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Watch live as Boris Johnson holds Covid-19 briefing after another day of record cases
Boris Johnson has said he will stand by the implementation of Plan B restrictions currently in force in England despite the UK recording a further 218,724 cases of Covid-1 today.
Speaking to a virtual Downing St press conference this afternoon, he said: “Anyone who thinks our battle with Covid is over is profoundly wrong. This is a moment for the utmost caution.”
But he added: “We have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again.” after the UK recorded a further 218,724 cases of Covid-19.
The prime minister also announced on Tuesday afternoon that 100,000 critical workers would be given rapid tests for the virus every day.
He said organisations covered would include food processing, transport and border security workers.
“We’ll be sending testing kits directly to these organisations and liaising with them on logistics,” the prime minister added.
It comes after around a number of hospitals in England declared critical incidents on Monday due to staff shortages and rising Covid infections.
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Show latest update 1641321682 More than 270,000 new Covid cases recorded in France
Another 271,686 positive Covid cases have been recorded in France today, a new record for the country.
226,511 cases were recorded on December 30.
More than 20,000 people have also been hospitalised with Covid in France, a figure not reached since May 2021.
3,665 patients are in critical case, according to data from Public Health France.
Holly Bancroft 4 January 2022 18:41
1641321121 Johnson: It is ‘absolutely crazy’ to refuse vaccine and end up in intensive care
Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that it is “absolutely crazy” for people to be ending up in intensive care because they refuse the Covid vacccine.
He said that there were lots of free slots for people to get jabbed, adding: “How absolutely crazy it is, absolutely crazy, that there are two million slots this week for people to get vaccinated and yet the majority of people in ICU for Covid are not vaccinated - 61 per cent.”
My colleague Jon Stone has a full write-up of the prime minister’s Tuesday press conference.
‘Absolutely crazy’ to refuse vaccine and end up in intensive care, Boris Johnson says Chief medical officer says he is ‘saddened’ by numbers of unvaccinated people becoming seriously ill
Holly Bancroft 4 January 2022 18:32
1641320890 Gloucestershire NHS trust under ‘considerable operational pressure'
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust is experiencing “considerable operational pressures” and has had to reduce the number of beds in hospitals to help social distancing, their chief operating officer said.
In a statement to The Independent, chief operating officer Qadar Zada confirmed that the trust was working “in an escalated status as part of an internal incident”. The declaration of an “incident” allows the trust to access extra support and “to create capacity across the system”.
Qadar Zada added that the trust had reduced the number of beds in their hospitals to enable social distancing of patients, saying: “This is putting additional pressure on our services but is helping us to contain the spread of the highly transmissible variant, Omicron.”
Zada said: “Although the number of patients with Covid is increasing, those requiring intensive care or high dependency care has not.
“Our sickest patients remain those who are unvaccinated or have existing poor health and we urge anyone who has not yet been vaccinated or taken up the offer of a booster, to do so.”
Holly Bancroft 4 January 2022 18:28
1641320222 Sir Chris Whitty: Hospitals will face ‘very substantial pressure’ over coming weeks
Professor Sir Chris Whitty has warned that hospitals across the country will face “very substantial pressure over the next couple of weeks”.
England’s chief medical officer told journalists during a Downing street press conference that ICU pressure would not be as high as previous Covid waves but said “there is very substantial pressure on the emergency service part - ambulances, A&Es”.
He continued: “My colleagues in the NHS who are on the emergency side are having an extremely difficult time because they have a simultaneous wave of people coming in with Covid on top of the usual winter pressures, and you’ve got a wave of people who are off sick because they have got Covid or indeed for other reasons, but Covid is very substantially contributing to that.”
Holly Bancroft 4 January 2022 18:17
1641319037 Watch: Boris Johnson says no 'shut down' necessary
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Boris Johnson says no 'shut down' necessary
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:57
1641318680 ‘Up to one in 10’ in Northern Ireland had Covid-19 over festive period
It is likely that as many as one in 10 people in parts of Northern Ireland had Covid-19 over the festive period, the region’s chief scientific adviser has said.
Professor Ian Young said one in 20 tested positive in some areas, but with limits on PCR tests it is likely the true figure was as high as one in 10 last week.
Rebecca Black reports:
‘Up to one in 10’ in Northern Ireland had Covid-19 over festive period Professor Ian Young said with a limit on the number of available PCR tests means figures will not pick up all cases in the community.
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:51
1641317999 Boris Johnson promises lateral flow tests for critical workers
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Boris Johnson promises lateral flow tests for critical workers
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:39
1641317203 Unvaccinated are dying ‘needlessly’, says prime minister
The prime minister has said people are dying “needlessly” because they have not been properly vaccinated against coronavirus.
“There are still almost nine million people eligible, who haven’t had their booster,” he told a Downing Street news conference.
“It’s absolutely heart-breaking that as many as 90% of those in intensive care with Covid have not had their booster, and over 60% of those in intensive care, who have Covid, have not had any vaccination at all.
“People are dying needlessly because they haven’t had their jabs, they haven’t had that booster.”
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:26
1641317048 Booster doses provide 88 per cent of protection against hospitalisation
Booster doses provide 88 per cent of “overall protection against being hospitalised”, England’s chief medical officer has said.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty said: “We now have confidence that the booster provides around 88 per cent overall protection against being hospitalised and it is likely to be even greater than that for severe disease and mortality.”
Sir Chris also urged anyone how had not yet received a booster to come forward.
He said: “Anybody who has not been boosted who is eligible really should do so. I think the idea that this is a mild disease, as opposed to less likely to be hospitalised, is easily demonstrated to be incorrect based on these data.”
He was referring to the high numbers of older people still being sent to hospital, because of the Omicron variant’s transmissibility.
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:24
1641316818 Watch: Boris Johnson announced that the UK is extending Plan B restrictions
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Boris Johnson announced that the UK is extending Plan B restrictions
Emily Atkinson 4 January 2022 17:20
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