, with readers donating more than £100,000 to our Climate Justice campaign during its opening weekend.

This year the appeal is supporting four great charities tackling the human impact of climate crisis and extreme weather: Practical Action, Environmental Justice Foundation, Global Greengrants Fund UK, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The focus of the appeal is on projects helping individuals and communities in some of the world’s poorest countries who find themselves bearing the brunt of the climate emergency.

As the Guardian’s editor-in chief Katharine Viner explained in her introduction to the appeal:

The richest countries pollute most but it is in the poorest where climate change is most harshly felt, through extreme poverty, food and water insecurity and the displacement of millions of people from their homes.

The appeal runs until early January. You can find out more about our charities here.

Donations can be made online by credit card, debit card or PayPal, or by phone on 0151 284 1126.

Layla Moran, the Lib Dem MP who chairs the all-party parliamentry group on coronavirus, has said the website problems people have been having today with ordering lateral flow tests or booking booster jabs suggest little planning went into Boris Johnson’s announcement last night. She said:

Both the British public and the NHS are stepping up to play their part in the fight against Omicron and people are understandably asking why they are being turned away after the prime minister’s prime-time address last night.

These critical failures are adding weight to accusations that last night’s announcement was all about politics but lacked the necessary plan or preparation from the government, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces yet again.

Updated

Fraser Nelson says the Spectator’s tally of Tory MPs who are set or likely to rebel in the vote on the new Covid measures tomorrow has reached 77.

Nelson says this is two of 79, the government’s current working majority. But the government is in no danger of losing tomorrow, because Labour is voting for the measures.

And, in a division where all the opposition parties are voting against, the majority total is a red herring; only half that number plus one (40 Tories) would have to vote with the opposition parties for the government to lose.

Updated

Ipsos Mori has published its latest monthly political monitor polling survey, and it suggests that, in the wake of the partygate controversy, Boris Johnson’s ratings have slumped, and Keir Starmer is now ahead of him by 13 points on the question of who would make the most capable prime minister.

The firm says this is the first time a Labour leader has been ahead on this measure since January 2008.

Polling on most capable PM
Polling on most capable PM. Photograph: Ipsos MORI

Dylan Spielman from Ipsos Mori says John Major is the only PM to have worse approval ratings at this stage in his premiership.

But Margaret Thatcher’s ratings were almost as low at this point in her premiership, Spielman points out, and she went on to win two more elections.

Updated

Jim Reed, the BBC’s health reporter, says the government is planning to drop the requirement for people to stay in a vaccine centre for 15 minutes after having a Pfizer or Moderna jab to make sure they don’t suffer an adverse reaction.

Prof Azeem Majeed, professor of primary care at Imperial College London, said earlier that this change would speed up the through-put at vaccination clinics.

People queuing outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas’s hospital in Westminster, London, today.
People queuing outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas’s hospital in Westminster, London, today. Photograph: Rob Pinney/Getty Images

Updated

Omicron patients hospitalised in England aged between 18 and 85, UKHSA says

The UK Health Security Agency has also released a little more information about the 10 patients hospitalised with a confirmed case of Omicron in England, one of whom has died. (See 11.55am.)

The Conservative MP Marcus Fysh told the BBC earlier today that he would not be voting for the introduction of Covid passport for large venues in England because he did not want to live in a “papers please” society.

Displaying a cavalier disregard for Godwin’s law, Fysh told Radio 5 Live.

This is not Nazi Germany ... It’s the thin end of an authoritarian wedge.

NHS Digital says 290,000 people have now booked a vaccine appointment on its website. In response to questions about why the website has been overwhelmed with demand, a spokesperson said:

The vaccine booking service is facing extremely high demand and is operating a queuing system to manage numbers. We would advise people currently unable to book to try again later today or tomorrow.

Confirmed Omicron cases in UK up 50% from yesterday to 4,713

The UK Health Security Agency has said the number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK has risen by 1,576 from yesterday and is now 4,713. That is a 50% increase.

'I certainly broke no rules' - Johnson hints Case inquiry may decide Covid rules broken at No 10 last year

Here is the clip of Boris Johnson responding to questions about his participation in a Downing Street Christmas quiz on 15 December last year when he was interviewed this morning. In it, he clearly said that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, would be able to look at this event in his review of No 10 parties, and whether they broke lockdown rules.

But as Sky’s Beth Rigby, who interviewed Johnson, points out, the PM also seems to have shifted his line on wrongdoing at No 10 last Christmas. He is now stressing that he personally broke no rules. “I certainly broke no rules,” he said.

Until now the line from No 10 has been that no rules were broken last year. Now Johnson seems to be implying that perhaps others did break the rules. Case was looking into “all these things’, Johnson said.

Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief adviser who, since his departure from No 10, has become one of his most vehement critics, thinks this means Johnson is preparing to dump the blame for partygate on others.

Updated

Almost half of “outstanding” schools in England have been downgraded by Ofsted following inspection this term, with more than one in 10 dropping to “requires improvement” or even “inadequate”, according to data published today.

Outstanding schools were until recently exempt from regular inspection, so many have not been visited by the schools inspectorate for up to 10 years or more.

They are however likely to feel aggrieved at being downgraded at a time of widespread disruption in schools due to Covid.

Data published by Ofsted today shows that during the three months up to the end of November 47% of schools previously rated outstanding have lost their top rating following inspection this term. Ofsted said the data relates to 99 previously outstanding schools visited by inspectors during the autumn term.

According to Ofsted, 36% of these schools were downgraded to “good”, 9% went down two rankings to “requires improvement” and 2% were judged “inadequate” which is the lowest possible ranking.

The overall grade profile for schools has, however, improved overall, Ofsted said, with 83% of schools judged good or outstanding between September and November this year, compared with 77% between September 2019 and March 2020 when inspections were suspended due to the pandemic.

Updated

This is from Humza Yousaf, the Scottish government’s health secretary, on the lateral flow test supply problems.

No 10 says 'capacity' being beefed up to make booking booster jabs online easier

The Downing Street lobby briefing was dominated by questions about Covid this morning. Here are the key points.

  • No 10 said that lateral flow tests had not run out, and that people could not order them today because of postal problems that were being addressed. (See 1pm.)
  • Downing Street said “further capacity” was being added to make it easier for people to book booster appointments on the NHS website. Asked about the problems being encountered today (see 10.46am), the PM’s spokesman said:

Across the programme we are increasing our capacity, be it making sure there is further capacity on the site to adapt to the increased demand, or indeed capacity on the ground.

The spokesman also said 110,000 people booked a booster before 9am this morning.

  • The spokesman did not rule out the government introducing tougher restrictions over Christmas during the parliamentary recess. He said that all options were kept under review and that “in extremis” the government could introduce public health measures without a vote in parliament first.
  • He said that the government’s aim was for all adults to get a booster jab before the end of the year, not just to be able to book one.
  • He said booster jabs should be available on Christmas Day. He said:

My understanding is that there will be appointments available on Christmas Day, and obviously the NHS will monitor what the demand is.

Last year vaccines were available on Christmas Day, he said, although “we didn’t see a huge demand”.

  • The spokesman said around 750 troops had been mobilised to support the booster programme, as well as 50 military planning experts working centrally.
  • He said the government was still waiting for approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency before going ahead with vaccines for under-12s.
10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images

Updated

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, has claimed the problems people are having ordering lateral flow tests from the government website today show Boris Johnson has got his priorities wrong.

This is what the UK Health Security Agency said about the problems people are having today ordering lateral flow tests from the government’s website. A spokesperson said:

Everyone who needs a lateral flow test can collect test kits – either at their local pharmacy, some community sites and some schools and colleges.

Due to exceptionally high demand, ordering lateral flow tests on gov.uk has been temporarily suspended to fulfil existing orders.

Information about how to collect a lateral flow test from a nearby pharmacy is available on the NHS website here.

In the Commons a Home Office minister will respond to an urgent question from Labour’s Dame Margaret Hodge at 3.30pm about the Met failings in the Stephen Port case. That means the Sajid Javid statement on Covid will start at about 4.15pm.

Rail use down in England as people respond to work from home advice

The number of people using 16 major railway stations in England and Scotland between 6am and 9.30am on Monday was down compared with the previous week, PA Media reports. PA says:

According to Network Rail, the stations with the largest week-on-week reductions were Cannon Street (38%), Leeds Central (35%), Waterloo (34%), Kings Cross (28%), Liverpool Street (26%) and Euston (25%), Reading (25%) and Bristol (25%).

Other stations that experienced a drop in usage include Birmingham New Street (24%), Charing Cross (23%), Paddington (20%), Manchester Piccadilly (20%), Liverpool Lime Street (17%), Edinburgh Waverley (11%), Victoria (8%) and Glasgow Central (7%).

Stations are London, unless otherwise stated.

Today the new advice in England to work from home if possible came into effect.

Nigel Farage, the former Ukip and Brexit party who is now a GB News presenter, but who claims to be mulling over a politcal comeback, claims that Boris Johnson is just talking up the threat from Omicron as a “cynical ploy” to save his career.

People queuing outside a vaccination center in Manchester this morning.
People queuing outside a vaccination center in Manchester this morning. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

No 10 insists lateral flow tests kits haven't run out, and postal issues affecting supply being addressed

At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman said that a shortage of postal slots, not a shortage of lateral flow tests, has been the reason for people not being able to order lateral flow tests on the government’s website this morning. (See 11.29am.) The spokesman said:

There is no shortage of lateral flow tests. We have more than sufficient supply. What we are seeing is, because of the heightened demand today, those available to be posted out today, those slots have been filled already.

We are working with the postal service and others to further increase slots.

But it is important for people to understand if they do encounter trouble, they can go to their local pharmacy. The slots refresh daily.

I will post more from the briefing soon.

Scottish parliament to suspend all in-person committee meetings in new year

The Scottish parliament is to suspend all in-person committee meetings after the Christmas and New Year holidays, in a preemptive measure to limit the expected surge in Omicron cases.

Instead, Holyrood will shift to remote committee meetings unless MSPs believe there is a compelling reason to meet in person or in hybrid form, the parliament’s business bureau has decided. The new rules will come into force on 17 January, when Holyrood resumes business after the holidays.

A parliament spokesperson said that staging chamber business, including first minister’s questions, in hybrid form will remain under close review.

The Holyrood authorities plan to make hybrid meetings the norm in future, and are investigating options for a more sophisticated system after procedural problems emerged during FMQs last week.

Alison Johnstone, the presiding officer, had to repeatedly warn Scottish National party MSPs in the chamber to stop interrupting opposition speakers working remotely, particularly Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, who was self-isolating at home after coming into contact with a positive case.

The current hybrid system means the public cannot see or hear what is being said in the chamber if an MSP working remotely is talking. Johnstone believes making hybrid meetings and remote voting permanent will improve Holyrood’s flexibility.

Johnson repeatedly refuses to rule out introducing further Covid restrictions before Christmas

Here is a summary of the news lines from Boris Johnson’s pooled TV interview this morning.

  • Johnson said at least one patient in the UK has now died with the Omicron variant. (See 11.55am.)
  • He urged people to “set aside” reports that Omicron is a milder version of coronavirus than Delta. He said:

I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.

He was not denying reports that Omicron is milder than previous variants. There is evidence from South Africa suggesting it is. Instead, he was making an argument about the threat it poses because of its ability to spread so quickly.

  • He repeatedly refused to rule out introducing further Covid restrictions before Christmas. He said:

Throughout the pandemic I’ve been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.

We think the steps that we are taking - so plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month so we offer a booster to every adult by the end of the year - we think that’s the right approach.

  • He said there was no shortage of lateral flow tests. Although they have not been available for order on the government’s website (see 11.29am), Johnson said:

We do have a ready supply of lateral flow tests. If you can’t get one online for any reason, then there are ample supplies in the shops.

Commenting on the demand for tests, he said: “What I think, if I may say so, what that also shows is that people are doing the sensible thing, and getting tests as well.”

  • He urged Tory MPs to vote for the new Covid measures tomorrow, saying they were “balanced and proportionate” and that there was “no room for complacency”.
  • He claimed he “certainly broke no rules” in relation to events at No 10 last Christmas. And he indicated his participation in a No 10 quiz event last Christmas might be included in the investigation by Simon Case, the cabinet secretary. He went on:

If I may respectfully say to you ... of course, all that must be properly gone into - you’ll be hearing from the cabinet secretary about it all.

He said Case would report back as soon as “reasonably” possible. He went on:

But frankly, when I look at what we’re trying to do now, the crucial thing is that people understand the challenge that is posed by Omicron. But also understand that this is a challenge that collectively we can meet.

What I’m focused on, frankly, is the vaccine rollout.

  • He claimed that by tomorrow Omicron would be the dominant variant in London. He said:

Here in the capital [Omicron] probably represents about 40% of the cases. By tomorrow it’ll be the majority of the cases and it’s increasing the whole time.

The Northern Ireland first minister, Paul Givan, said this morning - perhaps more realistically - that Omicron is already dominant in London. (See 11.48am.)

  • Johnson praised those delivering the booster rollout. He said:

We now want to hit warp speed and we’ll have to attain a pace and a number of daily booster doses that will exceed anything that we’ve done before.

But I’ve got no doubt at all that we have the people, we have the enthusiasm, we have the fundamental optimism about what we can do, which we’ve learned from the experience of the last 18 months.

And I know that people are going to rise to this.

Updated

As expected, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, will make a statement to MPs this afternoon.

Johnson says at least one person with Omicron now known to have died in UK

Boris Johnson has confirmed that at least one patient in the UK has now died with the Omicron variant. In an interview during a visit to a vaccination centre in London, he said:

Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.

So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.

I will post more from his interview shortly.

Earlier Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said around 10 people were in hospital with confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in England. (See 9.31am.)

Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, central London.
Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster, central London. Photograph: Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard/PA

'Storm' of Omicron heading for Northern Ireland, says first minister

Paul Givan, the Northern Ireland first minister, has said Northern Ireland must prepare for a “storm” of Omicron cases. He told BBC Radio Ulster:

I think there’s certainly a storm coming our way.

You need to make preparation for that because we can see what’s happening in London, where this new variant is now the dominant strain of new cases, that has increased rapidly over the past three to four weeks.

Similarly in Scotland that is the case as well, and with the movements that take place across the common travel area, we have already a number of small cases in Northern Ireland, but the expectation is the same trajectory that is happening in Great Britain is likely to occur here in Northern Ireland.

As PA Media reports, Northern Ireland’s Covid certification scheme became legally enforceable today. The scheme requiring people to prove Covid status to gain entry to a range of hospitality venues and larges attendance events was introduced late last month with a two-week grace period to allow businesses adjust. Patrons wishing to enter nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises will need proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test or evidence of a previous Covid-19 infection.

On Friday the UK Health Security Agency released a report (pdf) saying that 41% of Covid cases in London were Omicron. That was was double the rate for the region with the next highest Omicron levels, the south-east, where they accounted for 21% of cases. But those figures were from 6 December. Given the doubling rate of Omicron, it is now thought to be dominant in London.

Paul Givan.
Paul Givan. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

Updated

No more lateral flow home test kits available, says official website

Here is my colleague Jamie Grierson’s story about lateral flow tests not being available for order on the government’s website in England.

Updated

ITV’s Paul Brand says the Met is still not planning to investigate parties as No 10, despite the picture published yesterday of Boris Johnson taking part in a quiz night.

Here is the Met statement on this from last week.

Updated

Boris Johnson’s TV address to the nation last night was watched by more than 12 million people, Darren McCaffrey from GB News reports.

BBC One will broadcast a pre-recorded address to the nation from Keir Starmer at 7pm in response to Boris Johnson’s own remarks on coronavirus booster vaccines, Labour has said.

Today is the first day that people aged 30 to 39 can officially book a booster jab in England. Although the website has been overwhelmed (see 10.46am), NHS Digital says more than 140,000 people have managed to book vaccine appointments this morning.

James Fransham from the Economist thinks it was unrealistic of Boris Johnson to offer all adults in England a booster jab by the end of the year. He explains why in a Twitter thread starting here.

NHS website runs out of lateral flow Covid tests amid high demand

And some people in England are also finding it impossible to order lateral flow tests through the government’s website. This is what showed up when I tried just a few minutes ago.

Message on NHS website
Message on NHS website Photograph: NHS

Updated

NHS advises people to try tomorrow as demand for boosters overwhelms website

Following Boris Johnson’s announcement last night, the NHS in England is being overwhelmed by people trying to book a booster appointment online. A reader has sent me this screenshot telling them there were number 3472 in the queue.

NHS website screenshot
NHS website screenshot Photograph: NHS/NHS website screenshot

The NHS is now advising people, on Twitter, to try again later, or tomorrow.

Tomorrow MPs will vote on the plan B Covid measures for England announced last week. According to the Spectator, which has been keeping probably the most comprehensive tally of likely rebels, there are now 75 Tories who have said they will vote against, or indicated they are likely to.

These are from Fraser Nelson, the Spectator editor, with quotes from some of the latest additions to the list.

These figures suggest Johnson is on course for by far the biggest rebellion of this parliament. The previous biggest came on 1 December last year, when 53 Tories voted against the government’s plan for tougher Covid tiering rules for England, with another two Conservatives acting as tellers for the rebels.

Case inquiry into parties at No 10 likely to include PM's participation in quiz night, Javid indicates

And this is what Sajid Javid said in his morning interviews about Boris Johnson and partygate.

I saw the photo of that quiz, like anyone else. What I can see is it’s a virtual quiz with the prime minister sitting at his desk.

I don’t know all the details. What I can see [is] it’s a virtual quiz. And Simon Case has been given a broad remit to investigate anything that he thinks ... any type of gathering in Downing Street that should be looked at on any particular day he wants to. And so if he wants to look at this he will - that’s going to be a decision for him.

It’s not right, I think, for a minister to tell him what he should or should not investigate.

According to Oliver Wright in the Times (paywall) Case has already decided that the quiz night will be included in his investigation. “[Case] said originally that he would look at credible allegations of other gatherings and you can’t really say that a photo of the prime minister is not a credible allegation,” a government source told Wright.

  • Javid claimed that Johnons is working “every minute of the day” for the public. Asked if the PM has the right qualities to handle the Covid crisis, Javid said:

[What I see from] the prime minister, especially since I’ve been back in the government as health secretary, is one that is working every minute of the day, literally every minute of the day. I don’t think he gets any time to rest whatsoever.

Totally and utterly focused on the nation’s challenges. But especially, I would say, over the last few weeks with the emergence of this variant, thinking about everything we can possibly do to make sure that we stay ahead in the race against this virus.

That’s what I see. And that’s what I think the nation saw from the prime minister yesterday - that he couldn’t be working harder to secure the future of this country.”

Simon Case, the cabinet secretary.
Simon Case, the cabinet secretary. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Updated

This is from Prof Susan Michie, a psychologist who has participated in Sage meetings but who is a leading member of Independent Sage, a group of scientists who have published their own advice to government and who have been critical of the government for not imposing tougher Covid restrictions, responding to what Sajid Javid said about cancer patients this morning. (See 9.01am.)

Javid insists Omicron threat serious even though no confirmed deaths from it in England yet

Here are some more lines from what Sajid Javid said about Omicron and the booster jabs rollout in his morning interviews.

  • Javid, the health secretary, said that he could not confirm that anyone has died from the Omicron variant in England. There are about 10 people in hospital with the variant, he said. But he dismissed claims this meant it was not a threat. “There is always a lag between infection and then hospitalisation and then, sadly, death,” he told Sky News. He also pointed out that a huge rise in infections would lead to more people going to hospital, even if most cases were mild.
  • He refused to rule out schools having to close in response to the Omicron wave. Asked if he could ruled this out, he told LBC that he did not want to see it happen. But he also said:

If you are asking me for guarantees, I will just say… as the health secretary, there are, when it comes to our fight against this pandemic, there are no guarantees.

  • He said it “should not be the case” that people die because they can’t get treatment on the NHS during the Covid booster drive. On Times Radio he was asked: “Will anyone sadly die because they can’t get the treatment they need in the NHS?” Javid replied:

Well, that certainly should not be the case at all because as well as focusing on this, there will be a focus on any urgent need and any, of course, emergency care.

  • He said that he was personally responsible for the success of the booster rollout programme. He was responding to a question on the Today programme about who was in charge given that Maggie Throup, the vaccines minister, does not seem to have the clout of her predecessor, Nadhim Zahawi, who attended cabinet.
  • He said he thought people should go ahead and spend Christmas with family and friends, but that they should be cautious too. He was planning to see family, he said. But he said when he was entertaining friends at home this weekend, he asked them to take a lateral flow test first.

Updated

Javid says GPs and hospitals to postpone non-urgent appointments to help booster jabs rollout

Good morning. Boris Johnson has set a target for the government to offer all adults a booster vaccine by the end of the month. Here is our overnight story reporting the announcement.

This morning Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has been giving broadcast interviews, and he has admitted that, as GPs and hospitals in England focus on this target over the next few weeks, non-urgent appointments will be postponed. He told the Today programme:

It does mean that, when it comes to primary care, for the next couple of weeks that our GPs will only be focusing on urgent needs and vaccinations. And it also means that non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries may have to be postponed into the new year.

Javid insisted that this would not affect people wanting to see a doctor about cancer symptoms. That would count as an urgent appointment, he said.

Asked what hospital appointments might be postponed, Javid replied:

It will be anyone who’s got some elective surgery planned, for example, that can be postponed until the new year. So that might mean, for example, a knee operation or hip operation, something that sadly someone has probably been waiting [for] for a long time in any case, but the hospital concerned would have the right to postpone it if it meant they would get a lot more booster jabs done.

Javid said these decisions were “not easy”. But there was limited capacity in the NHS.

Asked if this would mean people dying who would not have died if these appointments had not been posptponed, Javid said: “What will lead to real harm is if we don’t do this.”

I will post more from his interviews shortly.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Boris Johnson is visiting a vaccination centre, where he is expected to give a TV interview.

11.30am: Downing Street holds its lobby briefing.

3.30pm: Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about the vaccine booster programme.

4pm: Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee about the courts backlog.

4.30pm: Max Hill QC, director of public prosecutions, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about rape prosecutions.

Also today Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, will be meeting foreign ministers from the Balkans.

I will be largely focusing on UK Covid-related issues today, but there is much more coverage on our global Covid live blog.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com

Sajid Javid.
Sajid Javid. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

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