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Covid live: 633 new Omicron cases detected in UK with overall daily infections at 54,073
Covid live: 633 new Omicron cases detected in UK with overall daily infections at 54,073
(32 minutes later)
UK health officials urge those eligible to get third vaccine dose; Taiwan and Mauritius detect first cases of new variant
UK health officials urge those eligible to get third vaccine dose; Taiwan and Mauritius detect first cases of new variant
Here is more on the protests in Vienna against mandatory vaccines and confinement orders for people who are unvaccinated.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a former UK government adviser, has tweeted the following:
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a former UK government adviser, has tweeted the following:
More than half of Angola’s doctors will indefinitely continue a national strike over pay and conditions as the coronavirus pandemic strains the African nation’s depleted public health services.
More than half of Angola’s doctors will indefinitely continue a national strike over pay and conditions as the coronavirus pandemic strains the African nation’s depleted public health services.
Angola resorted to asking China and Cuba for help to fight the first Covid-19 wave last year with more than 250 Cuban doctors arriving, AFP reports.
Angola resorted to asking China and Cuba for help to fight the first Covid-19 wave last year with more than 250 Cuban doctors arriving, AFP reports.
According to 2020 figures, Angola has 5,200 doctors.
According to 2020 figures, Angola has 5,200 doctors.
The country’s national doctors’ trade union on Friday said 3,000 of its members would “continue the national doctors’ strike in all public health units” after the industrial action began at the start of the week.
The country’s national doctors’ trade union on Friday said 3,000 of its members would “continue the national doctors’ strike in all public health units” after the industrial action began at the start of the week.
Tens of thousands gathered in Austria’s capital Vienna to protest mandatory Covid vaccines and home confinement orders for those who have not yet received the jabs.
Tens of thousands gathered in Austria’s capital Vienna to protest mandatory Covid vaccines and home confinement orders for those who have not yet received the jabs.
Police said an estimated 44,000 people attended the demonstration, the latest in a string of huge weekend protests since Austria last month became the first EU country to say it would make Covid vaccinations mandatory.
Police said an estimated 44,000 people attended the demonstration, the latest in a string of huge weekend protests since Austria last month became the first EU country to say it would make Covid vaccinations mandatory.
A partial confinement since last month ends on Sunday for the vaccinated, but those who have not received the required doses will have to remain at home, AFP reports.
A partial confinement since last month ends on Sunday for the vaccinated, but those who have not received the required doses will have to remain at home, AFP reports.
The UK recorded 54,073 cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total to 10,771,444.
The UK recorded 54,073 cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total to 10,771,444.
There were also 132 deaths recorded, bringing the total to 146,387.
There were also 132 deaths recorded, bringing the total to 146,387.
More data from Italy. Patients in hospital with Covid – not including those in intensive care – stood at 6,539 on Saturday, up from 6,483 a day earlier.
More data from Italy. Patients in hospital with Covid – not including those in intensive care – stood at 6,539 on Saturday, up from 6,483 a day earlier.
There were 76 new admissions to intensive care units, the same as the previous day, Reuters reports.
There were 76 new admissions to intensive care units, the same as the previous day, Reuters reports.
The total number of intensive care patients edged up to 818 from 816 on Friday, which compares with 708 a week earlier.
The total number of intensive care patients edged up to 818 from 816 on Friday, which compares with 708 a week earlier.
Some 565,077 tests were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 716,287, the health ministry said.
Some 565,077 tests were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 716,287, the health ministry said.
Dozens of US Navy medics have deployed to New Mexico to treat a Delta variant-fueled surge in Covid-19 patients as part of a military operation to treat virus hotspots across western and midwest states.
Dozens of US Navy medics have deployed to New Mexico to treat a Delta variant-fueled surge in Covid-19 patients as part of a military operation to treat virus hotspots across western and midwest states.
New Mexico is suffering one of the highest levels of new coronavirus infections in the country, its hospitals reaching record capacity levels.
New Mexico is suffering one of the highest levels of new coronavirus infections in the country, its hospitals reaching record capacity levels.
Nearly 50 Navy medics are treating Covid patients at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, northwest New Mexico, where critical care patient numbers have been over 200% of capacity for weeks, Reuters reports.
Nearly 50 Navy medics are treating Covid patients at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, northwest New Mexico, where critical care patient numbers have been over 200% of capacity for weeks, Reuters reports.
Italy reported 96 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, the health ministry said.
Italy reported 96 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, the health ministry said.
The daily tally of new infections rose by 21,042, Reuters reports.
The daily tally of new infections rose by 21,042, Reuters reports.
Italy has registered 134,765 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world.
Italy has registered 134,765 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world.
The country has reported 5.2m cases to date.
The country has reported 5.2m cases to date.
Another 633 Omicron cases have been found in the UK, the biggest daily increase since the Covid-19 variant was detected last month.
The latest figure, a 50% day-on-day increase, brings the total number of confirmed Omicron cases to 1,898 across the country, the UK health security agency said.
In England, another 618 confirmed cases of the variant were reported, with 1,757 in total.
Scotland reported 11 more cases, with 121 now confirmed.
In Wales, two additional cases were reported, bringing the total to 15.
A further two were confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to five.
New coronavirus restrictions could be introduced in Scotland next week, the deputy first minster, John Swinney, has said.
PA reports that Swinney said ministers are spending the weekend “wrestling with the challenge of what are the right rules to have in place”.
But he said he does not think that Scots will face a restricted Christmas.
Asked on BBC Breakfast if new Covid measures would be put in place next week, Swinney said:
Nicola Sturgeon is due to give a statement in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.
On Friday, she told a televised press conference that Scotland faced a “tsunami” of Omicron cases.
Swinney’s comments come as the latest statistics show 11 more Omicron cases have been confirmed in Scotland, taking the total to 121.
There were 4,087 coronavirus cases in total reported in the last 24 hours, with 12 deaths.
Asked if Scotland faced a restricted Christmas due to new Covid measures, Swinney said:
Meanwhile, a hospital ward in Inverness has been closed to new admissions due to a Covid-19 outbreak.
NHS Highland said that Ward 7a at Raigmore Hospital is closed to new admissions and visiting following the detection of a small number of cases of coronavirus.
Tests are establishing whether any of the cases are of the Omicron variant and the results are expected next week.
The projected number of deaths and hospital admissions caused by Omicron [see 12.12pm.] in England could be “substantially” overestimated if the new variant causes less severe disease than Delta, according to an expert.
Prof Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said any model was “only as good as its assumptions”, adding that one key assumption in this model is that severity of disease outcomes for Omicron is the same as for Delta.
He said:
Prof Hunter said he suspects these models “overstate” risk of hospital admissions and deaths and the “worst case” scenarios are “unlikely to be seen”.
He added:
Authorities in France want to accelerate vaccinations against the coronavirus before Christmas as infections surge and more people with Covid seek medical attention, AP reports.
“People can celebrate Christmas normally, but we must respect the rules ... and get vaccinated,” the French prime minister, Jean Castex, told public radio outlet France Blue during an interview on Friday.
France has registered a daily average of more than 44,000 new cases over the past week, a 36% increase from the previous week, according to the latest government figures. Weekly hospitalisations of people with Covid went up 1,120, a 41% rise.
The government on Monday closed nightclubs until 6 January and tightened social distancing measures in closed spaces and outdoors. Castex said the government is not considering another lockdown that would limit or prohibit public events and social gatherings.
With over 48 million of France’s 67 million people fully vaccinated and tens of thousands signing up for either their first shots or booster doses, the country could make it through the holiday season without additional restrictions on public life, the prime minister said.
Health workers in France were administering 700,000 vaccine doses a day, Castex said, adding that 90% of French residents had had at least one vaccine dose. “It’s an excellent figure,” he said.
The government is discussing whether to have France join other countries that have authorised vaccines for all children aged 5-11. Children under the age of 12 who are considered at risk of complications from Covid will be eligible starting 15 December.
Castex, 56, tested positive for the coronavirus on 22 November. His office said at the time that he had contracted the virus from his 11-year-old daughter. He was fully vaccinated, but his daughter was too young to get jabbed.
Pointing to himself as an example, the prime minister said: “So yes, vaccinating children is necessary.”
Care home residents in England will be allowed only three visitors and one essential care worker under updated UK government guidance announced as part of new measures to protect the sector from the spread of the Omicron variant.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the move was “in order to balance the current Covid-19 risk and the need to keep people safe in line with clinical advice”.
It is understood the guidance will come into force from Wednesday.
Fully vaccinated residents visiting family and friends outside the care home will be asked to take a lateral flow test on alternate days for two weeks after each outing, while those not vaccinated will have to isolate after an outside visit.
Staff testing will be increased from two lateral flow tests a week to three, alongside a weekly PCR test.
The chair of the National Care Association has said new rules on care homes have “almost” taken people back to the restrictions that were in place a year ago.
Nadra Ahmed said she was hoping to get clarity on several details on the new guidance, including if people could change the nominated three people to visit someone in a care home.
The full story is here: Care home residents in England to be allowed only three visitors at Christmas
The Omicron variant could cause between 25,000 and 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months if no additional measures are taken beyond Plan B, according to scientists advising the government.
New modelling from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who also sit on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) or the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), used experimental data to look at how Omicron may transmit as the country heads into 2022.
Even under the most optimistic scenario (low immune escape of Omicron from vaccines and high effectiveness of booster jabs), a wave of infection is projected which could lead to a peak of more than 2,000 daily hospital admissions, with 175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths between 1 December this year and 30 April 2022.
This is if no additional control measures are implemented over and above the current Plan B introduced by the government in England.
The team said mask-wearing, working from home and booster jabs may not be enough, and predict a peak of daily hospital admissions of 2,400 in January.
In this scenario, bringing in control measures early in 2022 – such as restrictions on indoor hospitality, the closure of some entertainment venues and restrictions on how many people can gather in one place – would be sufficient to substantially control the wave, reducing hospital admissions by 53,000 and deaths by 7,600.
The most pessimistic scenario looked at by the modellers (high immune escape from vaccines and lower effectiveness of boosters) projects a wave of infection that is likely to lead to a peak in hospital admissions about twice as high as the peak seen in January 2021, if no additional control measures are taken.
This could cause 492,000 hospital admissions and 74,800 deaths, according to the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
In this scenario, the team estimates that stronger measures may be required to keep the peak number of hospital admissions below the January 2021 peak.
The scientists assumed Omicron causes the same severity of illness as Delta but did not look at the impact of measures such as mass population testing to control its spread.
The paper reads:
Dr Rosanna Barnard, who co-led the research, said that while there remained a lot of uncertainty over Omicron, “these early projections help guide our understanding about potential futures in a rapidly evolving situation”.
She said:
Earlier, we reported that the Treasury has defended an “impromptu” drinks party after Rishi Sunak’s autumn spending review during lockdown.
A spokesperson insisted it was a “small number” of staff who celebrated around their desks, despite reports put the number closer to two dozen civil servants at the event.
A team of officials working on the chancellor’s spending review announcement stayed after hours for the party on 25 November 2020, the Times reported (paywall).
Government sources said the drinks were not planned but the civil servants involved bought beer and wine from a nearby supermarket.
A Treasury spokesperson told the Guardian:
Here is my colleague Tom Ambrose’s story: Treasury defends ‘impromptu’ drinks party after Sunak’s autumn budget
Labour has called on the UK government to give a “Christmas vaccine guarantee” to the hundreds of thousands of eligible children in England who have been unable to receive a Covid jab.
With recent figures showing that just 44% of children in the 12-15 age group had been vaccinated on 8 December, Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said the government needed to make a bigger push to vaccinate the remainder before they returned to school in the new year.
“As Omicron cases in the UK are rising, it’s essential that ministers use the Christmas holidays to get the vaccine out to children, preventing continued chaos next term,” Phillipson said.
“Labour has been calling on ministers to use pop-up and walk-in clinics, and bring back volunteers and retired clinicians to increase vaccine rollout, but 13 weeks after the jab was approved [by the chief medical officers] the Conservatives have failed to deliver.
“With hundreds of thousands of children out of school each week this term, the government must urgently get a grip and stop neglecting children’s education.”
The government had initially aimed to offer vaccinations to all 12- to 15-year-olds by the October half-term break. But the most recent figures suggest it will struggle to vaccinate half by the end of term next week.
Read the full story here: Labour demands ‘Christmas vaccine guarantee’ for pupils in England
Mauritius has recorded its first two infections of the Omicron variant, with a dozen more contact cases feared, AFP reports.
The health minister, Kailesh Jagutpal, told a press conference on Friday the pair were asymptomatic and had tested negative the day before.
“They have already gone home,” he said.
He added that contact tracing for the two people had been carried out, revealing 12 positive cases with a missing S gene – a telltale sign of Omicron.
Health authorities were currently analysing the samples to determine if they are in fact Omicron.
One of the two Omicron cases was detected in a man who flew home to the island from South Africa on 27 November 27.
The second case was recorded in a woman in the island’s south whose husband had returned from South Africa on 18 November.
Mauritius fully opened its doors to international visitors at the start of October, hoping to rebuild its vital tourism industry after long months of isolation because of the pandemic.
But it was forced to reimpose restrictions last month as Delta variant cases surged.
According to latest figures reported to the World Health Organization, Mauritius has had 62,652 Covid cases and 680 deaths.
More than 900,000 people have been fully vaccinated, representing 73.5% of the population, government figures show.
