1.7 million people in UK had coronavirus last week; thousands of Christmas flights cancelled – as it happened | World news

Some additional knowledge from France. Some 16,173 individuals are at the moment hospitalised for Covid-19 within the nation, with 3,254 of them in emergency care.

Some 122,462 individuals have died of Covid-19 in France for the reason that begin of the pandemic, AFP experiences/

Some 76.5 p.c of the inhabitants have acquired two vaccine doses, and practically 21 million individuals in a rustic of 67.4 million residents have acquired a booster shot.

On Friday, well being authority really helpful that adults obtain a booster jab three months after their preliminary vaccination.

New coronavirus restrictions might be in place till late March underneath measures examined by UK authorities scientific advisers.

The modelling by specialists from Warwick College thought of a bundle of measures together with a ban on socialising with one other family indoors and a return to the rule of six open air, according to the Step 2 restrictions in place in April in England.

A consensus paper printed on Christmas Eve by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (Spi-M-O) mentioned “quickly enacted Step 2 measures scale back the height of hospital stress to about half its degree underneath Plan B solely”, PA experiences.

The U.S. will subsequent week elevate the journey ban imposed on a number of southern African nations when the Omicron variant of Covid was first detected, AFP experiences.

Nations around the globe restricted journey from southern Africa after the variant was detected in South Africa, which reported Omicron to the World Well being Group (WHO) on November 24.

WHO and the United Nations spoke out in opposition to the journey bans and officers in South Africa mentioned they had been being punished for figuring out the pressure and being clear.

White Home assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz defended the ban on Twitter, saying, “The restrictions gave us time to know Omicron and we all know our current vaccines work in opposition to Omicron, (particularly) boosted.”

He mentioned the journey ban can be lifted on December 31.

In Bethlehem, hoteliers have been disillusioned. After a near-total lockdown final 12 months, Israel has once more closed its borders.

Celebrations on Friday had been subdued as simply a number of hundred huddled within the metropolis’s Manger Sq. to observe the Palestinian scouts and bagpipers parade previous.

This 12 months, like final, midnight mass on Christmas Eve can be reserved for only a small circle of individuals by invitation solely.

“It’s a bit surreal,” American pupil Hudson Tougher informed AFP.

“There’s a egocentric half the place it’s like ‘Oh I get to see this place so empty’ however alternatively you are feeling for the retailers, all the cash they’re dropping, it’s actually fairly tragic.”

The prospect of a fourth Covid booster jab within the UK is feasible as immunity could subside for hundreds of thousands by the brand new 12 months, the Telegraph newspaper reported.

Safety in opposition to getting ailing with the Omicron variant is as little as 35 per cent 10 weeks after a booster, in response to authorities knowledge.

The UK authorities will ship hundreds of thousands of textual content messages on Boxing Day urging individuals to get a coronavirus booster vaccine.

The message, a part of the Get Boosted Now marketing campaign, is the most recent try to scale back the impression of the Omicron variant sweeping the UK.

Greater than 32 million booster and third doses have already been administered, PA experiences.

The message will learn: “Get boosted now.

“Each grownup wants a Covid-19 booster vaccine to guard in opposition to Omicron.

“Get your Covid-19 vaccine or booster.

“See NHS web site for particulars.”

Rebecca Miller is cooking up a Christmas Day feast – regardless that she will be able to’t style a factor.

Each Miller and her companion Steven have Covid. They’ve cancelled their plans to go to Tasmania – the place they had been because of be celebrating her fiftieth birthday for 3 January, and his delayed fiftieth from final 12 months. As an alternative they are going to spend Christmas at dwelling in Adelaide as an alternative, video-calling household and associates.

“Although I’ve misplaced my sense of style and scent, I’m nonetheless cooking up a full vego roast, an enormous stuffed butternut pumpkin with roast veggies,” Miller mentioned.

In response to figures exhibiting at the moment’s 1,171 Covid hospitalisations within the UK, Matthew Taylor, chief govt of the NHS Confederation, mentioned the sharp rise was “actually worrying” for the NHS.
“Every day hospital admissions with Covid have gone up by over 40% within the final week [815 on 14/12; 1098 on 21/22 – England only] and that is actually worrying for well being leaders whose groups are working flat out within the context of rising employees absences and wider pressures”, he mentioned. “Whereas the preliminary findings counsel that omicron could also be much less more likely to trigger critical sickness than different strains, constructive instances are growing and so, we should bear in mind this virus presents a really actual danger to every day life and to the NHS.

The NHS will proceed to be there for everybody who wants it however the most effective factor the general public can is to proceed to behave in methods that may hold themselves and others protected from sickness.
“This contains ventilating indoor areas, testing earlier than social gatherings and if eligible, taking on that important provide of a vaccine or booster.”

Chris Hopson, chief govt of NHS Suppliers, mentioned: “This rise, and at the moment’s report of every day instances of infections, reveals that we should hold watching these hospital numbers very intently. Particularly, we have to see what occurs as bigger numbers of older individuals begin to be contaminated with the brand new variant. It’s seemingly the variety of older individuals catching omicron will enhance given the quantity of inter-generational contact over the following 72 hours of Christmas”

France reported a report 94,124 new every day Covid-19 infections on Friday whereas the variety of individuals hospitalised for the illness reached a seven-month excessive at near 16,200, in response to official knowledge.

The seven-day transferring common of latest instances, which evens out weekly knowledge reporting irregularities, additionally reached a brand new report of 66,417, a complete that has tripled in only one month, Reuters experiences.