People like me were mentioning this long back, and we were met with lectures on how India's testing is so much better than Pakistan and Bangladesh's
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Coronavirus in UK
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People like me were mentioning this long back, and we were met with lectures on how India's testing is so much better than Pakistan and Bangladesh's
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People living in Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire have been advised to minimise travel in and out of the area and avoid meeting indoors.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a "strengthened package of support" will also be provided to tackle a rise in the Delta variant of Covid.
Extra testing will now be rolled out across these areas.
Greater Manchester and Lancashire have been identified as areas where the Delta variant is spreading the fastest.
Mr Hancock said the package has been based on "what's working in Bolton," the Greater Manchester town which has already been offered enhanced support.
He said: "We know that this approach can work, we've seen it work in south London and in Bolton in stopping a rise in the number of cases.
"This is the next stage of tackling the pandemic in Manchester and in Lancashire, and of course it's vital that people in these areas - as everywhere else - come forward and get the jab as soon as they're eligible because that is our way out of this pandemic together."
The measures will also see some military support and testing within schools.
Latest government figures showed that of the top 20 areas with the highest infection rates in England in the week leading up to 3 June, all but three were in Greater Manchester or Lancashire.
Blackburn with Darwen had the highest rate, with the rate rising to 546.4 cases per 100,000 people.
In second-placed Bolton and third-placed Rossendale, the rates dropped to 319.6 cases per 100,000 and 288.2 per 100,000 respectively over the same period.
The other areas in the top ten - Hyndburn, Burnley, Ribble Valley and South Ribble in Lancashire and the Greater Manchester boroughs of Salford, Manchester and Bury - all also saw rates rise.
bbc
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a "strengthened package of support" will also be provided to tackle a rise in the Delta variant of Covid.
Extra testing will now be rolled out across these areas.
Greater Manchester and Lancashire have been identified as areas where the Delta variant is spreading the fastest.
Mr Hancock said the package has been based on "what's working in Bolton," the Greater Manchester town which has already been offered enhanced support.
He said: "We know that this approach can work, we've seen it work in south London and in Bolton in stopping a rise in the number of cases.
"This is the next stage of tackling the pandemic in Manchester and in Lancashire, and of course it's vital that people in these areas - as everywhere else - come forward and get the jab as soon as they're eligible because that is our way out of this pandemic together."
The measures will also see some military support and testing within schools.
Latest government figures showed that of the top 20 areas with the highest infection rates in England in the week leading up to 3 June, all but three were in Greater Manchester or Lancashire.
Blackburn with Darwen had the highest rate, with the rate rising to 546.4 cases per 100,000 people.
In second-placed Bolton and third-placed Rossendale, the rates dropped to 319.6 cases per 100,000 and 288.2 per 100,000 respectively over the same period.
The other areas in the top ten - Hyndburn, Burnley, Ribble Valley and South Ribble in Lancashire and the Greater Manchester boroughs of Salford, Manchester and Bury - all also saw rates rise.
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The government is considering delaying the lifting of England's remaining Covid restrictions by up to four weeks, sources have told the BBC.
The final stage of lifting lockdown, originally planned to take place no earlier than 21 June, would see all legal limits on social contact removed.
It comes amid growing concern over rapidly increasing cases and the higher transmissibility of the Delta variant.
Downing Street sources emphasised that no final decision has been made yet.
Data is still being examined ahead of a final announcement scheduled for Monday, but a Whitehall source said a number of options were being considered and the four-week delay was currently the main one.
Pushing the date back would allow the vaccination programme to take greater effect, as the rollout moves through to younger age groups.
The Times and Sun newspapers first reported that ministers were considering the delay.
It comes as key figures from the UK's Covid vaccine programme were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
The last part of ending lockdown in England would see nightclubs reopen, and an end to restrictions on performances, weddings and other life events.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced mounting pressure to push back the 21 June date in recent days.
The British Medical Association has joined public health officials in calling for a delay.
BMA council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: "It's not just about the number of hospitalisations, but also the risk to the health of large numbers of younger people, who can suffer long-term symptoms."
Following reports in the Times that some restrictions, such as the 30-person limit on weddings, could still be eased on 21 June, sources said various options are being considered.
The government said in February that England's restrictions would only be lifted if:
The Delta variant first identified in India now accounts for nine in 10 coronavirus cases in the UK.
It is roughly 60% more transmissible than the Alpha - or Kent - variant, Public Health England data suggests.
The analysis also found people infected by the Delta variant are twice as likely to end up in hospital than those with Alpha.
However, the data suggests nearly two-thirds of people infected with the Delta variant have not had a single dose of a Covid vaccine. Officials stress that two doses of the vaccine provide significantly more protection than one.
At the current rate of growth, as estimated on Thursday, the UK will reach 15,000 cases a day by 21 June and January levels of infections by late July - that is without any further relaxation of rules.
Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in infectious disease modelling at the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group of Sage, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government faced a very difficult decision.
"I think the key things now is not just looking a cases but really trying to establish the link between cases and hospital admissions," he said. "We are starting to see perhaps early signals that hospital admissions are going up but it's still unclear."
He added that even with a delay there would be a wave of cases and hospital admissions, and the government would have to weigh that up against the benefits of unlocking.
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said any delay to ending lockdown would be "a huge blow for many families and businesses across the country".
The Labour MP accused the government of continuing with "a reckless border policy that allowed the Delta variant to reach the UK and spread" despite warnings from scientists.
Earlier, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it was important to take a careful approach, adding: "We don't want to squander those hard-fought gains that we have made through the vaccination programme."
Chart showing infections trend
Another 8,125 virus cases were recorded in the UK on Friday, according to official figures, and another 17 people died within 28 days of a positive test.
More than 29 million people in the UK have had both doses of a vaccine - 55.4% of the adult population.
The R number in England is estimated to have risen to between 1.2 and 1.4, meaning that, on average, every 10 people with Covid will infect between 12 and 14 others.
The easing of restrictions is happening at different speeds across the other nations of the UK with 21 June being given as an "indicative date" for a number of changes in Northern Ireland, including 10 people from two households being allowed to meet in private homes, up to 15 people being able to meet outdoors in a garden and theatres and concerts able to restart.
Lockdown measures in Wales will be reviewed on 21 June, while the whole of Scotland is due to move to level zero on 28 June - but the prevalence of the Delta variant may delay that.
BBC
The final stage of lifting lockdown, originally planned to take place no earlier than 21 June, would see all legal limits on social contact removed.
It comes amid growing concern over rapidly increasing cases and the higher transmissibility of the Delta variant.
Downing Street sources emphasised that no final decision has been made yet.
Data is still being examined ahead of a final announcement scheduled for Monday, but a Whitehall source said a number of options were being considered and the four-week delay was currently the main one.
Pushing the date back would allow the vaccination programme to take greater effect, as the rollout moves through to younger age groups.
The Times and Sun newspapers first reported that ministers were considering the delay.
It comes as key figures from the UK's Covid vaccine programme were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
The last part of ending lockdown in England would see nightclubs reopen, and an end to restrictions on performances, weddings and other life events.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced mounting pressure to push back the 21 June date in recent days.
The British Medical Association has joined public health officials in calling for a delay.
BMA council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: "It's not just about the number of hospitalisations, but also the risk to the health of large numbers of younger people, who can suffer long-term symptoms."
Following reports in the Times that some restrictions, such as the 30-person limit on weddings, could still be eased on 21 June, sources said various options are being considered.
The government said in February that England's restrictions would only be lifted if:
The Delta variant first identified in India now accounts for nine in 10 coronavirus cases in the UK.
It is roughly 60% more transmissible than the Alpha - or Kent - variant, Public Health England data suggests.
The analysis also found people infected by the Delta variant are twice as likely to end up in hospital than those with Alpha.
However, the data suggests nearly two-thirds of people infected with the Delta variant have not had a single dose of a Covid vaccine. Officials stress that two doses of the vaccine provide significantly more protection than one.
At the current rate of growth, as estimated on Thursday, the UK will reach 15,000 cases a day by 21 June and January levels of infections by late July - that is without any further relaxation of rules.
Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in infectious disease modelling at the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group of Sage, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government faced a very difficult decision.
"I think the key things now is not just looking a cases but really trying to establish the link between cases and hospital admissions," he said. "We are starting to see perhaps early signals that hospital admissions are going up but it's still unclear."
He added that even with a delay there would be a wave of cases and hospital admissions, and the government would have to weigh that up against the benefits of unlocking.
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said any delay to ending lockdown would be "a huge blow for many families and businesses across the country".
The Labour MP accused the government of continuing with "a reckless border policy that allowed the Delta variant to reach the UK and spread" despite warnings from scientists.
Earlier, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it was important to take a careful approach, adding: "We don't want to squander those hard-fought gains that we have made through the vaccination programme."
Chart showing infections trend
Another 8,125 virus cases were recorded in the UK on Friday, according to official figures, and another 17 people died within 28 days of a positive test.
More than 29 million people in the UK have had both doses of a vaccine - 55.4% of the adult population.
The R number in England is estimated to have risen to between 1.2 and 1.4, meaning that, on average, every 10 people with Covid will infect between 12 and 14 others.
The easing of restrictions is happening at different speeds across the other nations of the UK with 21 June being given as an "indicative date" for a number of changes in Northern Ireland, including 10 people from two households being allowed to meet in private homes, up to 15 people being able to meet outdoors in a garden and theatres and concerts able to restart.
Lockdown measures in Wales will be reviewed on 21 June, while the whole of Scotland is due to move to level zero on 28 June - but the prevalence of the Delta variant may delay that.
BBC
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Boris Johnson will be joined by England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
It is reported he will delay the final stage of the roadmap for one month.
It is reported he will delay the final stage of the roadmap for one month.
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It was expected. Almost as if it was planned, From what I know, US have not been in lockdown yet their vaccine rollout programme has been better than UK. Here in the UK, Young people can not get the vaccine but most of my friends have got it already in Canada and America and the gap is smaller too.
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Official now:
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gazza619
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Delta delta delta. Makes me sick to core that tens of thousands of Indians were floating with no restrictions on the flights to the UK when the virus was killing so many people in India. Boris and his think tank should be charged with murder.
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Makes me sick too.
If we, ordinary people, could see it coming then how could this government not see it and act in it immediately?
I now know more people testing positive then I did in the first two lockdowns combined and what is more they're all 20 years of age and below.... some of them are quiet sick too.
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5pm press conference today…. Looks like most restrictions are being lifted.
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Almost all COVID rules - including limits on the number of people who can meet together, the wearing of face masks, and social distancing in pubs and bars - will be ditched as part of the final step of the roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions in England.
The government expects to push ahead with step four of its lockdown-lifting roadmap on 19 July, when Boris Johnson wants to move away from ministerial edicts for managing the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, people in England will be encouraged to use their personal judgement on the risks of infection - with the prime minister wishing to see a new way of living with the virus.
A final decision on whether to go ahead with the last phase of the roadmap will be taken in a week's time, following a review of the latest data and if the government's tests for removing restrictions are being met.
Should step four proceed on 19 July, it will see:
• No more limits on social contact to allow people to gather in groups of any size
• The removal of the "one metre-plus" rule in almost all settings, apart from specific places such as airports
• All remaining businesses, including nightclubs, able to re-open
• No capacity caps on large scale events, such as sports matches or concerts
• No more legal requirement on wearing face masks in shops or on public transport
• The government will no longer require people to work from home
• No more limits on the number of people who are able to visit care home residents
The government has also chosen not to impose the use of domestic COVID "passports" for people to demonstrate their vaccination or testing status when attending pubs, bars and restaurants or other venues.
There will be further announcements this week on whether schools and colleges will continue to have to "bubble" pupils, as well as on whether double-jabbed people will still have to self-isolate after contact with an infected person or on their return from an "amber list" country.
However, under those rules being retained, it will still be a legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19, the one-metre plus rule will continue in specific places such as airports to prevent passengers from different destinations from mixing, and infection control measures will remain in place in care homes.
Last month, the prime minister delayed the final lifting of lockdown restrictions by four weeks following an increase in cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Downing Street said the delay had allowed the vaccine rollout to save thousands more lives by getting jabs to millions more people.
The vaccine rollout will now be accelerated further by reducing the interval between the two doses from 12 weeks to eight for under-40s.
This will mean that every adult should have had the chance to be double jabbed by mid-September.
SKY
Face masks will no longer be legally required and distancing rules will be scrapped at the final stage of England's Covid lockdown roadmap, Boris Johnson has confirmed.
The rule of six inside private homes will be removed and work-from-home guidance abolished as 16 months of on-off restrictions on daily life end.
The PM said he expected the final step would go ahead as planned on 19 July.
This will be confirmed on 12 July after a review of the latest data.
Further updates on school bubbles, travel and self-isolation will follow in the coming days, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street news conference.
He said that even after the removal of the legal requirement to wear a face covering, he would continue to wear one himself in crowded places "as a courtesy".
Mr Johnson said the ability to end a vast majority of legal restrictions in England was thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout in breaking the link between cases and deaths.
But he warned cases were predicted to rise to 50,000 a day later this month and that "we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid".
The prime minister explained: "If we don't go ahead now when we've clearly done so much with the vaccination programme to break the link... when would we go ahead?"
He added: "We run the risk of either opening up at a very difficult time when the virus has an edge, has an advantage, in the cold months, or again putting everything off to next year."
Self-isolation orders for those who test positive would continue, Mr Johnson said, but he suggested there would soon be new rules for fully-vaccinated contacts.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs he would probably make an announcement regarding a new regime for close contacts on Tuesday.
The rule of six inside private homes will be removed and work-from-home guidance abolished as 16 months of on-off restrictions on daily life end.
The PM said he expected the final step would go ahead as planned on 19 July.
This will be confirmed on 12 July after a review of the latest data.
Further updates on school bubbles, travel and self-isolation will follow in the coming days, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street news conference.
He said that even after the removal of the legal requirement to wear a face covering, he would continue to wear one himself in crowded places "as a courtesy".
Mr Johnson said the ability to end a vast majority of legal restrictions in England was thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout in breaking the link between cases and deaths.
But he warned cases were predicted to rise to 50,000 a day later this month and that "we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid".
The prime minister explained: "If we don't go ahead now when we've clearly done so much with the vaccination programme to break the link... when would we go ahead?"
He added: "We run the risk of either opening up at a very difficult time when the virus has an edge, has an advantage, in the cold months, or again putting everything off to next year."
Self-isolation orders for those who test positive would continue, Mr Johnson said, but he suggested there would soon be new rules for fully-vaccinated contacts.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs he would probably make an announcement regarding a new regime for close contacts on Tuesday.
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What are the rule changes from 19 July?
Schools
The system of sending classroom bubbles home after a positive case will stop at the end of summer term
The need for face masks, social distancing and staggered start and finish times will also end
And the Covid testing regime for pupils will be transferred to the NHS Test and Trace system
Self-isolation
From 16 August, anyone who is a close contact of someone who tests positive for Covid will no longer have to self-isolate if they are fully vaccinated
Instead adults who've been in close contact with a positive case will be "advised" to get a PCR test as soon as possible
People who have a second vaccine dose close to 16 August must wait two weeks after the jab before following the new rules
Schools
The system of sending classroom bubbles home after a positive case will stop at the end of summer term
The need for face masks, social distancing and staggered start and finish times will also end
And the Covid testing regime for pupils will be transferred to the NHS Test and Trace system
Self-isolation
From 16 August, anyone who is a close contact of someone who tests positive for Covid will no longer have to self-isolate if they are fully vaccinated
Instead adults who've been in close contact with a positive case will be "advised" to get a PCR test as soon as possible
People who have a second vaccine dose close to 16 August must wait two weeks after the jab before following the new rules
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COVID news live: UK risks creating 'vaccine resistant variant' by axing nearly all lockdown rules at once - including face masks, warns expert
Scientist warns ditching nearly all COVID rules at once including masks could lead to emergence of a 'vaccine resistant variant'; minister says he'll still wear a face covering on public transport; Heathrow to fast-track arrivals for fully vaccinated passengers.
Key points:
Boris Johnson facing first PMQs since announcing 'bonfire' of COVID rules
PM is heading for a COVID showdown with MPs amid a backlash over a six-week wait for the ending of self-isolation rules on 16 August
As well as his weekly clash with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions, he faces a two-hour interrogation by a high-powered committee of senior MPs at 3.30pm
PM is also under fire over the decision to end the legal requirement to wear face masks in England - likely on 19 July
Reopening society too quickly and ditching masks at the same time could lead to the emergence of a 'vaccine resistant variant', an expert warns (08.23 post)
Heathrow to fast-track arrivals for fully vaccinated passengers under a pilot project to be launched this week
Scientist warns ditching nearly all COVID rules at once including masks could lead to emergence of a 'vaccine resistant variant'; minister says he'll still wear a face covering on public transport; Heathrow to fast-track arrivals for fully vaccinated passengers.
Key points:
Boris Johnson facing first PMQs since announcing 'bonfire' of COVID rules
PM is heading for a COVID showdown with MPs amid a backlash over a six-week wait for the ending of self-isolation rules on 16 August
As well as his weekly clash with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions, he faces a two-hour interrogation by a high-powered committee of senior MPs at 3.30pm
PM is also under fire over the decision to end the legal requirement to wear face masks in England - likely on 19 July
Reopening society too quickly and ditching masks at the same time could lead to the emergence of a 'vaccine resistant variant', an expert warns (08.23 post)
Heathrow to fast-track arrivals for fully vaccinated passengers under a pilot project to be launched this week
Coronavirus cases in the UK have risen above 30,000 for first time since January, official figures show.
Wednesday's data showed there had been a further 32,548 confirmed Covid cases.
And there were another 33 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive Covid test.
It comes as Boris Johnson has defended the government's approach to easing England's lockdown, saying the link between infection and serious disease and death has been "severed".
The prime minister has pledged to scrap most of England's coronavirus regulations at step four of the roadmap out of lockdown, expected on 19 July.
It means the government is now braced for a surge in coronavirus cases, possibly around 100,000 a day, as restrictions are lifted.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson said it was "certainly true" there was a "wave of cases because of the Delta variant" of the virus.
"But scientists are also absolutely clear that we have severed the link between infection and serious disease and death," he said.
"Currently there are only a 30th of the deaths that we were seeing at an equivalent position in previous waves of this pandemic."
However, on Monday the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance was more cautious, saying vaccines had "weakened the link between cases and hospitalisations, but it's a weakened link, not a completely broken link".
Wednesday's daily figure for Covid cases in the UK is above 30,000 for the first time since 24 January.
In terms of hospitalisations, England is seeing more than 330 admissions a day on average at the moment. The most recent day - Monday - saw 416 admitted.
As of Wednesday, 2,144 people are in hospital in England with Covid - the first time this figure has topped 2,000 since April.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57755733
Wednesday's data showed there had been a further 32,548 confirmed Covid cases.
And there were another 33 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive Covid test.
It comes as Boris Johnson has defended the government's approach to easing England's lockdown, saying the link between infection and serious disease and death has been "severed".
The prime minister has pledged to scrap most of England's coronavirus regulations at step four of the roadmap out of lockdown, expected on 19 July.
It means the government is now braced for a surge in coronavirus cases, possibly around 100,000 a day, as restrictions are lifted.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson said it was "certainly true" there was a "wave of cases because of the Delta variant" of the virus.
"But scientists are also absolutely clear that we have severed the link between infection and serious disease and death," he said.
"Currently there are only a 30th of the deaths that we were seeing at an equivalent position in previous waves of this pandemic."
However, on Monday the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance was more cautious, saying vaccines had "weakened the link between cases and hospitalisations, but it's a weakened link, not a completely broken link".
Wednesday's daily figure for Covid cases in the UK is above 30,000 for the first time since 24 January.
In terms of hospitalisations, England is seeing more than 330 admissions a day on average at the moment. The most recent day - Monday - saw 416 admitted.
As of Wednesday, 2,144 people are in hospital in England with Covid - the first time this figure has topped 2,000 since April.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57755733
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COVID-19: PM's easing of England's restrictions is 'irresponsible', BMA says
The medical body says the government is "throwing caution to the wind" by scrapping all regulations at once.
Boris Johnson's decision to press ahead with easing coronavirus restrictions in England is "irresponsible", senior doctors have said - although a government minister has admitted COVID rules could return this winter.
The prime minister announced on Monday that most of the last remaining restrictions in England would be axed from 19 July.
This was despite modelling showing that there could be 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions per day, with deaths reaching between 100 and 200 per day by mid-August, when the peak of the current wave is expected.
The British Medical Association said easing restrictions risked "potentially devastating consequences".
BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: "It's irresponsible - and frankly perilous - that the government has decided to press ahead with plans to lift the remaining COVID-19 restrictions on 19 July.
"The BMA has repeatedly warned of the rapidly rising infection rate and the crippling impact that COVID-related hospitalisations continue to have on the NHS.
"Not only pushing staff to the brink of collapse but also driving up already lengthy waiting times for elective care.
"The prime minister repeatedly emphasised the importance of a slow and cautious approach.
"But in reality the government is throwing caution to the wind by scrapping all regulations in one fell swoop - with potentially devastating consequences."
However, asked about the 200 deaths a day estimation, government minister Stephen Barclay suggested lifting restrictions as schools close for the summer holidays was the "optimum time to do so".
"Reopening when the schools are back in September, reopening when the colder weather is also bringing other challenges, also brings its risks," he told Sky News.
"So there's no perfect time to do this. What we've done is deploy the vaccine... opening when the schools are going to be shut is seen as the optimum time to do so."
Mr Barclay, the chief secretary to the Treasury, added the country needed to "get back to normal" and to "learn to live with the virus".
"It's about getting that balance right, so people reaching their own judgements, being sensible, following the guidance," he said.
"But we also need to get back to normal, businesses need to fire up, we need to get the economy going - those are important as well.
"Because there are consequences to not doing that, both economically and in terms of people's health."
The prime minister has previously described his roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions as "cautious and irreversible".
But Mr Barclay admitted there was a possibility that COVID restrictions could return later this year.
"We've been cautious in order to seek for it to be irreversible," he added. "One never knows what will be in the winter."
Mr Johnson on Monday admitted the pandemic "is not over" and that people should still proceed with caution, as figures showed a further 34,471 laboratory-confirmed infections in the UK in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said: "I sympathise with the political message that (restrictions) can't go on forever.
"But on the other hand we really don't want to get to a situation where things get so bad that we have to reimpose restrictions and it's a very delicate balancing act to get that right.
"The more you let the genie out of the bottle the harder it is to put it back in, though there is a large amount of uncertainty."
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham warned ministers about the impact of lifting restrictions - such as the legal requirement to wear masks on public transport - on those most vulnerable to coronavirus.
"One person's freedom day is another person's fear day," he told Sky News, as he questioned whether the government's advice for people to continue wearing masks in crowded places would be enough to give vulnerable people confidence to use trains, trams and buses.
Conservative MP and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, now the chair of the House of Commons health and social care committee, told Sky News that the prime minister's promise of an "irreversible" roadmap for easing lockdown rules was "wrong".
"It's easy to criticise a government for U-turns and changes, but actually in a pandemic you want a government to change its mind if the data changes," he said.
"And what we're seeing with the Delta variant is incredibly high levels of infectiousness.
"So I think they are very sensible to say we've got to go slowly and cautiously and not to use this word 'irreversible', which I think was the wrong word to use initially.
"Because things do change in a pandemic and you need to change your approach as they do."
Dr David Nabarro, a World Health Organisation special envoy on COVID-19, urged people to continue with preventative measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
"People would be well advised to continue to practice what they've learned to do so well, which is the techniques to reduce the risk of the virus spreading," he told Today.
"But most importantly you need public health systems that can identify people with the disease and help them to isolate quickly and effectively and that has to be done without fail everywhere to stop spikes turning into surging outbreaks."
But Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, was more optimistic, saying: "Although hospitalisation rates are rising rapidly at present, we can expect these to have slowed substantially within the next week or two.
"That does not mean that relaxing restrictions has no risk. But I would argue leaving step four (lockdown lifting) till the autumn carries a far greater risk."
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pms-easing-of-englands-restrictions-is-irresponsible-bma-says-12354633
The medical body says the government is "throwing caution to the wind" by scrapping all regulations at once.
Boris Johnson's decision to press ahead with easing coronavirus restrictions in England is "irresponsible", senior doctors have said - although a government minister has admitted COVID rules could return this winter.
The prime minister announced on Monday that most of the last remaining restrictions in England would be axed from 19 July.
This was despite modelling showing that there could be 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions per day, with deaths reaching between 100 and 200 per day by mid-August, when the peak of the current wave is expected.
The British Medical Association said easing restrictions risked "potentially devastating consequences".
BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: "It's irresponsible - and frankly perilous - that the government has decided to press ahead with plans to lift the remaining COVID-19 restrictions on 19 July.
"The BMA has repeatedly warned of the rapidly rising infection rate and the crippling impact that COVID-related hospitalisations continue to have on the NHS.
"Not only pushing staff to the brink of collapse but also driving up already lengthy waiting times for elective care.
"The prime minister repeatedly emphasised the importance of a slow and cautious approach.
"But in reality the government is throwing caution to the wind by scrapping all regulations in one fell swoop - with potentially devastating consequences."
However, asked about the 200 deaths a day estimation, government minister Stephen Barclay suggested lifting restrictions as schools close for the summer holidays was the "optimum time to do so".
"Reopening when the schools are back in September, reopening when the colder weather is also bringing other challenges, also brings its risks," he told Sky News.
"So there's no perfect time to do this. What we've done is deploy the vaccine... opening when the schools are going to be shut is seen as the optimum time to do so."
Mr Barclay, the chief secretary to the Treasury, added the country needed to "get back to normal" and to "learn to live with the virus".
"It's about getting that balance right, so people reaching their own judgements, being sensible, following the guidance," he said.
"But we also need to get back to normal, businesses need to fire up, we need to get the economy going - those are important as well.
"Because there are consequences to not doing that, both economically and in terms of people's health."
The prime minister has previously described his roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions as "cautious and irreversible".
But Mr Barclay admitted there was a possibility that COVID restrictions could return later this year.
"We've been cautious in order to seek for it to be irreversible," he added. "One never knows what will be in the winter."
Mr Johnson on Monday admitted the pandemic "is not over" and that people should still proceed with caution, as figures showed a further 34,471 laboratory-confirmed infections in the UK in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said: "I sympathise with the political message that (restrictions) can't go on forever.
"But on the other hand we really don't want to get to a situation where things get so bad that we have to reimpose restrictions and it's a very delicate balancing act to get that right.
"The more you let the genie out of the bottle the harder it is to put it back in, though there is a large amount of uncertainty."
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham warned ministers about the impact of lifting restrictions - such as the legal requirement to wear masks on public transport - on those most vulnerable to coronavirus.
"One person's freedom day is another person's fear day," he told Sky News, as he questioned whether the government's advice for people to continue wearing masks in crowded places would be enough to give vulnerable people confidence to use trains, trams and buses.
Conservative MP and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, now the chair of the House of Commons health and social care committee, told Sky News that the prime minister's promise of an "irreversible" roadmap for easing lockdown rules was "wrong".
"It's easy to criticise a government for U-turns and changes, but actually in a pandemic you want a government to change its mind if the data changes," he said.
"And what we're seeing with the Delta variant is incredibly high levels of infectiousness.
"So I think they are very sensible to say we've got to go slowly and cautiously and not to use this word 'irreversible', which I think was the wrong word to use initially.
"Because things do change in a pandemic and you need to change your approach as they do."
Dr David Nabarro, a World Health Organisation special envoy on COVID-19, urged people to continue with preventative measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
"People would be well advised to continue to practice what they've learned to do so well, which is the techniques to reduce the risk of the virus spreading," he told Today.
"But most importantly you need public health systems that can identify people with the disease and help them to isolate quickly and effectively and that has to be done without fail everywhere to stop spikes turning into surging outbreaks."
But Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, was more optimistic, saying: "Although hospitalisation rates are rising rapidly at present, we can expect these to have slowed substantially within the next week or two.
"That does not mean that relaxing restrictions has no risk. But I would argue leaving step four (lockdown lifting) till the autumn carries a far greater risk."
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pms-easing-of-englands-restrictions-is-irresponsible-bma-says-12354633
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Official figures show the UK has recorded 48,553 positive COVID cases and 63 further deaths in the latest 24-hour period
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The UK has recorded 48,161 new COVID cases and 25 more coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data.
The figures compare with 54,674 cases and 41 deaths announced on Saturday, while 31,772 infections and 26 fatalities were reported this time last week.
The figures compare with 54,674 cases and 41 deaths announced on Saturday, while 31,772 infections and 26 fatalities were reported this time last week.
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Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and the US will not have to quarantine when arriving in England from an amber list country, the government has confirmed.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the change regarding US and EU arrivals will come into force from 4am on 2 August.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the change regarding US and EU arrivals will come into force from 4am on 2 August.
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The UK has recorded 23,510 new COVID-19 cases and 146 more coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data.
The figures compare with 25,161 infections and 37 fatalities reported on Monday, while last Tuesday 21,691 cases and 138 deaths were announced.
The number deaths reported today is the highest daily total since 175 were recorded on 12 March.
The figures compare with 25,161 infections and 37 fatalities reported on Monday, while last Tuesday 21,691 cases and 138 deaths were announced.
The number deaths reported today is the highest daily total since 175 were recorded on 12 March.
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An antibody testing programme for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 is to be launched across the UK.
The government's new programme is intended to produce data on antibody protections for people following infection by different coronavirus variants.
From Tuesday, anyone aged 18 or over in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, will be able to opt in to the programme when receiving a PCR test.
If a participant tests positive for COVID-19 then they will be sent two finger ***** antibody tests to complete at home and send back for analysis.
The first of these tests should be taken as soon as possible after the patient receives their positive result, and the second should be taken 28 days later.
Up to 8,000 people will be rolled in the programme, according the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is running it.
UKHSA, working alongside NHS Test and Trace, will use the results to monitor antibody levels in positive cases.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the programme will be the first time antibody tests have been made available to the general public.
The scheme could help DHSC build up information on groups of people who don't develop an immune response after vaccination or infection.
The data could be used to "inform the ongoing approach to the pandemic and give further insight into the effectiveness of vaccines on new variants," DHSC said.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the programme will build on the "massive wall of defence" that is the UK vaccination programme.
"Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in [and by] doing so you'll be helping strengthen our understanding of COVID-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life," he said.
"I'm proud to see all parts of the UK uniting around this new initiative and working together to arm ourselves with even more valuable insights into how COVID-19 vaccines are protecting people up and down the UK."
It is important that the antibody test is taken as soon as possible so that the body hasn't yet had the chance to generate a detectable antibody response to the infection.
The second test, taken 28 days later, will measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.
UKHSA's chief executive Dr Jenny Harries said: "We are rolling out antibody testing across the UK to gain vital insight into the impact of our vaccination programme and immune responses to different variants of COVID-19.
"This innovative programme is only possible thanks to the thousands of people who continue to help with studies on vaccine and treatment effectiveness each week.
"The best way to protect yourself and those around you is by getting vaccinated. I encourage anyone who has not yet come forward to book their first and second jabs."
SKY
The government's new programme is intended to produce data on antibody protections for people following infection by different coronavirus variants.
From Tuesday, anyone aged 18 or over in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, will be able to opt in to the programme when receiving a PCR test.
If a participant tests positive for COVID-19 then they will be sent two finger ***** antibody tests to complete at home and send back for analysis.
The first of these tests should be taken as soon as possible after the patient receives their positive result, and the second should be taken 28 days later.
Up to 8,000 people will be rolled in the programme, according the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is running it.
UKHSA, working alongside NHS Test and Trace, will use the results to monitor antibody levels in positive cases.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the programme will be the first time antibody tests have been made available to the general public.
The scheme could help DHSC build up information on groups of people who don't develop an immune response after vaccination or infection.
The data could be used to "inform the ongoing approach to the pandemic and give further insight into the effectiveness of vaccines on new variants," DHSC said.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the programme will build on the "massive wall of defence" that is the UK vaccination programme.
"Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in [and by] doing so you'll be helping strengthen our understanding of COVID-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life," he said.
"I'm proud to see all parts of the UK uniting around this new initiative and working together to arm ourselves with even more valuable insights into how COVID-19 vaccines are protecting people up and down the UK."
It is important that the antibody test is taken as soon as possible so that the body hasn't yet had the chance to generate a detectable antibody response to the infection.
The second test, taken 28 days later, will measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.
UKHSA's chief executive Dr Jenny Harries said: "We are rolling out antibody testing across the UK to gain vital insight into the impact of our vaccination programme and immune responses to different variants of COVID-19.
"This innovative programme is only possible thanks to the thousands of people who continue to help with studies on vaccine and treatment effectiveness each week.
"The best way to protect yourself and those around you is by getting vaccinated. I encourage anyone who has not yet come forward to book their first and second jabs."
SKY
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Plans to introduce vaccine passports for access into nightclubs and large events in England will not go ahead, the health secretary has said.
Sajid Javid told the BBC: "We shouldn't be doing things for the sake of it."
It was thought the plan, which came under criticism from venues and some MPs, would be introduced at the end of this month.
Just a week ago, the vaccines minister had defended the scheme as the "best way" to keep the night industry open.
No 10 stressed the plan - which had been set to be introduced at the end of this month - would be kept "in reserve" should it be needed over autumn or winter.
Under the scheme, people would have been required to show proof - whether of double vaccination, a negative Covid test or finishing self-isolating after a positive PCR test - in order to gain entry to clubs and other crowded events.
Sajid Javid told the BBC: "We shouldn't be doing things for the sake of it."
It was thought the plan, which came under criticism from venues and some MPs, would be introduced at the end of this month.
Just a week ago, the vaccines minister had defended the scheme as the "best way" to keep the night industry open.
No 10 stressed the plan - which had been set to be introduced at the end of this month - would be kept "in reserve" should it be needed over autumn or winter.
Under the scheme, people would have been required to show proof - whether of double vaccination, a negative Covid test or finishing self-isolating after a positive PCR test - in order to gain entry to clubs and other crowded events.
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Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam says vaccines have "probably averted" roughly 24 million COVID cases and around 112,000 deaths
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The UK's failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the country's worst public health failures, a report by MPs says.
The government approach - backed by its scientists - was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, it said.
This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing thousands of lives, the MPs found.
But their report highlighted successes too, including the vaccination rollout.
It described the approach to vaccination - from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs - as "one of the most effective initiatives in UK history".
But campaigners criticised the report for failing to focus on those who had died, saying references to practical issues, including problems with laptops, was "laughable".
The 150-page document, Coronavirus: Lessons learned to date, is from the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, and MPs from all parties.
It predominantly focused on the response to the pandemic in England. The committees did not look at steps taken individually by Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The MPs called the pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives in the UK and nearly five million worldwide so far, the "biggest peacetime challenge" for a century.
Some early failings, the report suggested, resulted from apparent "group-think" among scientists and ministers.
It meant the UK was not as open to different approaches on earlier lockdowns, border controls and test and trace as it should have been.
A woman whose twin sisters died within three days of one another after testing positive for Covid says the report from MPs uses the success of the vaccine programme to deflect from earlier failures.
Zoe Davis' sisters Katy and Emma, who were both nurses, died in April 2020.
She says: "Nobody is saying that the vaccine programme hasn't been phenomenal but the frustrating thing is that's a deflection of what is actually being brought to attention and the overall message is that Covid failures have cost lives."
Lindsay Jackson, from Derbyshire, whose mother died with Covid, said the report confirmed her fears she had about care home visits in March 2020.
"I knew in my own mind the lockdown was too slow, I knew the social care sector wasn't being looked after, I knew people shouldn't have been released from hospital without tests, and this just confirms that."
She is calling for the government to move to a public inquiry now to see if anyone is culpable.
Conservative MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark, who chair the committees, said the nature of the pandemic meant it was "impossible to get everything right".
"The UK has combined some big achievements with some big mistakes. It is vital to learn from both," they said.
Cabinet Office minister Stephen Barclay said scientific advice had been followed and the government had made "difficult judgements" to protect the NHS.
He said the government took responsibility for everything that happened - saying the government would not shy away from any lessons to be learned at the full statutory public inquiry, expected next year.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the report was a "damning indictment" and showed the errors and failures of running down the NHS before the pandemic.
He called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to apologise to the bereaved and hold the public inquiry as soon as possible.
When Covid hit, the government's approach was to manage its spread through the population rather than try to stop it - or herd immunity by infection as the report called it.
The MPs said this was based on dealing with a flu pandemic, and was done on the advice of its scientific advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
But the idea was not challenged enough by ministers in any part of the UK. Although other parts of Europe were guilty of this too, the MPs added.
Too little was done in the early weeks to stop Covid spreading, the MPs said, despite evidence from China and then Italy that it was a virus that was highly infectious, caused severe illness and had no cure.
"The veil of ignorance through which the UK viewed the initial weeks of the pandemic was partly self-inflicted," the report said.
Asked whether herd immunity had been a policy in the early days, Mr Hunt said he did not think there was any desire for the whole population to be infected.
However, he said there was a "fatalism that it was likely that in the end, that will be the only way that we will stop the progress of the virus".
Decisions on lockdowns and social distancing during those early weeks - and the advice that led to them - were described as "one of the most important public health failures the UK has ever experienced".
The advice from scientists changed on 16 March 2020 - with a lockdown announced a week later.
"This slow and gradualist approach was not inadvertent, nor did it reflect bureaucratic delay or disagreement between ministers and their advisers," the report said, describing it as a "deliberate policy".
"It is now clear that this was the wrong policy, and that it led to a higher initial death toll than would have resulted from a more emphatic early policy. In a pandemic spreading rapidly and exponentially, every week counted."
A Liverpool FC and Atletico Madrid football match on 11 March - as a pandemic was declared by the WHO - and the Cheltenham Festival of Racing between 10 and 13 March, may have spread the virus.
Mr Barclay said hindsight was "an issue". Had the government known how much the country would be willing to endure, lockdown may have come sooner, the minister added.
The MPs also highlighted how ministers in England rejected scientific advice to have a two-week "circuit-breaker" in the autumn.
They said it was impossible to know whether that would have prevented the second lockdown in November, although they pointed out it had not in Wales.
'Slow testing'
The UK was one of the first countries in the world to develop a test for Covid in January 2020, but failed to translate that into an effective test-and-trace system during the first year of the pandemic, the report said.
Testing in the community stopped in March 2020 and for weeks during the first peak only those admitted to hospital were tested.
It was not until May that the NHS Test and Trace system was launched in England, but the report described its start as "slow, uncertain and often chaotic".
It said the system was too centralised, only later making use of the expertise in local public health teams run by councils.
But it praised the target set by then Health Secretary Matt Hancock to get to 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, saying it played an important part in galvanising the system.
Successes
The greatest praise though was reserved for the vaccination programme and the way the government supported the development of a number of vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
It said the whole programme was one of the most effective initiatives in history, and will ultimately help to save millions of lives here and across the world.
A key step, taken early on following a suggestion from chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, was to set up a task force that combined the talents of scientists, the NHS and the private sector, led by the "bold leadership" of venture capitalist Kate Bingham.
The development of treatments, such as dexamethasone, for Covid through the UK Recovery Trial was another area where the UK's response was genuinely world-leading, the report said.
And the NHS and government were also credited with the way hospital intensive care capacity was increased to ensure the majority who needed hospital treatment received it.
The report's recommendations include comprehensive government plans for future emergencies, a bigger role for the armed forces in emergency response plans, and considering a government and NHS volunteer reserve database.
Certain groups fared worse
The MPs said the pandemic had also exacerbated existing social, economic and health inequalities which would need addressing.
The report highlighted "unacceptably high" death rates in ethnic minority groups and among people with learning disabilities and autism.
For ethnic minorities, there were a variety of factors, including possible biological reasons and increased exposure because of housing and working conditions.
For people with learning disabilities, not enough thought was given to how restrictions would have a detrimental impact on them - particularly in terms of accessing health care more generally. Do not resuscitate orders were also used inappropriately.
There was a lack of priority attached to care homes too at the start of the pandemic.
The rapid discharge of people from hospital into care homes without adequate testing or isolation was a prime example of this.
This, combined with untested staff bringing infection into homes from the community, led to many thousands of deaths which could have been avoided.
Science minister George Freeman said it was too early for any proper discussion about blame or fault.
Asked about the higher UK death toll, he said: "A lot of that is actually to do with the very, very heavy obesity-related cardiometabolic chronic disease cohort that we've been carrying for years - that's a failure of public health in this country over decades."
Lobby Akinnola, of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group, said Mr Freeman's comments were "grossly offensive", adding that "the statutory inquiry cannot come soon enough".
BBC
The government approach - backed by its scientists - was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, it said.
This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing thousands of lives, the MPs found.
But their report highlighted successes too, including the vaccination rollout.
It described the approach to vaccination - from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs - as "one of the most effective initiatives in UK history".
But campaigners criticised the report for failing to focus on those who had died, saying references to practical issues, including problems with laptops, was "laughable".
The 150-page document, Coronavirus: Lessons learned to date, is from the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, and MPs from all parties.
It predominantly focused on the response to the pandemic in England. The committees did not look at steps taken individually by Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The MPs called the pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives in the UK and nearly five million worldwide so far, the "biggest peacetime challenge" for a century.
Some early failings, the report suggested, resulted from apparent "group-think" among scientists and ministers.
It meant the UK was not as open to different approaches on earlier lockdowns, border controls and test and trace as it should have been.
A woman whose twin sisters died within three days of one another after testing positive for Covid says the report from MPs uses the success of the vaccine programme to deflect from earlier failures.
Zoe Davis' sisters Katy and Emma, who were both nurses, died in April 2020.
She says: "Nobody is saying that the vaccine programme hasn't been phenomenal but the frustrating thing is that's a deflection of what is actually being brought to attention and the overall message is that Covid failures have cost lives."
Lindsay Jackson, from Derbyshire, whose mother died with Covid, said the report confirmed her fears she had about care home visits in March 2020.
"I knew in my own mind the lockdown was too slow, I knew the social care sector wasn't being looked after, I knew people shouldn't have been released from hospital without tests, and this just confirms that."
She is calling for the government to move to a public inquiry now to see if anyone is culpable.
Conservative MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark, who chair the committees, said the nature of the pandemic meant it was "impossible to get everything right".
"The UK has combined some big achievements with some big mistakes. It is vital to learn from both," they said.
Cabinet Office minister Stephen Barclay said scientific advice had been followed and the government had made "difficult judgements" to protect the NHS.
He said the government took responsibility for everything that happened - saying the government would not shy away from any lessons to be learned at the full statutory public inquiry, expected next year.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the report was a "damning indictment" and showed the errors and failures of running down the NHS before the pandemic.
He called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to apologise to the bereaved and hold the public inquiry as soon as possible.
When Covid hit, the government's approach was to manage its spread through the population rather than try to stop it - or herd immunity by infection as the report called it.
The MPs said this was based on dealing with a flu pandemic, and was done on the advice of its scientific advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
But the idea was not challenged enough by ministers in any part of the UK. Although other parts of Europe were guilty of this too, the MPs added.
Too little was done in the early weeks to stop Covid spreading, the MPs said, despite evidence from China and then Italy that it was a virus that was highly infectious, caused severe illness and had no cure.
"The veil of ignorance through which the UK viewed the initial weeks of the pandemic was partly self-inflicted," the report said.
Asked whether herd immunity had been a policy in the early days, Mr Hunt said he did not think there was any desire for the whole population to be infected.
However, he said there was a "fatalism that it was likely that in the end, that will be the only way that we will stop the progress of the virus".
Decisions on lockdowns and social distancing during those early weeks - and the advice that led to them - were described as "one of the most important public health failures the UK has ever experienced".
The advice from scientists changed on 16 March 2020 - with a lockdown announced a week later.
"This slow and gradualist approach was not inadvertent, nor did it reflect bureaucratic delay or disagreement between ministers and their advisers," the report said, describing it as a "deliberate policy".
"It is now clear that this was the wrong policy, and that it led to a higher initial death toll than would have resulted from a more emphatic early policy. In a pandemic spreading rapidly and exponentially, every week counted."
A Liverpool FC and Atletico Madrid football match on 11 March - as a pandemic was declared by the WHO - and the Cheltenham Festival of Racing between 10 and 13 March, may have spread the virus.
Mr Barclay said hindsight was "an issue". Had the government known how much the country would be willing to endure, lockdown may have come sooner, the minister added.
The MPs also highlighted how ministers in England rejected scientific advice to have a two-week "circuit-breaker" in the autumn.
They said it was impossible to know whether that would have prevented the second lockdown in November, although they pointed out it had not in Wales.
'Slow testing'
The UK was one of the first countries in the world to develop a test for Covid in January 2020, but failed to translate that into an effective test-and-trace system during the first year of the pandemic, the report said.
Testing in the community stopped in March 2020 and for weeks during the first peak only those admitted to hospital were tested.
It was not until May that the NHS Test and Trace system was launched in England, but the report described its start as "slow, uncertain and often chaotic".
It said the system was too centralised, only later making use of the expertise in local public health teams run by councils.
But it praised the target set by then Health Secretary Matt Hancock to get to 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, saying it played an important part in galvanising the system.
Successes
The greatest praise though was reserved for the vaccination programme and the way the government supported the development of a number of vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
It said the whole programme was one of the most effective initiatives in history, and will ultimately help to save millions of lives here and across the world.
A key step, taken early on following a suggestion from chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, was to set up a task force that combined the talents of scientists, the NHS and the private sector, led by the "bold leadership" of venture capitalist Kate Bingham.
The development of treatments, such as dexamethasone, for Covid through the UK Recovery Trial was another area where the UK's response was genuinely world-leading, the report said.
And the NHS and government were also credited with the way hospital intensive care capacity was increased to ensure the majority who needed hospital treatment received it.
The report's recommendations include comprehensive government plans for future emergencies, a bigger role for the armed forces in emergency response plans, and considering a government and NHS volunteer reserve database.
Certain groups fared worse
The MPs said the pandemic had also exacerbated existing social, economic and health inequalities which would need addressing.
The report highlighted "unacceptably high" death rates in ethnic minority groups and among people with learning disabilities and autism.
For ethnic minorities, there were a variety of factors, including possible biological reasons and increased exposure because of housing and working conditions.
For people with learning disabilities, not enough thought was given to how restrictions would have a detrimental impact on them - particularly in terms of accessing health care more generally. Do not resuscitate orders were also used inappropriately.
There was a lack of priority attached to care homes too at the start of the pandemic.
The rapid discharge of people from hospital into care homes without adequate testing or isolation was a prime example of this.
This, combined with untested staff bringing infection into homes from the community, led to many thousands of deaths which could have been avoided.
Science minister George Freeman said it was too early for any proper discussion about blame or fault.
Asked about the higher UK death toll, he said: "A lot of that is actually to do with the very, very heavy obesity-related cardiometabolic chronic disease cohort that we've been carrying for years - that's a failure of public health in this country over decades."
Lobby Akinnola, of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group, said Mr Freeman's comments were "grossly offensive", adding that "the statutory inquiry cannot come soon enough".
BBC
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An investigation has been launched into the growing numbers of people who report they are testing positive for COVID on multiple lateral flow tests - but then negative on PCR tests.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed to Sky News it was "aware of the issues" and that an "investigation was ongoing" into the claims.
A spokesperson for the government's public health body said people should continue to follow official guidance if they have COVID-19 symptoms, including using lateral flow and PCR tests and to self-isolate when necessary.
'Potent' variant-beating antibody discovered - COVID latest
It comes after scientists had called for an urgent investigation following numerous reports from members of the public about the different results being presented by the tests.
Some lateral flow tests - which are set to replace PCRs as the required standard for returning travellers from later this month - had reportedly been showing a negative result despite people having "classic" symptoms.
The UKHSA was unable to reveal how many reports it had received about the tests and for which parts of the country they related to - but hoped it would soon be in a position to provide an update.
People stood next to the National Covid Memorial Wall on the Embankment in London, following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England. Picture date: Saturday June 12, 2021.
Last week, large numbers of people in parts of southwest England reported they were having issues with the tests, amid concerns it might represent the detection of a new variant.
However, it has since been claimed by one of the government's top COVID-19 experts that the dominant Delta variant has made others "extinct".
Denis Kinane, an immunologist and founding scientist at Cignpost Diagnostics, which runs ExpressTest, said: "We have known that the lateral flow devices have weaknesses in terms of false positives and false negatives since we began COVID testing.
"Lateral flow has a hair trigger, so as a result it has consistently shown many false positives.
"Commonly, it can be triggered through chemical means that disrupt the test antibodies and make them act as if the virus is present, giving a false positive.
"PCR tests remain the gold standard, identifying 99.9% of those infected."
Alan McNally, of the University of Birmingham, told The Guardian there needs to be "really clear and immediate messaging from the government around which test" people should act upon.
The professor of microbial evolutionary genomics said: "If you've got symptoms of a respiratory infection and a lateral flow test that's positive, I would be working on the assumption that it's COVID-19 regardless of the PCR result at the moment.
"That message needs to be made clear, which then buys time for the Department of Health and UKHSA to do a quality audit of the PCR testing process and try to find out where the issue may be."
SKY
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed to Sky News it was "aware of the issues" and that an "investigation was ongoing" into the claims.
A spokesperson for the government's public health body said people should continue to follow official guidance if they have COVID-19 symptoms, including using lateral flow and PCR tests and to self-isolate when necessary.
'Potent' variant-beating antibody discovered - COVID latest
It comes after scientists had called for an urgent investigation following numerous reports from members of the public about the different results being presented by the tests.
Some lateral flow tests - which are set to replace PCRs as the required standard for returning travellers from later this month - had reportedly been showing a negative result despite people having "classic" symptoms.
The UKHSA was unable to reveal how many reports it had received about the tests and for which parts of the country they related to - but hoped it would soon be in a position to provide an update.
People stood next to the National Covid Memorial Wall on the Embankment in London, following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England. Picture date: Saturday June 12, 2021.
Last week, large numbers of people in parts of southwest England reported they were having issues with the tests, amid concerns it might represent the detection of a new variant.
However, it has since been claimed by one of the government's top COVID-19 experts that the dominant Delta variant has made others "extinct".
Denis Kinane, an immunologist and founding scientist at Cignpost Diagnostics, which runs ExpressTest, said: "We have known that the lateral flow devices have weaknesses in terms of false positives and false negatives since we began COVID testing.
"Lateral flow has a hair trigger, so as a result it has consistently shown many false positives.
"Commonly, it can be triggered through chemical means that disrupt the test antibodies and make them act as if the virus is present, giving a false positive.
"PCR tests remain the gold standard, identifying 99.9% of those infected."
Alan McNally, of the University of Birmingham, told The Guardian there needs to be "really clear and immediate messaging from the government around which test" people should act upon.
The professor of microbial evolutionary genomics said: "If you've got symptoms of a respiratory infection and a lateral flow test that's positive, I would be working on the assumption that it's COVID-19 regardless of the PCR result at the moment.
"That message needs to be made clear, which then buys time for the Department of Health and UKHSA to do a quality audit of the PCR testing process and try to find out where the issue may be."
SKY
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COVID cases could hit 100,000 a day, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has warned - but he confirmed England will not yet move to the government's plan B for dealing with pressures on hospitals this winter.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Wednesday, Mr Javid cautioned that the coronavirus pandemic "is not over".
"Thanks to the vaccination programme, the link between hospitalisations and deaths has significantly weakened, but it's not broken," the health secretary said.
"So we must all remember that this virus will be with us for the long term and remains a threat to our loved ones, and a threat to the progress that we've made in getting our nation closer to normal life."
COVID news live as UK seeing 1,000 coronavirus hospitalisations - latest updates
On Wednesday, the UK recorded 49,139 new COVID-19 cases - the eighth day in a row that infections have been above 40,000 - and 179 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
And on Tuesday, the UK recorded 223 COVID-linked deaths - the highest daily number since early March.
Mr Javid said that current COVID deaths "remain mercifully low" - an assertion later questioned by one SAGE scientist - and the health secretary added he does not believe the current pressures on the NHS are "unsustainable".
Mr Javid previously warned of coronavirus cases reaching 100,000 a day this summer ahead of COVID restrictions being lifted on "freedom day".
Although cases did later rise to a summer peak of around 60,000 in one day in mid-July, they subsequently began to fall.
However, a recent rise in cases has led to calls for ministers to enact plan B of their autumn and winter COVID response strategy.
Under the government's plan B, contingency measures could include the reintroduction of a legal requirement to wear face coverings in some settings; the potential introduction of COVID vaccine passports; and the possible return of the work from home command.
But Mr Javid said he would not yet be reintroducing COVID measures in England.
"We're looking closely at the data and we won't be implementing our plan B of contingency measures at this point," he told the news conference.
"But we'll be staying vigilant, preparing for all eventualities, while strengthening our vital defences that can help us fight back against this virus."
The health secretary also urged people to take "little steps" that would make a "big difference".
These include meeting others outdoors where possible, ensuring good ventilation, voulntarily wearing masks in crowded spaces and taking lateral flow tests.
"We've come so far thanks to the efforts of so many, but with winter ahead, we can't blow it now," Mr Javid said.
He also appeared to link the possible reintroduction of COVID measures this winter to the success of the booster jabs programme in the coming weeks.
The health secretary said that getting a top-up vaccination - which are being made available to the most vulnerable and over-50s - was "not just to save lives, but to keep your freedoms too".
"Because all of these precious moments that we've been able to restore over the past few months - the loved ones we've been able to see and the collective experiences we've been able to share - they've been possible thanks to our vaccination programme and because so many of you came forward when it was your time," he added.
"If we want to secure these freedoms for the long-term than the best thing we can do is come forward once again when that moment comes.
"After the decisive steps that we've taken this year, none of us want to go backwards now."
Urging people to get vaccinated against both COVID and flu, Mr Javid said: "If we all play our part, then we can give ourselves the best possible chance in this race, get through this winter, and enjoy Christmas with our loved ones."
Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the health service was "very, very busy indeed" but added there was no one number of COVID admissions to hospitals that would trigger fresh interventions.
"What's happening in one part of the country might not be happening in another part of the country," he told the news conference.
"That's been typical of the pandemic over the last 18 months and it's possible that we will see that variation again."
Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said the country was going into winter with a "really high level" of COVID cases.
"What we can see is that the cases now are almost as high as they were in July and actually not far off where they were last winter," she said.
"What we are not seeing is that dip down again at the other side of the peak and that is really important because we are kicking off the winter at a really high level of cases.
"Fortunately that is not currently working through into serious disease and deaths."
The health secretary on Wednesday also announced the UK has struck deals for two new coronavirus treatments.
The antiviral drugs, if approved by the medicines regulator, are expected to be given to those most at risk from the virus, helping to reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS.
Amid mounting concern about rising cases, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents health bodies, has warned the country risks "stumbling into a winter crisis".
And he has called on the government to enact "Plan B" of its strategy for coping with autumn and winter pressures on hospitals "without delay".
Mr Taylor also called for a "plan C" to be outlined to health leaders, should the measures in Plan B prove to be "insufficient".
However, speaking to Sky News earlier on Wednesday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted there would not be another national lockdown.
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth accused Mr Javid of "complacency" at the Downing Street news conference.
"The so-called wall of defence against Covid is crumbling and today we needed a plan to rebuild it," he said.
Responding to Mr Javid's assertion that current COVID deaths "remain mercifully low", SAGE member Professor Susan Michie posted on Twitter: "What kind of mercy is this?"
SKY
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Wednesday, Mr Javid cautioned that the coronavirus pandemic "is not over".
"Thanks to the vaccination programme, the link between hospitalisations and deaths has significantly weakened, but it's not broken," the health secretary said.
"So we must all remember that this virus will be with us for the long term and remains a threat to our loved ones, and a threat to the progress that we've made in getting our nation closer to normal life."
COVID news live as UK seeing 1,000 coronavirus hospitalisations - latest updates
On Wednesday, the UK recorded 49,139 new COVID-19 cases - the eighth day in a row that infections have been above 40,000 - and 179 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
And on Tuesday, the UK recorded 223 COVID-linked deaths - the highest daily number since early March.
Mr Javid said that current COVID deaths "remain mercifully low" - an assertion later questioned by one SAGE scientist - and the health secretary added he does not believe the current pressures on the NHS are "unsustainable".
Mr Javid previously warned of coronavirus cases reaching 100,000 a day this summer ahead of COVID restrictions being lifted on "freedom day".
Although cases did later rise to a summer peak of around 60,000 in one day in mid-July, they subsequently began to fall.
However, a recent rise in cases has led to calls for ministers to enact plan B of their autumn and winter COVID response strategy.
Under the government's plan B, contingency measures could include the reintroduction of a legal requirement to wear face coverings in some settings; the potential introduction of COVID vaccine passports; and the possible return of the work from home command.
But Mr Javid said he would not yet be reintroducing COVID measures in England.
"We're looking closely at the data and we won't be implementing our plan B of contingency measures at this point," he told the news conference.
"But we'll be staying vigilant, preparing for all eventualities, while strengthening our vital defences that can help us fight back against this virus."
The health secretary also urged people to take "little steps" that would make a "big difference".
These include meeting others outdoors where possible, ensuring good ventilation, voulntarily wearing masks in crowded spaces and taking lateral flow tests.
"We've come so far thanks to the efforts of so many, but with winter ahead, we can't blow it now," Mr Javid said.
He also appeared to link the possible reintroduction of COVID measures this winter to the success of the booster jabs programme in the coming weeks.
The health secretary said that getting a top-up vaccination - which are being made available to the most vulnerable and over-50s - was "not just to save lives, but to keep your freedoms too".
"Because all of these precious moments that we've been able to restore over the past few months - the loved ones we've been able to see and the collective experiences we've been able to share - they've been possible thanks to our vaccination programme and because so many of you came forward when it was your time," he added.
"If we want to secure these freedoms for the long-term than the best thing we can do is come forward once again when that moment comes.
"After the decisive steps that we've taken this year, none of us want to go backwards now."
Urging people to get vaccinated against both COVID and flu, Mr Javid said: "If we all play our part, then we can give ourselves the best possible chance in this race, get through this winter, and enjoy Christmas with our loved ones."
Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said the health service was "very, very busy indeed" but added there was no one number of COVID admissions to hospitals that would trigger fresh interventions.
"What's happening in one part of the country might not be happening in another part of the country," he told the news conference.
"That's been typical of the pandemic over the last 18 months and it's possible that we will see that variation again."
Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said the country was going into winter with a "really high level" of COVID cases.
"What we can see is that the cases now are almost as high as they were in July and actually not far off where they were last winter," she said.
"What we are not seeing is that dip down again at the other side of the peak and that is really important because we are kicking off the winter at a really high level of cases.
"Fortunately that is not currently working through into serious disease and deaths."
The health secretary on Wednesday also announced the UK has struck deals for two new coronavirus treatments.
The antiviral drugs, if approved by the medicines regulator, are expected to be given to those most at risk from the virus, helping to reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS.
Amid mounting concern about rising cases, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents health bodies, has warned the country risks "stumbling into a winter crisis".
And he has called on the government to enact "Plan B" of its strategy for coping with autumn and winter pressures on hospitals "without delay".
Mr Taylor also called for a "plan C" to be outlined to health leaders, should the measures in Plan B prove to be "insufficient".
However, speaking to Sky News earlier on Wednesday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted there would not be another national lockdown.
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth accused Mr Javid of "complacency" at the Downing Street news conference.
"The so-called wall of defence against Covid is crumbling and today we needed a plan to rebuild it," he said.
Responding to Mr Javid's assertion that current COVID deaths "remain mercifully low", SAGE member Professor Susan Michie posted on Twitter: "What kind of mercy is this?"
SKY
Robert
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We are doing really badly in the UK in terms of infections. I foresee other nations putting us on their red lists.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said from noon tomorrow six African countries will be added to the red list, flights will be temporarily banned and UK travellers must quarantine due to concerns over a newly identified COVID variant.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the new variant identified in South Africa "may be more transmissible" than the Delta strain and added "the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective"
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the new variant identified in South Africa "may be more transmissible" than the Delta strain and added "the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective"
James
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Seems like the continent of Europe is now suffering as badly as we are, and in some cases worse.
Omicron is also looking like a game changer.
pakistani pride
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Whilst in SA were this Omicron comes from its business as usual, wedding parties etc in full flow.
A few Dutch golfers are stuck in SA and they said that the panic in Europe / UK is much bigger then in SA itself....
James
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Yes, that sounds like the standard doomsday reaction on our end.
pakistani pride
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And thats the whole issue. Doomsday 24/7. I am living in the netherlands/rotterdam. Its supposed to be the worst in the netherlands, yet if you use common sense you undertand its 90% hype by MSM.
James
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Boosters for all over 18s announced in UK.
Javid and NHS boss to join PM at 16:00 GMT
We've just heard the prime minister will be joined by Health Secretary Sajid Javid and NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard for a news conference at 16:00 GMT.
Javid and NHS boss to join PM at 16:00 GMT
We've just heard the prime minister will be joined by Health Secretary Sajid Javid and NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard for a news conference at 16:00 GMT.
James
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<b>BBC: Covid travel test changes a 'hammer blow' to industry.</b>
The return of pre-departure tests for travellers heading to the UK has been described by the travel industry as a "hammer blow" to the sector.
From 04:00 GMT on Tuesday everyone aged 12 and over will have to take a test a maximum of 48 hours before leaving.
The government said the tightening of the rules was necessary because of an increase in cases of the Omicron variant linked to foreign travel.
But the Business Travel Association said livelihoods would be "devastated".
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab accepted the latest measures might "upset or disrupt" some people, but insisted it was right for ministers to take "incremental steps" early to avoid "bigger disruption" to travel and the economy.
It came as the latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency on Saturday showed a further 26 cases of the Omicron variant had been reported across the UK - taking the total so far to 160.
Scientists have raised concerns that the heavily-mutated variant may be more transmissible than the dominant Delta strain and be able to escape immunity from vaccines.
Under the changes, travellers will be required to show proof of a negative PCR or lateral flow test taken no earlier than 48 hours before departure, the government announced in a press release.
Currently, travellers only need to self-isolate until they test negative within two days of arriving into the country.
The government said the change to the rules followed new analysis from the UK Health and Security Agency that indicates the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant.
This increases the effectiveness of pre-departure testing as it is more likely to identify positive cases before travel, the government said.
It was also announced Nigeria was being added to the red list of countries from Monday.
The only people allowed to enter the UK from red list countries are UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, and they must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the measures were temporary.
The Labour party had called for pre-departure tests to be brought in, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying she was "relieved" it was now happening, but wished ministers had acted faster.
Prof Mark Woolhouse, a member of the government's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said the latest restrictions had come in "too late" to make a "material difference" to the course of a potential Omicron wave in the UK.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "I think it may be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted," adding that community transmission would drive an Omicron wave in the UK if there was to be one.
Prof Woolhouse added that the numbers of UK Omicron cases were currently "quite small" and he strongly suspected the absolute number was "more in the hundreds than the thousands".
But he warned Omicron was "spreading pretty rapidly" in the UK, and if current trends here and in South Africa continued in the coming weeks and months, it could even replace the Delta variant around the world.
Asked about Prof Woolhouse's comment the new restrictions had come too late, Mr Raab said there would always be "Goldilocks criticism that we've done too much or we've done too little".
He said ministers would stay "eternally vigilant" to the risks associated with the Omicron variant and that measures, including adding countries to the travel red list, were intended to prevent its "reseeding" in the UK.
Citing this week's drop in the number of Covid hospitalisations and deaths and the "success" of the vaccination rollout, he said: "We have steadily and steadfastly created the resilient defences which means we can enjoy Christmas."
However, travel industry bosses said they had not been given sufficient warning of the change.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, said: "The introduction of pre-departure testing with little warning is a hammer blow to the business travel industry."
"Public safety is a priority, but businesses will fail, travellers will be stranded and livelihoods devastated by the lack of coherent plans from government," he added.
Airlines UK said the change was a "premature" move that would "hit industry and passengers before we see the full data" on the effect of the Omicron variant.
The trade body added: "The red list extension made complete sense - that's what it's there for - but we know from experience that blanket restrictions do not stop the importation of variants.
"It's already here. They've now changed their travel advice twice within a week. It's impossible for anyone to plan."
British Airways' Chairman Sean Doyle said the move was "completely out of step with the rest of the world, with every other country taking a measured approach based on the science".
Travel association Abta said the re-introduction of pre-departure tests would be "a huge blow" to "an already devastated travel industry".
The group called for the government "to step up to save jobs and businesses" and for the cost of PCR tests to be reduced.
The return of pre-departure tests for travellers heading to the UK has been described by the travel industry as a "hammer blow" to the sector.
From 04:00 GMT on Tuesday everyone aged 12 and over will have to take a test a maximum of 48 hours before leaving.
The government said the tightening of the rules was necessary because of an increase in cases of the Omicron variant linked to foreign travel.
But the Business Travel Association said livelihoods would be "devastated".
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab accepted the latest measures might "upset or disrupt" some people, but insisted it was right for ministers to take "incremental steps" early to avoid "bigger disruption" to travel and the economy.
It came as the latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency on Saturday showed a further 26 cases of the Omicron variant had been reported across the UK - taking the total so far to 160.
Scientists have raised concerns that the heavily-mutated variant may be more transmissible than the dominant Delta strain and be able to escape immunity from vaccines.
Under the changes, travellers will be required to show proof of a negative PCR or lateral flow test taken no earlier than 48 hours before departure, the government announced in a press release.
Currently, travellers only need to self-isolate until they test negative within two days of arriving into the country.
The government said the change to the rules followed new analysis from the UK Health and Security Agency that indicates the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant.
This increases the effectiveness of pre-departure testing as it is more likely to identify positive cases before travel, the government said.
It was also announced Nigeria was being added to the red list of countries from Monday.
The only people allowed to enter the UK from red list countries are UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, and they must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the measures were temporary.
The Labour party had called for pre-departure tests to be brought in, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying she was "relieved" it was now happening, but wished ministers had acted faster.
Prof Mark Woolhouse, a member of the government's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said the latest restrictions had come in "too late" to make a "material difference" to the course of a potential Omicron wave in the UK.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "I think it may be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted," adding that community transmission would drive an Omicron wave in the UK if there was to be one.
Prof Woolhouse added that the numbers of UK Omicron cases were currently "quite small" and he strongly suspected the absolute number was "more in the hundreds than the thousands".
But he warned Omicron was "spreading pretty rapidly" in the UK, and if current trends here and in South Africa continued in the coming weeks and months, it could even replace the Delta variant around the world.
Asked about Prof Woolhouse's comment the new restrictions had come too late, Mr Raab said there would always be "Goldilocks criticism that we've done too much or we've done too little".
He said ministers would stay "eternally vigilant" to the risks associated with the Omicron variant and that measures, including adding countries to the travel red list, were intended to prevent its "reseeding" in the UK.
Citing this week's drop in the number of Covid hospitalisations and deaths and the "success" of the vaccination rollout, he said: "We have steadily and steadfastly created the resilient defences which means we can enjoy Christmas."
However, travel industry bosses said they had not been given sufficient warning of the change.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, said: "The introduction of pre-departure testing with little warning is a hammer blow to the business travel industry."
"Public safety is a priority, but businesses will fail, travellers will be stranded and livelihoods devastated by the lack of coherent plans from government," he added.
Airlines UK said the change was a "premature" move that would "hit industry and passengers before we see the full data" on the effect of the Omicron variant.
The trade body added: "The red list extension made complete sense - that's what it's there for - but we know from experience that blanket restrictions do not stop the importation of variants.
"It's already here. They've now changed their travel advice twice within a week. It's impossible for anyone to plan."
British Airways' Chairman Sean Doyle said the move was "completely out of step with the rest of the world, with every other country taking a measured approach based on the science".
Travel association Abta said the re-introduction of pre-departure tests would be "a huge blow" to "an already devastated travel industry".
The group called for the government "to step up to save jobs and businesses" and for the cost of PCR tests to be reduced.
James
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A voice from the realms of the forgotten….
<b>BBC — Matt Hancock: Breaking Covid guidance 'failure of leadership'.</b>
Former health secretary Matt Hancock said breaking of social distancing guidance, which led to his resignation, was "a failure of leadership".
The West Suffolk MP stood down after pictures were published showing him in an embrace with a colleague.
Speaking to the BBC at a mass vaccination event at Newmarket Racecourse, he said he was "sorry for all the people I let down".
He added: "People have been forgiving which I'm grateful for."
Mr Hancock quit after The Sun published pictures and then a video of Mr Hancock and Gina Coladangelo kissing.
The newspaper said they had been taken inside the Department of Health on 6 May.
Mr Hancock said: "What I really feel is that was a failure of leadership.
"I hope that by being straightforward and apologising and resigning, people can see that I get it and I know I need to do a good job representing the people."
The 43-year-old Conservative MP for West Suffolk said he was not in any rush to return to ministerial office, adding: "There is a lot you can do for the people you serve from the back benches."
The former health secretary was also at the centre of cronyism claims after a neighbour was awarded an NHS contract.
But he insisted "everything has been above board" over government contracts for PPE and medical equipment.
He said he was "absolutely certain" that the forthcoming Covid inquiry would find "that a whole load of people were working incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to do their best to save lives, and that's what we were doing".
He received his third jab at the Newmarket event and said "the booster is the best defence" against Covid-19 and the Omicron variant.
"The government are right to be cautious and careful, but also they've got the balance about right about not closing things down," he said.
"We have got the vaccines, especially the boosters, and we've got testing widely available."
He added the best way for people to get through the run-up to Christmas was to "test the hell out of yourselves".
<b>BBC — Matt Hancock: Breaking Covid guidance 'failure of leadership'.</b>
Former health secretary Matt Hancock said breaking of social distancing guidance, which led to his resignation, was "a failure of leadership".
The West Suffolk MP stood down after pictures were published showing him in an embrace with a colleague.
Speaking to the BBC at a mass vaccination event at Newmarket Racecourse, he said he was "sorry for all the people I let down".
He added: "People have been forgiving which I'm grateful for."
Mr Hancock quit after The Sun published pictures and then a video of Mr Hancock and Gina Coladangelo kissing.
The newspaper said they had been taken inside the Department of Health on 6 May.
Mr Hancock said: "What I really feel is that was a failure of leadership.
"I hope that by being straightforward and apologising and resigning, people can see that I get it and I know I need to do a good job representing the people."
The 43-year-old Conservative MP for West Suffolk said he was not in any rush to return to ministerial office, adding: "There is a lot you can do for the people you serve from the back benches."
The former health secretary was also at the centre of cronyism claims after a neighbour was awarded an NHS contract.
But he insisted "everything has been above board" over government contracts for PPE and medical equipment.
He said he was "absolutely certain" that the forthcoming Covid inquiry would find "that a whole load of people were working incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to do their best to save lives, and that's what we were doing".
He received his third jab at the Newmarket event and said "the booster is the best defence" against Covid-19 and the Omicron variant.
"The government are right to be cautious and careful, but also they've got the balance about right about not closing things down," he said.
"We have got the vaccines, especially the boosters, and we've got testing widely available."
He added the best way for people to get through the run-up to Christmas was to "test the hell out of yourselves".
Last Monetarist
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces Plan B restrictions in England which will include COVID passports and masks at certain venues and asking people to work from home.
Robert
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This virus is still killing 150 Britons every day.
To think that back in late spring I thought we had it licked.
Across the pond, death toll in USA closes on one million.
To think that back in late spring I thought we had it licked.
Across the pond, death toll in USA closes on one million.
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UK reports 50,867 new coronavirus cases and 148 deaths
It's the fifth time in the last week that cases have topped 50,000.
Of these, almost 250 are the new Omicron variant.
Earlier, the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also revealed case rates are climbing in all regions of England.
In more positive news, a total of 21,715,504 booster and third vaccine doses have been given across the UK.
It's the fifth time in the last week that cases have topped 50,000.
Of these, almost 250 are the new Omicron variant.
Earlier, the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also revealed case rates are climbing in all regions of England.
In more positive news, a total of 21,715,504 booster and third vaccine doses have been given across the UK.
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The UK will have more than one million Omicron cases by the end of this month if current trends continue unchanged - but booster jabs provide 70-75% protection against symptomatic infection, says the Health Security Agency.
The UKHSA said in a statement: "It is projected that if current trends continue unchanged, the UK will exceed one million infections by the end of this month."
It said that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNtech jabs provided "much lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection compared to the protection that they provide against Delta".
But it added: "The preliminary data showed effectiveness against the new variant appears to increase considerably in the early period after a booster dose, providing around 70-75% protection against symptomatic infection.
"Due to the early nature of the findings, all estimates are subject to significant uncertainty and are subject to change."
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: "These early estimates should be treated with caution but they indicate that a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching the Omicron variant compared to Delta strain.
"The data suggest this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine, so I urge everyone to take up their booster when eligible
SKY
The UKHSA said in a statement: "It is projected that if current trends continue unchanged, the UK will exceed one million infections by the end of this month."
It said that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNtech jabs provided "much lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection compared to the protection that they provide against Delta".
But it added: "The preliminary data showed effectiveness against the new variant appears to increase considerably in the early period after a booster dose, providing around 70-75% protection against symptomatic infection.
"Due to the early nature of the findings, all estimates are subject to significant uncertainty and are subject to change."
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: "These early estimates should be treated with caution but they indicate that a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching the Omicron variant compared to Delta strain.
"The data suggest this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine, so I urge everyone to take up their booster when eligible
SKY
Booster jabs will be offered to everyone over 18 in England from this week, the PM has announced, as he declared an "Omicron emergency".
"No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming," Boris Johnson said in a TV statement on Sunday evening.
The target to vaccinate all adults by the end of January will be brought forward by a month, he said.
Some medical appointments may also be postponed to focus on boosters.
Mr Johnson gave his Covid update on Sunday evening - just hours after the UK's Covid alert level was raised to four due to the spread of the new Omicron virus variant.
Level four means a high or rising level of transmission - and the last time the UK was at level four was in May.
"I'm afraid we're now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron," said Mr Johnson.
"It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up."
He added: "At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe.
"And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths."
The new booster target means people aged 18 and over in England will be able to get their third jabs from this week - as long as it has been three months since their second dose.
But Mr Johnson said in order to reach the new jab target, certain other medical appointments will need to be postponed to the New Year. Some GPs are already allowed to postpone routine health checks to make space for vaccinations.
The prime minister also said:
42 military planning teams will be deployed across every region to help the effort
extra vaccine sites and mobile units will be set up across England
opening hours of clinics will be extended with more appointments
thousands more volunteer vaccinators will be trained
Early data shows that getting a third booster dose prevents around 75% of people getting any Covid symptoms from Omicron.
More than half a million booster jabs and third doses were given in the UK on Saturday - the second day that has happened since the booster rollout began.
BBC
"No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming," Boris Johnson said in a TV statement on Sunday evening.
The target to vaccinate all adults by the end of January will be brought forward by a month, he said.
Some medical appointments may also be postponed to focus on boosters.
Mr Johnson gave his Covid update on Sunday evening - just hours after the UK's Covid alert level was raised to four due to the spread of the new Omicron virus variant.
Level four means a high or rising level of transmission - and the last time the UK was at level four was in May.
"I'm afraid we're now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron," said Mr Johnson.
"It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up."
He added: "At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe.
"And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths."
The new booster target means people aged 18 and over in England will be able to get their third jabs from this week - as long as it has been three months since their second dose.
But Mr Johnson said in order to reach the new jab target, certain other medical appointments will need to be postponed to the New Year. Some GPs are already allowed to postpone routine health checks to make space for vaccinations.
The prime minister also said:
42 military planning teams will be deployed across every region to help the effort
extra vaccine sites and mobile units will be set up across England
opening hours of clinics will be extended with more appointments
thousands more volunteer vaccinators will be trained
Early data shows that getting a third booster dose prevents around 75% of people getting any Covid symptoms from Omicron.
More than half a million booster jabs and third doses were given in the UK on Saturday - the second day that has happened since the booster rollout began.
BBC
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<b>Covid: Work-from-home guidance reintroduced in England [BBC].</b>
People in England should now work from home if they can, as part of the government's Plan B guidance to curb the spread of Omicron.
The change brings England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But some businesses in city centres fear the move means they will lose customers in the run up to Christmas.
Rules on face masks have already been tightened, and Covid passes will be required to get into nightclubs and other large venues from Wednesday.
Despite the new rules, Boris Johnson said on Sunday the UK faced an "Omicron emergency", with a "tidal wave" of the new variant coming.
In a televised address, he said boosters would be offered to everyone over 18 in England from this week, with the aim of giving a jab to everyone who wants one by the end of the month.
Extra measures - known as Plan B - were announced last week amid growing concern over Omicron, which is spreading rapidly and is expected to become the dominant variant in the UK this week.
MPs are expected to vote on the new measures on Tuesday.
One of the three votes will be on Covid passes, and could be opposed by about 60 Tory MPs. However, all three votes are expected to pass as Labour is backing the government.
It comes after a tough fortnight for Boris Johnson, who faced questions about several Christmas parties reportedly held by Downing Street last Christmas, despite Covid rules banning them.
An inquiry has been launched into four alleged gatherings, including one in the Department for Education.
Just under 36% of staff in Britain did some work from home in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics.
By the last week of November, many people were yet to go back to the office full-time - but seven in 10 travelled to work at least once.
The Treasury said it was acting early to control the spread of the virus while avoiding unduly damaging economic and and social restrictions - and that measures like business rates relief would help companies into next year.
But British Chambers of Commerce director Shevaun Haviland has warned that retail and hospitality businesses, which she says are the most exposed to the new measures, are not being sufficiently supported by the government.
Ms Haviland has written to the chancellor to request a return to charging a reduced 5% rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism businesses, 100% business rates relief for the retail sector, and grant funding to help the hardest hit firms.
And Sir John Timpson, chairman of the shoe repair and key-cutting chain, also warned the survival of city centre businesses was being threatened by the government's work-from-home guidance.
Sir John told the BBC the arrival of Omicron had already led to a 5% drop in business over the last couple of weeks, and said that could easily turn into a 10% fall by the new year, when people would normally return to work after a Christmas break, but may now stay at home.
"Once we get beyond Christmas, you're going to find that city centre businesses go back to where they were at the beginning of the Covid problem in March 2020," he said.
People in England should now work from home if they can, as part of the government's Plan B guidance to curb the spread of Omicron.
The change brings England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But some businesses in city centres fear the move means they will lose customers in the run up to Christmas.
Rules on face masks have already been tightened, and Covid passes will be required to get into nightclubs and other large venues from Wednesday.
Despite the new rules, Boris Johnson said on Sunday the UK faced an "Omicron emergency", with a "tidal wave" of the new variant coming.
In a televised address, he said boosters would be offered to everyone over 18 in England from this week, with the aim of giving a jab to everyone who wants one by the end of the month.
Extra measures - known as Plan B - were announced last week amid growing concern over Omicron, which is spreading rapidly and is expected to become the dominant variant in the UK this week.
MPs are expected to vote on the new measures on Tuesday.
One of the three votes will be on Covid passes, and could be opposed by about 60 Tory MPs. However, all three votes are expected to pass as Labour is backing the government.
It comes after a tough fortnight for Boris Johnson, who faced questions about several Christmas parties reportedly held by Downing Street last Christmas, despite Covid rules banning them.
An inquiry has been launched into four alleged gatherings, including one in the Department for Education.
Just under 36% of staff in Britain did some work from home in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics.
By the last week of November, many people were yet to go back to the office full-time - but seven in 10 travelled to work at least once.
The Treasury said it was acting early to control the spread of the virus while avoiding unduly damaging economic and and social restrictions - and that measures like business rates relief would help companies into next year.
But British Chambers of Commerce director Shevaun Haviland has warned that retail and hospitality businesses, which she says are the most exposed to the new measures, are not being sufficiently supported by the government.
Ms Haviland has written to the chancellor to request a return to charging a reduced 5% rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism businesses, 100% business rates relief for the retail sector, and grant funding to help the hardest hit firms.
And Sir John Timpson, chairman of the shoe repair and key-cutting chain, also warned the survival of city centre businesses was being threatened by the government's work-from-home guidance.
Sir John told the BBC the arrival of Omicron had already led to a 5% drop in business over the last couple of weeks, and said that could easily turn into a 10% fall by the new year, when people would normally return to work after a Christmas break, but may now stay at home.
"Once we get beyond Christmas, you're going to find that city centre businesses go back to where they were at the beginning of the Covid problem in March 2020," he said.
The UK has recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 reported on Wednesday.
The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January - when the UK was in lockdown.
Speaking at a news conference, England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warned that records will be broken a lot in the next few weeks.
PM Boris Johnson said it is absolutely vital that everyone gets a booster jab.
He warned that in some areas the doubling rate was now under two days.
Mr Johnson said: "I'm afraid we're also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations up by 10% nationally, week on week, and up by almost a third in London."
Prof Chris Whitty said the country is experiencing two separate epidemics, one driven by the "very rapidly-growing" Omicron variant and the other by the Delta variant.
He said: "I'm afraid we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up."
The scientist added Delta cases appear to still be flat while Omicron is growing.
Asked whether people should be going to Christmas or New Year parties, Prof Whitty said people should only be prioritising things that are important to them.
"Don't mix with people you don't have to", he said, adding that people have to make their own choices.
Prof Whitty added people "don't need a medical degree to realise that is a sensible thing to do with an incredibly infectious virus".
He encouraged people to take tests before visiting vulnerable people and to meet in areas of good ventilation or outdoors if possible.
The prime minister said the government was not cancelling Christmas events by restricting gatherings or closing pubs and restaurants, but cautioned people to think carefully about the socialising they did.
BBC
The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January - when the UK was in lockdown.
Speaking at a news conference, England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warned that records will be broken a lot in the next few weeks.
PM Boris Johnson said it is absolutely vital that everyone gets a booster jab.
He warned that in some areas the doubling rate was now under two days.
Mr Johnson said: "I'm afraid we're also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations up by 10% nationally, week on week, and up by almost a third in London."
Prof Chris Whitty said the country is experiencing two separate epidemics, one driven by the "very rapidly-growing" Omicron variant and the other by the Delta variant.
He said: "I'm afraid we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up."
The scientist added Delta cases appear to still be flat while Omicron is growing.
Asked whether people should be going to Christmas or New Year parties, Prof Whitty said people should only be prioritising things that are important to them.
"Don't mix with people you don't have to", he said, adding that people have to make their own choices.
Prof Whitty added people "don't need a medical degree to realise that is a sensible thing to do with an incredibly infectious virus".
He encouraged people to take tests before visiting vulnerable people and to meet in areas of good ventilation or outdoors if possible.
The prime minister said the government was not cancelling Christmas events by restricting gatherings or closing pubs and restaurants, but cautioned people to think carefully about the socialising they did.
BBC
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Yes, it’s still unclear whether the Omicron variant will actually turn out to be a mass killer like the Wuhan, Alpha and Delta variants or if it involves milder symptoms with a better prognosis.
Robert
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Also almost nobody was jabbed in January and now most are are double jabbed, with half a million boosters going in every day.
James
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Yes. I appreciate that the case numbers around the world are absolutely dizzying for Omicron, but until we know more about the variant then it will remain unclear how many of the people who tested positive are actually going to become poorly.
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The UK has reported 93,045 cases of coronavirus in the latest 24-hour period - a record high for daily infections as the Omicron variant surges across the country.
Another 3,201 new cases of Omicron have been recorded, taking the total number to 14,909 as it becomes the dominant strain in parts of the country, including Scotland and London.
Another 3,201 new cases of Omicron have been recorded, taking the total number to 14,909 as it becomes the dominant strain in parts of the country, including Scotland and London.
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Officials are drawing up plans for a two-week circuit breaker lockdown after Christmas which would include a ban on indoor mixing, according to reports.
Draft regulations are being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only, according to The Times.
Draft regulations are being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only, according to The Times.
James
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Back to April 2021 rules we go then.
It’s falling into the realms of an endless cycle.
It’s falling into the realms of an endless cycle.
How many people pass away in the UK every day? I would say something between 1600 and 2000.
As harsh as it sounds , 150 would not be that big a number considering total deaths every single day if most of them are already close to death
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The mayor of London has declared a major incident in the capital over the "huge surge" of Omicron cases and an increase in hospital admissions.
Sadiq Khan said he has been meeting with colleagues from the NHS, councils and the fire service about the rise in infections of the COVID variant, with more than 10,000 new cases reported nationwide today.
While no new measures have been announced, he said: "In the last 24 hours, we have had the largest number of new cases since the pandemic began, more than 26,000.
"Hospital admissions are going up but also staff absences are going up by massive levels, so I have taken the decision, along with our partners, to declare a major incident."
What's a 'major incident'?
A major incident is declared when an event or situation with a range of serious consequences requires special arrangements to be enforced by one or more emergency response teams.
Those could be the police, ambulance service or fire brigade.
They have previously been called for such incidents as the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terror attack at Westminster Bridge in 2017.
Mr Khan said: "This is a statement of how serious things are, but also it means rather than different public authorities working separately we will be working together through both the London Resilience Forum and also through the strategic co-ordinating group."
What 'Plan C' restrictions could we see if Plan B fails to curb the spread of Omicron?
London's latest COVID figures
Latest figures showed there were 1,534 COVID patients in hospital across London on 17 December - a rise of 341, or 28.6%, compared with a week earlier when there were 1,193.
Across the UK, 7,611 people are in hospital with the virus, a rise of 163 patients (2%) on the previous week.
Those are all COVID cases - not just Omicron.
Mr Khan said Londoners will soon see more places offering COVID vaccines.
"It is really important Londoners understand how serious things are. The best thing Londoners can do is to get both vaccines and the booster, they provide extra layers of protection," he said.
Omicron now London's 'dominant variant'
Earlier, Mr Khan spoke to reporters at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge football ground, which is being used as a vaccination centre this weekend, where he said he was "incredibly concerned" about the increase of Omicron cases.
He said Omicron is now the "dominant variant" in the city.
He also called on the government to provide financial support for businesses impacted by the spread of COVID-19 to avoid people losing their jobs or companies going bust.
He said over the last few weeks the impact of COVID on businesses has been "devastating" with theatres, live music events, and restaurants hit by an increase in cancellations.
"It is crucial - the government has got to provide a financial package of measures, grants, 100% business rates relief and more news in relation to furlough," Mr Khan said.
"If the government doesn't, you are going to see many businesses going bust and tens of thousands of people losing their jobs."
It comes as almost 3,000 sites, including racecourses, football stadiums and Christmas markets, have been turned into vaccination centres this weekend.
This includes football grounds Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Wembley and three racecourses, Sandown Park, Bath, and Chelmsford.
Other venues open this weekend include the Christmas Market at Chester Cathedral, the Liverpool Christmas Ice Festival, Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and London's Oxford Street where there will be a vaccine bus.
SKY
Sadiq Khan said he has been meeting with colleagues from the NHS, councils and the fire service about the rise in infections of the COVID variant, with more than 10,000 new cases reported nationwide today.
While no new measures have been announced, he said: "In the last 24 hours, we have had the largest number of new cases since the pandemic began, more than 26,000.
"Hospital admissions are going up but also staff absences are going up by massive levels, so I have taken the decision, along with our partners, to declare a major incident."
What's a 'major incident'?
A major incident is declared when an event or situation with a range of serious consequences requires special arrangements to be enforced by one or more emergency response teams.
Those could be the police, ambulance service or fire brigade.
They have previously been called for such incidents as the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terror attack at Westminster Bridge in 2017.
Mr Khan said: "This is a statement of how serious things are, but also it means rather than different public authorities working separately we will be working together through both the London Resilience Forum and also through the strategic co-ordinating group."
What 'Plan C' restrictions could we see if Plan B fails to curb the spread of Omicron?
London's latest COVID figures
Latest figures showed there were 1,534 COVID patients in hospital across London on 17 December - a rise of 341, or 28.6%, compared with a week earlier when there were 1,193.
Across the UK, 7,611 people are in hospital with the virus, a rise of 163 patients (2%) on the previous week.
Those are all COVID cases - not just Omicron.
Mr Khan said Londoners will soon see more places offering COVID vaccines.
"It is really important Londoners understand how serious things are. The best thing Londoners can do is to get both vaccines and the booster, they provide extra layers of protection," he said.
Omicron now London's 'dominant variant'
Earlier, Mr Khan spoke to reporters at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge football ground, which is being used as a vaccination centre this weekend, where he said he was "incredibly concerned" about the increase of Omicron cases.
He said Omicron is now the "dominant variant" in the city.
He also called on the government to provide financial support for businesses impacted by the spread of COVID-19 to avoid people losing their jobs or companies going bust.
He said over the last few weeks the impact of COVID on businesses has been "devastating" with theatres, live music events, and restaurants hit by an increase in cancellations.
"It is crucial - the government has got to provide a financial package of measures, grants, 100% business rates relief and more news in relation to furlough," Mr Khan said.
"If the government doesn't, you are going to see many businesses going bust and tens of thousands of people losing their jobs."
It comes as almost 3,000 sites, including racecourses, football stadiums and Christmas markets, have been turned into vaccination centres this weekend.
This includes football grounds Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Wembley and three racecourses, Sandown Park, Bath, and Chelmsford.
Other venues open this weekend include the Christmas Market at Chester Cathedral, the Liverpool Christmas Ice Festival, Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and London's Oxford Street where there will be a vaccine bus.
SKY
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COVID: Police clash with protesters as thousands march through London against new restrictions.
The so-called "Freedom Rally" took place as London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared a "major incident" in the capital over a "huge surge" of the Omicron variant.
Thousands of protesters have marched through London to voice their anger over the latest COVID restrictions.
Amid reports that further measures could be on the way, crowds assembled in Parliament Square as part of a "Freedom Rally" against vaccine passports and other virus rules.
Demonstrators shouted "shame on you" as they clashed with police - with some officers suffering minor injuries while escorting a police motorcyclist through the area at around 12.30pm, Scotland Yard said.
Video posted on social media showed shoving between police and protestors.
A group also targeted a shop in Regent Street at 3pm, abusing customers inside and throwing eggs at the building, before police intervened.
People held placards with slogans including "no vaccine passports" and "we are stronger together".
A banner was laid on the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.
Another poster said, "Our children are not lab rats!" - while others let off flares as the rally moved to Whitehall near Downing Street.
The demonstrations appeared to divide opinion on social media, with the hashtag #londonprotest trending.
Some backed the protests, insisting they were largely peaceful, and expressed their support "against tyranny".
This Morning TV psychologist Emma Kenny tweeted: "I'm not there but watching the huge London protest! These are people from all walks of life, with one common goal, to ensure liberty remains and tyranny is brought down.
"Drs, nurses, religious groups, mums, dads, triple vaccinated and vaccine hesitant all sharing this moment."
Others branded the protestors "incredibly selfish" - amid fears their actions will lead to the further spread of Omicron.
More than 10,000 new cases of the new variant were confirmed on Saturday.
Palliative care doctor, Rachel Clarke, tweeted: "The London Ambulance Service was 100 ambulances down yesterday because nearly 400 staff are off with COVID.
"But these charmers still choose to congregate today in their unmasked thousands. Absolutely staggering."
Dr Julia Grace Patterson tweeted: "If you want to avoid more restrictions, congregating at a time when a new variant is accelerating isn't a fantastic plan."
The demonstrators defied warnings from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who declared a "major incident" over a "huge surge" of Omicron cases in the capital - as he urged Londoners to get both vaccines and the booster.
New figures show there were 1,534 COVID patients in hospital across the capital on Friday, 17 December - up by 341 or 28.6% compared to a week earlier.
"It is really important Londoners understand how serious things are," Mr Khan said.
The Met said it was "closely monitoring the situation" and no arrests have been made so far.
The protest follows a number of demonstrations across Europe against COVID restrictions.
Several people were detained by police during a rally in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday.
SKY
The so-called "Freedom Rally" took place as London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared a "major incident" in the capital over a "huge surge" of the Omicron variant.
Thousands of protesters have marched through London to voice their anger over the latest COVID restrictions.
Amid reports that further measures could be on the way, crowds assembled in Parliament Square as part of a "Freedom Rally" against vaccine passports and other virus rules.
Demonstrators shouted "shame on you" as they clashed with police - with some officers suffering minor injuries while escorting a police motorcyclist through the area at around 12.30pm, Scotland Yard said.
Video posted on social media showed shoving between police and protestors.
A group also targeted a shop in Regent Street at 3pm, abusing customers inside and throwing eggs at the building, before police intervened.
People held placards with slogans including "no vaccine passports" and "we are stronger together".
A banner was laid on the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.
Another poster said, "Our children are not lab rats!" - while others let off flares as the rally moved to Whitehall near Downing Street.
The demonstrations appeared to divide opinion on social media, with the hashtag #londonprotest trending.
Some backed the protests, insisting they were largely peaceful, and expressed their support "against tyranny".
This Morning TV psychologist Emma Kenny tweeted: "I'm not there but watching the huge London protest! These are people from all walks of life, with one common goal, to ensure liberty remains and tyranny is brought down.
"Drs, nurses, religious groups, mums, dads, triple vaccinated and vaccine hesitant all sharing this moment."
Others branded the protestors "incredibly selfish" - amid fears their actions will lead to the further spread of Omicron.
More than 10,000 new cases of the new variant were confirmed on Saturday.
Palliative care doctor, Rachel Clarke, tweeted: "The London Ambulance Service was 100 ambulances down yesterday because nearly 400 staff are off with COVID.
"But these charmers still choose to congregate today in their unmasked thousands. Absolutely staggering."
Dr Julia Grace Patterson tweeted: "If you want to avoid more restrictions, congregating at a time when a new variant is accelerating isn't a fantastic plan."
The demonstrators defied warnings from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who declared a "major incident" over a "huge surge" of Omicron cases in the capital - as he urged Londoners to get both vaccines and the booster.
New figures show there were 1,534 COVID patients in hospital across the capital on Friday, 17 December - up by 341 or 28.6% compared to a week earlier.
"It is really important Londoners understand how serious things are," Mr Khan said.
The Met said it was "closely monitoring the situation" and no arrests have been made so far.
The protest follows a number of demonstrations across Europe against COVID restrictions.
Several people were detained by police during a rally in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday.
SKY
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Sajid Javid says "there is much we still don't know" about Omicron and warns "it may be too late to react".
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he has said "we have to be clear-eyed about the challenge Omicron presents".
The health secretary admitted that standing in Parliament this week and arguing for Plan B brought him "no joy".
"Promoting individual freedom and opportunity is one of the reasons I got into politics," he wrote.
However, he added: "But we have to be clear-eyed about the challenge Omicron presents.
"Our strategy since it emerged has been and remains to buy time for our scientists to assess the threat and build up our defences... Together we are taking a responsible and proportionate response."
BBC
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he has said "we have to be clear-eyed about the challenge Omicron presents".
The health secretary admitted that standing in Parliament this week and arguing for Plan B brought him "no joy".
"Promoting individual freedom and opportunity is one of the reasons I got into politics," he wrote.
However, he added: "But we have to be clear-eyed about the challenge Omicron presents.
"Our strategy since it emerged has been and remains to buy time for our scientists to assess the threat and build up our defences... Together we are taking a responsible and proportionate response."
BBC
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Boris Johnson has confirmed he will not introduce any further COVID restrictions in England before Christmas, but warned that the situation remains "finely balanced" ahead of the New Year.
In a video posted on social media and released by Downing Street, the prime minister said "people can go ahead with their Christmas plans" but urges caution and suggests people should take a test before meeting elderly relatives.
"The situation remains extremely difficult, but I also recognise that people have been waiting to hear about whether their Christmas plans, your Christmas plans, are going to be affected," Mr Johnson said.
In a video posted on social media and released by Downing Street, the prime minister said "people can go ahead with their Christmas plans" but urges caution and suggests people should take a test before meeting elderly relatives.
"The situation remains extremely difficult, but I also recognise that people have been waiting to hear about whether their Christmas plans, your Christmas plans, are going to be affected," Mr Johnson said.
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If Eid was on this December 25th and not Christmas, I’m sure there would be a National lockdown with everyone clapping for the NHS from their doorsteps
James
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<b>BBC: Daily Covid-19 cases in the UK exceed 100,000 for first time.</b>
Daily Covid-19 cases in the UK have exceeded 100,000 for the first time, the latest government figures show.
The previous record for daily infections came on 17 December, when 93,045 cases were reported.
On Tuesday, Boris Johnson said no new restrictions will be introduced in England before Christmas.
However, the prime minister refused to rule out introducing fresh measures after Christmas with Omicron spreading at a speed never seen before.
There were 140 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive Covid test.
Wednesday's 106,122 cases represent the highest daily reported number since mass testing began in May and June last year.
Infections have remained at record levels in recent days, with eight of the 10 highest daily totals for reported infections coming since 15 December, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly around the country.
People with Covid in England have had their self-isolation requirement reduced to one week from 10 days, if they can test negative on days six and seven.
At the same time, UK government vaccine advisers have recommended vulnerable children aged between five and 11 should be offered a low-dose Covid vaccine, as well as boosters for 12 to 17-year-olds.
A record number of boosters and third doses were reported on Tuesday, with more than 30.8 million delivered in the UK - 6.1 million of which were in the past week alone.
The other UK nations have already laid out plans for post-Christmas restrictions:
— In Wales groups of no more than six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants from Boxing Day
— Limits gatherings sizes in Scotland from Boxing Day have seen the cancellation of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations and other large events.
— Nightclubs in Northern Ireland will have to close on 27 December the BBC understands, with other restrictions awaiting approval from ministers.
Daily Covid-19 cases in the UK have exceeded 100,000 for the first time, the latest government figures show.
The previous record for daily infections came on 17 December, when 93,045 cases were reported.
On Tuesday, Boris Johnson said no new restrictions will be introduced in England before Christmas.
However, the prime minister refused to rule out introducing fresh measures after Christmas with Omicron spreading at a speed never seen before.
There were 140 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive Covid test.
Wednesday's 106,122 cases represent the highest daily reported number since mass testing began in May and June last year.
Infections have remained at record levels in recent days, with eight of the 10 highest daily totals for reported infections coming since 15 December, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly around the country.
People with Covid in England have had their self-isolation requirement reduced to one week from 10 days, if they can test negative on days six and seven.
At the same time, UK government vaccine advisers have recommended vulnerable children aged between five and 11 should be offered a low-dose Covid vaccine, as well as boosters for 12 to 17-year-olds.
A record number of boosters and third doses were reported on Tuesday, with more than 30.8 million delivered in the UK - 6.1 million of which were in the past week alone.
The other UK nations have already laid out plans for post-Christmas restrictions:
— In Wales groups of no more than six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants from Boxing Day
— Limits gatherings sizes in Scotland from Boxing Day have seen the cancellation of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations and other large events.
— Nightclubs in Northern Ireland will have to close on 27 December the BBC understands, with other restrictions awaiting approval from ministers.
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Ministers are not planning to announce any post-Christmas COVID restrictions this week, the health secretary has confirmed.
It comes after senior government sources told Sky News that Boris Johnson would not be following the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which have all made pre-Christmas announcements on curbs to come in next week.
It comes after senior government sources told Sky News that Boris Johnson would not be following the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which have all made pre-Christmas announcements on curbs to come in next week.
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The UK has recorded 119,789 new COVID cases in the latest 24-hour period - the highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic.
A further 147 coronavirus-related deaths have also been reported.
The latest daily figures compare with 106,122 cases - the previous record - and 140 deaths reported on Wednesday.
Yesterday's 106,122 figure has since been revised up to 109,655 following previous under-reporting in Scotland due to a technical issue.
Last Thursday, the UK reported 88,376 new COVID cases, and 146 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
A further 147 coronavirus-related deaths have also been reported.
The latest daily figures compare with 106,122 cases - the previous record - and 140 deaths reported on Wednesday.
Yesterday's 106,122 figure has since been revised up to 109,655 following previous under-reporting in Scotland due to a technical issue.
Last Thursday, the UK reported 88,376 new COVID cases, and 146 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
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SAGE keep pestering Prime Minister Boris Johnson to introduce a new lockdown despite clear evidence that Omicron has a lower risk of hospitalisation than their modelling suggested. Mr Johnson resisted the scientists' calls to bring in fresh measures and he seems to be having the last laugh now, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid announcing that new restrictions are not needed after Christmas. In a massive blow to SAGE's credibility and reputation, Mr Johnson's decision to stick to his guns has paid dividends to the joy of his Tories who have been against the idea of unveiling new curbs from day one.
The news is cause for optimism for the NHS and a number of Hospitality sectors, who had been fearing the worst after rumours surfaced that nothing would stand between the UK and yet another total lockdown after Christmas.
Although the decision can be reversed from one day to another, depending on the number of casualties, infections and hospitalisations, it's unlikely at this point that New Year's Eve celebrations will be called off.
But SAGE are leaving no stone unturned in their mission for stricter measures as they keep forcing the issue with Mr Johnson.
Their statement reads: "There remain several important uncertainties in the parameters used for modelling, including biological parameters for Omicron as well as behavioural changes.
Policy decisions, either to do nothing or something, will need to be made sooner than these uncertainties can be resolved."
Chief political correspondent John Craig told Sky News that Omicron is milder than people first dreaded, as he echoed Mr Javid's words which all but ruled out that new restrictions will come into force as early as next week.
Mr Craig said: "The confirmation from Mister Javid that there will be no further announcements this week, even about restrictions next week that looks pretty obvious when the reports were published last night, suggesting the Omicron variant was perhaps not as serious or severe as had first been feared.
"And also the risk of hospitalisation was less.
"That was a vindication of the Prime minister's strategy when he said earlier this week he was going to wait and see what the medical and statistic advice turned out to be.
"Now Mister Javid has confirmed what we thought would happen and it looks unlikely that Parliament will be recalled next week.
"Or certainly less likely.
"And perhaps if there are any measures next week it will be guidances rather than new laws which would require a Commons vote.
"That will please Conservative backbenchers who have been saying Plan B and no further.
"However, I can tell you that the government has found itself yet again on collision course with those scientists from SAGE who say that you can't delay and you have to get on with it to protect people."
Mr Javid today hinted that new regulations for 2021 are improbable although ministers keep monitoring the Covid data closely.
He said: "We are not planning any further announcements this week.
"Despite the caution that we are all taking, people should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends, of course, remain cautious.
"We will keep the situation under review.
"We are learning more all the time as we have done from this new data and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...oris-act-now/ar-AAS5LEK?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
The news is cause for optimism for the NHS and a number of Hospitality sectors, who had been fearing the worst after rumours surfaced that nothing would stand between the UK and yet another total lockdown after Christmas.
Although the decision can be reversed from one day to another, depending on the number of casualties, infections and hospitalisations, it's unlikely at this point that New Year's Eve celebrations will be called off.
But SAGE are leaving no stone unturned in their mission for stricter measures as they keep forcing the issue with Mr Johnson.
Their statement reads: "There remain several important uncertainties in the parameters used for modelling, including biological parameters for Omicron as well as behavioural changes.
Policy decisions, either to do nothing or something, will need to be made sooner than these uncertainties can be resolved."
Chief political correspondent John Craig told Sky News that Omicron is milder than people first dreaded, as he echoed Mr Javid's words which all but ruled out that new restrictions will come into force as early as next week.
Mr Craig said: "The confirmation from Mister Javid that there will be no further announcements this week, even about restrictions next week that looks pretty obvious when the reports were published last night, suggesting the Omicron variant was perhaps not as serious or severe as had first been feared.
"And also the risk of hospitalisation was less.
"That was a vindication of the Prime minister's strategy when he said earlier this week he was going to wait and see what the medical and statistic advice turned out to be.
"Now Mister Javid has confirmed what we thought would happen and it looks unlikely that Parliament will be recalled next week.
"Or certainly less likely.
"And perhaps if there are any measures next week it will be guidances rather than new laws which would require a Commons vote.
"That will please Conservative backbenchers who have been saying Plan B and no further.
"However, I can tell you that the government has found itself yet again on collision course with those scientists from SAGE who say that you can't delay and you have to get on with it to protect people."
Mr Javid today hinted that new regulations for 2021 are improbable although ministers keep monitoring the Covid data closely.
He said: "We are not planning any further announcements this week.
"Despite the caution that we are all taking, people should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends, of course, remain cautious.
"We will keep the situation under review.
"We are learning more all the time as we have done from this new data and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...oris-act-now/ar-AAS5LEK?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
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The UK has recorded 122,186 new cases of coronavirus and a further 137 deaths, the latest daily figures show.
It is the highest number of new infections reported since the beginning of the pandemic. Yesterday there were 119,789 cases and 147 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test recorded.
Seven days ago there were 93,045 cases and 111 deaths.
A further 605,561 booster vaccinations were administered on Thursday, taking the total to 32,290,487, or 56.1% of the population aged 12 and over.
It is the highest number of new infections reported since the beginning of the pandemic. Yesterday there were 119,789 cases and 147 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test recorded.
Seven days ago there were 93,045 cases and 111 deaths.
A further 605,561 booster vaccinations were administered on Thursday, taking the total to 32,290,487, or 56.1% of the population aged 12 and over.
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BREAKING: The government will not be imposing any new coronavirus restrictions in England this year.
Sajid Javid confirmed "there will be no further measures before the New Year" but urged people to "remain cautious" ahead of their celebrations.
Sajid Javid confirmed "there will be no further measures before the New Year" but urged people to "remain cautious" ahead of their celebrations.
James
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Surprised at this. I thought they might have gone for a 2 week circuit breaker. And in January I still think they might.
James
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<b>BBC — Covid: Enjoy new year but be cautious, care minister says.</b>
People should enjoy themselves but be cautious when celebrating new year, UK care minister Gillian Keegan has said.
Revellers should take a lateral flow test before going out and celebrate in well-ventilated areas, she advised.
The government is not imposing further Covid restrictions in England, but there are limits on socialising in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
England recorded another 1,374 Covid hospital admissions on 26 December - the highest number since February.
A total of 9,546 people are in hospital with Covid in England, official figures show. This is the highest since March but well below the peak of 34,000 in January.
Not all the patients in hospital will have been admitted for Covid - latest data suggests about three in 10 have the virus but were admitted to hospital for something else.
Ms Keegan said that while people should try to enjoy themselves on new year, Omicron was "highly infectious" and they needed to exercise caution.
The hospitality sector said the decision not to add further measures was a "lifeline" for pubs, bars and clubs.
Ms Keegan also said 214,000 people had received their booster jab over the Christmas weekend and a total of 32.4 million had now received a third dose.
Earlier, environment Secretary George Eustice said the evidence on Covid cases and admissions did not support more interventions at the moment but the government would keep its decision not to impose further curbs in England under review.
Record levels of demand for Covid PCR tests have left some people waiting for up to five days to receive their results over Christmas - meaning they have had to self-isolate until they receive their negative result.
The UKHSA apologised and said action had been taken to add extra capacity to its laboratory network.
A further 16,133 Omicron cases have been confirmed in England, taking the total to 159,204. Some 49 people with a confirmed case of Omicron have now died, according to UKHSA data.
On Monday, the health secretary said 90% of cases in England were now the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa just one month ago.
Pubs, bars and restaurants have been hard hit in the run-up to Christmas, due to mass cancellations over Omicron fears.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the decision not to go beyond Plan B measures in England would give "a real lifeline" to many businesses.
But there are also calls for more support - Adnams brewery boss Andy Wood, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme more than half of Christmas business had been lost.
Ms Keegan said the government had introduced a £1bn package to support businesses before Christmas.
Concerns have also been raised about the impact on hospitals and schools of staff having to self-isolate.
Prof Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told BBC Breakfast that in time, people with Covid should be allowed to "go about their normal lives" as they would with a common cold.
"If the self-isolation rules are what's making the pain associated with Covid, then we need to do that perhaps sooner rather than later," he said.
He suggested this might be able to happen "once we're past Easter", depending on the effects of the disease at that time.
Prof Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, told the Today programme the decision not to introduce new curbs before the new year was "probably fine", with data showing "very low" numbers of vaccinated people in intensive care.
He said the Omicron variant was "not the same disease" we saw last year, adding he thought "the horrific scenes that we saw a year ago" were "now history".
Staff quarantining was putting additional stress on the health service, Sir John said, and lateral flow tests were "quite a good way" of showing who was infectious - rather than cutting isolation periods as has been done in the US.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said some trust executives felt staff absences due to self-isolation were going to be a "bigger problem and challenge" than the number of people being treated for Covid.
He told BBC Breakfast that while there may come a point where Covid was treated like a common cold, that should not be the case for people who work in the NHS, as they dealt with potentially "very, very vulnerable" people.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the big issue would be whether there would be enough staff to sustain in-person education when term began in January due to self-isolation.
Not all experts have agreed with the government's decision not to impose further measures, with Prof Andrew Hayward - epidemiologist and a member of the advisory group Sage - saying ministers seemed to be acting "on the optimistic end of the spectrum".
Public health professor Andrew Watterson, of the University of Stirling, accused England of being "really out of step" by not introducing further restrictions, saying there was a "real mismatch" between some of the data and policy.
After a two-day halt in publishing data, it was revealed that more than 300,000 new Covid cases had been recorded on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
People should enjoy themselves but be cautious when celebrating new year, UK care minister Gillian Keegan has said.
Revellers should take a lateral flow test before going out and celebrate in well-ventilated areas, she advised.
The government is not imposing further Covid restrictions in England, but there are limits on socialising in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
England recorded another 1,374 Covid hospital admissions on 26 December - the highest number since February.
A total of 9,546 people are in hospital with Covid in England, official figures show. This is the highest since March but well below the peak of 34,000 in January.
Not all the patients in hospital will have been admitted for Covid - latest data suggests about three in 10 have the virus but were admitted to hospital for something else.
Ms Keegan said that while people should try to enjoy themselves on new year, Omicron was "highly infectious" and they needed to exercise caution.
The hospitality sector said the decision not to add further measures was a "lifeline" for pubs, bars and clubs.
Ms Keegan also said 214,000 people had received their booster jab over the Christmas weekend and a total of 32.4 million had now received a third dose.
Earlier, environment Secretary George Eustice said the evidence on Covid cases and admissions did not support more interventions at the moment but the government would keep its decision not to impose further curbs in England under review.
Record levels of demand for Covid PCR tests have left some people waiting for up to five days to receive their results over Christmas - meaning they have had to self-isolate until they receive their negative result.
The UKHSA apologised and said action had been taken to add extra capacity to its laboratory network.
A further 16,133 Omicron cases have been confirmed in England, taking the total to 159,204. Some 49 people with a confirmed case of Omicron have now died, according to UKHSA data.
On Monday, the health secretary said 90% of cases in England were now the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa just one month ago.
Pubs, bars and restaurants have been hard hit in the run-up to Christmas, due to mass cancellations over Omicron fears.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the decision not to go beyond Plan B measures in England would give "a real lifeline" to many businesses.
But there are also calls for more support - Adnams brewery boss Andy Wood, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme more than half of Christmas business had been lost.
Ms Keegan said the government had introduced a £1bn package to support businesses before Christmas.
Concerns have also been raised about the impact on hospitals and schools of staff having to self-isolate.
Prof Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told BBC Breakfast that in time, people with Covid should be allowed to "go about their normal lives" as they would with a common cold.
"If the self-isolation rules are what's making the pain associated with Covid, then we need to do that perhaps sooner rather than later," he said.
He suggested this might be able to happen "once we're past Easter", depending on the effects of the disease at that time.
Prof Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, told the Today programme the decision not to introduce new curbs before the new year was "probably fine", with data showing "very low" numbers of vaccinated people in intensive care.
He said the Omicron variant was "not the same disease" we saw last year, adding he thought "the horrific scenes that we saw a year ago" were "now history".
Staff quarantining was putting additional stress on the health service, Sir John said, and lateral flow tests were "quite a good way" of showing who was infectious - rather than cutting isolation periods as has been done in the US.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said some trust executives felt staff absences due to self-isolation were going to be a "bigger problem and challenge" than the number of people being treated for Covid.
He told BBC Breakfast that while there may come a point where Covid was treated like a common cold, that should not be the case for people who work in the NHS, as they dealt with potentially "very, very vulnerable" people.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the big issue would be whether there would be enough staff to sustain in-person education when term began in January due to self-isolation.
Not all experts have agreed with the government's decision not to impose further measures, with Prof Andrew Hayward - epidemiologist and a member of the advisory group Sage - saying ministers seemed to be acting "on the optimistic end of the spectrum".
Public health professor Andrew Watterson, of the University of Stirling, accused England of being "really out of step" by not introducing further restrictions, saying there was a "real mismatch" between some of the data and policy.
After a two-day halt in publishing data, it was revealed that more than 300,000 new Covid cases had been recorded on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
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The UK has reported a record 183,037 new COVID cases in the latest daily figures.
The number includes five days of infection data from Northern Ireland due to a lag in reporting over Christmas.
A further 57 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
The figures compare with a previous high of 129,471 cases and 18 COVID-related deaths reported yesterday, while 109,655 cases and 140 deaths were recorded this time last week.
More than 90% of cases in England and approximately 80% of cases in Scotland are now the Omicron variant, it's also been revealed.
The number includes five days of infection data from Northern Ireland due to a lag in reporting over Christmas.
A further 57 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
The figures compare with a previous high of 129,471 cases and 18 COVID-related deaths reported yesterday, while 109,655 cases and 140 deaths were recorded this time last week.
More than 90% of cases in England and approximately 80% of cases in Scotland are now the Omicron variant, it's also been revealed.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ONS data show 1 in 25 people in England had COVID last week with even higher rates in some areas. The wave is still rising and hospital admissions are going up. Please protect yourself and those around you. Get boosted, use face masks indoors, maximise ventilation, wash hands. <a href="https://t.co/7w4gBHWxdo">https://t.co/7w4gBHWxdo</a></p>— Professor Chris Whitty (@CMO_England) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMO_England/status/1476915975274602499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<b>BBC — Covid: UK cases reach record again as PM urges New Year's Eve caution.</b>
The UK is in an "incomparably better" position than this time last year - but people should stay cautious when out on New Year's Eve, the PM has said.
In a year-end message, Boris Johnson hailed the "heroic" vaccination effort, adding that all adults in England had now been offered a booster jab.
The PM urged those celebrating tonight to take a Covid test and "remember the importance of ventilation".
UK daily Covid cases reached another record high of 189,846 on Friday.
There were also 203 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test.
And hospital admissions were up to 1,915 in the most recent figures available, from 27 December, up from 1,506 the previous day.
New Year's Eve celebrations are set to be scaled back across much of the country as the more infectious Omicron variant drives up cases.
Events have been cancelled, including the traditional Trafalgar Square party in London and Edinburgh's Hogmanay events.
Mr Johnson resisted calls to impose new regulations in England in the run-up to Christmas, but in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, tighter rules are now in place for pubs, bars and restaurants, and there are restrictions on how many people can meet.
Amid warnings people should celebrate outdoors or in well-ventilated places, the Met Office said the UK was experiencing the warmest New Year's Eve on record - with Merryfield in Somerset recording a temperature of 15.8C (60.4F).
The Department of Health and Social Care said it had met the goal set by the prime minister earlier this month for all eligible adults in England to be offered a Covid booster by 31 December. The target had been brought forward in response to the Omicron variant.
More than 90% of the UK population aged 12 and over have now received a first dose of a vaccine, it added.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also said they had met the booster target.
Speaking in a message posted on Twitter, Mr Johnson said "incredible" numbers of people had responded to the call to get vaccinated, adding: "It's precisely because of that huge national effort that we can celebrate tonight at all."
But he warned of the "challenges" of Omicron and rising hospital admissions.
He said people must be cautious, take a test and "remember the importance of ventilation" if they are going out, urging those who are not fully vaccinated to make it their new year's resolution to have a jab.
More than 33.5 million booster and third doses have now been delivered in the UK - to about 58% of those eligible - including 1.8 million in the past seven days.
Analysis of the Omicron variant has shown people who catch it are up to 70% less likely to need hospital treatment compared with other variants.
But Prof Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), told BBC Breakfast he was concerned about the impact of surging Covid cases on the health service, saying: "I think we haven't quite reached the threshold that was set by government in terms of the NHS being overwhelmed, but it looks like that will be reached quite quickly."
NHS leaders have stressed that staff absence is adding to pressures on the health service, with 25,273 staff in acute trusts in England off each day because of Covid in the week ending 26 December - up by 42% on the previous seven days.
Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, which represents health trusts, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "Nightingale capacity hubs" being set up at hospitals could only be staffed by asking recently retired health workers and experienced volunteers to help out.
More restrictions to curb the spread of the virus "may be needed at pace if the evidence warrants it", he added.
In other developments:
— New ONS figures show nearly 2.3 million people in the UK - about one in 30 - would have tested positive for Covid in the week ending 23 December.
— In London, the rate has doubled to around one in 15 people compared with the previous seven days.
— An antiviral pill to treat Covid - Paxlovid - has been approved for use across the UK, the medicines regulator says.
— There have been calls for NHS staff to be given priority for lateral flow tests from healthcare unions.
— Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the government expects to need to "constrain" supply of the rapid tests for two weeks to manage demand, but the number is being tripled to 300 million a month.
— A representative of pharmacists has said lateral flows kits are beginning to arrive but supply is "still patchy".
— A major retailer has told the BBC if the shortage of kits is not sorted by next week, it could lead to 1,600 lost days in January because of its staff having to quarantine for longer.
In his new year message, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the UK needed leadership to ensure the "sacrifices and pain of the past two years" had not been in vain, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he hoped 2022 would be "the year we will finally beat Covid".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said New Year's Eve was "not the Hogmanay" people wanted, but they could look forward to a "better and brighter new year ahead".
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has asked those travelling to England to see in the New Year to "think consciously and carefully" about their plans.
And in Northern Ireland, new reduced self-isolation rules allowing people with Covid to be released after seven days if they test negative twice on days six and seven, have come into force.
— — —
The UK is in an "incomparably better" position than this time last year - but people should stay cautious when out on New Year's Eve, the PM has said.
In a year-end message, Boris Johnson hailed the "heroic" vaccination effort, adding that all adults in England had now been offered a booster jab.
The PM urged those celebrating tonight to take a Covid test and "remember the importance of ventilation".
UK daily Covid cases reached another record high of 189,846 on Friday.
There were also 203 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test.
And hospital admissions were up to 1,915 in the most recent figures available, from 27 December, up from 1,506 the previous day.
New Year's Eve celebrations are set to be scaled back across much of the country as the more infectious Omicron variant drives up cases.
Events have been cancelled, including the traditional Trafalgar Square party in London and Edinburgh's Hogmanay events.
Mr Johnson resisted calls to impose new regulations in England in the run-up to Christmas, but in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, tighter rules are now in place for pubs, bars and restaurants, and there are restrictions on how many people can meet.
Amid warnings people should celebrate outdoors or in well-ventilated places, the Met Office said the UK was experiencing the warmest New Year's Eve on record - with Merryfield in Somerset recording a temperature of 15.8C (60.4F).
The Department of Health and Social Care said it had met the goal set by the prime minister earlier this month for all eligible adults in England to be offered a Covid booster by 31 December. The target had been brought forward in response to the Omicron variant.
More than 90% of the UK population aged 12 and over have now received a first dose of a vaccine, it added.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also said they had met the booster target.
Speaking in a message posted on Twitter, Mr Johnson said "incredible" numbers of people had responded to the call to get vaccinated, adding: "It's precisely because of that huge national effort that we can celebrate tonight at all."
But he warned of the "challenges" of Omicron and rising hospital admissions.
He said people must be cautious, take a test and "remember the importance of ventilation" if they are going out, urging those who are not fully vaccinated to make it their new year's resolution to have a jab.
More than 33.5 million booster and third doses have now been delivered in the UK - to about 58% of those eligible - including 1.8 million in the past seven days.
Analysis of the Omicron variant has shown people who catch it are up to 70% less likely to need hospital treatment compared with other variants.
But Prof Peter Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), told BBC Breakfast he was concerned about the impact of surging Covid cases on the health service, saying: "I think we haven't quite reached the threshold that was set by government in terms of the NHS being overwhelmed, but it looks like that will be reached quite quickly."
NHS leaders have stressed that staff absence is adding to pressures on the health service, with 25,273 staff in acute trusts in England off each day because of Covid in the week ending 26 December - up by 42% on the previous seven days.
Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, which represents health trusts, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "Nightingale capacity hubs" being set up at hospitals could only be staffed by asking recently retired health workers and experienced volunteers to help out.
More restrictions to curb the spread of the virus "may be needed at pace if the evidence warrants it", he added.
In other developments:
— New ONS figures show nearly 2.3 million people in the UK - about one in 30 - would have tested positive for Covid in the week ending 23 December.
— In London, the rate has doubled to around one in 15 people compared with the previous seven days.
— An antiviral pill to treat Covid - Paxlovid - has been approved for use across the UK, the medicines regulator says.
— There have been calls for NHS staff to be given priority for lateral flow tests from healthcare unions.
— Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the government expects to need to "constrain" supply of the rapid tests for two weeks to manage demand, but the number is being tripled to 300 million a month.
— A representative of pharmacists has said lateral flows kits are beginning to arrive but supply is "still patchy".
— A major retailer has told the BBC if the shortage of kits is not sorted by next week, it could lead to 1,600 lost days in January because of its staff having to quarantine for longer.
In his new year message, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the UK needed leadership to ensure the "sacrifices and pain of the past two years" had not been in vain, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he hoped 2022 would be "the year we will finally beat Covid".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said New Year's Eve was "not the Hogmanay" people wanted, but they could look forward to a "better and brighter new year ahead".
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has asked those travelling to England to see in the New Year to "think consciously and carefully" about their plans.
And in Northern Ireland, new reduced self-isolation rules allowing people with Covid to be released after seven days if they test negative twice on days six and seven, have come into force.
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Robert
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It would be a big number to you were you advanced in years or immunocompromised.
To say nothing of all the people with Long COVID - damaged lungs and organs and cognitive problems - which the virus has pushed “close to death” from other factors.
James
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The more telling statistic for the UK is the “excess” deaths for 2020 and 2021 versus the “normal” level of ongoing deaths, which are all reported by the government on a weekly basis.
The levels of overall death versus expected levels have been remarkably stable since April 2021 — either the same levels as a typical year, slightly higher in some months, and in the summer months overall deaths were actually lower than what is usually expected.
The only times the UK had spikes in excess deaths were March-April 2020 & January-March 2021, which were the two main waves of Covid that we experienced before the vaccines were widely available. Aside from these two limited windows it’s just been a relatively normal level of ongoing deaths that have occurred, and remains as such today.
The levels of overall death versus expected levels have been remarkably stable since April 2021 — either the same levels as a typical year, slightly higher in some months, and in the summer months overall deaths were actually lower than what is usually expected.
The only times the UK had spikes in excess deaths were March-April 2020 & January-March 2021, which were the two main waves of Covid that we experienced before the vaccines were widely available. Aside from these two limited windows it’s just been a relatively normal level of ongoing deaths that have occurred, and remains as such today.
James
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<b>BBC — Covid: UK workplaces told to plan for absences of up to 25%.</b>
Ministers have been tasked with developing "robust contingency plans" for workplace absences, as the government warned rising cases could see up to a quarter of staff off work.
Public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for "worst case scenarios" of 10%, 20% and 25% absence rates, the Cabinet Office said.
The UK has seen record numbers of daily cases over the festive period.
Transport, the NHS and schools have already seen the effect of absences.
Rising case numbers have led to large numbers self-isolating and being unable to go to work. This has particularly affected industries where staff are unable to work from home.
Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay is chairing regular meetings with ministers to assess how the spread of the Omicron variant is affecting workforces and supply chains, the Cabinet Office said.
The prime minister had asked ministers working with their respective sectors to test preparations and contingency plans to limit disruption, it explained.
Mr Barclay said the highly transmissible Omicron variant meant businesses and public services "will face disruption in the coming weeks, particularly from higher than normal staff absence".
However, his department said that so far disruption caused by Omicron has been controlled in "most parts of the public sector".
People who test positive for Covid must self-isolate for at least seven days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Two negative lateral flow results, 24-hours apart, are required to end self-isolation - the first no earlier than day six.
In Scotland, positive cases must isolate for the full 10 days.
Unvaccinated contacts of positive cases must also isolate for 10 days in all parts of the UK.
In December, the education secretary urged retired teachers to return to classrooms to help with Covid-related staff shortages in the new year.
Some schools had to close early or move to online learning before the end of last term because of staff absences.
And several train operators have had to reduce services because of staff absences.
Rising cases are also affecting the NHS, with 24,632 staff at hospital trusts ill with coronavirus or self-isolating on 26 December, up 31% on the previous week and nearly double the figure at the start of the month, according to NHS England.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said Boris Johnson should have told ministers to start planning for workplace absences weeks ago.
"Boris Johnson's lack of leadership means his government has dithered and delayed, leaving contingency planning to the very last moment," she said.
"With record Covid infection numbers, the prime minister must immediately get a grip on workforce pressures, keep essential services moving, keep schools open and keep people safe."
England reported 162,572 new cases on Saturday - a record number for the fifth day in a row - and Covid hospital admissions are at their highest level since January 2021.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not report figures on Saturday.
England is currently under Plan B restrictions, which includes mandatory masks in most indoor public places, Covid passes for nightclubs and other large venues and guidance to work from home if possible.
The measures are set to expire six weeks after implementation - 26 January, with a review after three weeks, which is expected on or close to 4 January.
Other parts of the UK have already introduced tougher restrictions for hospitality venues.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said any additional restrictions in England "must be an absolute last resort".
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Ministers have been tasked with developing "robust contingency plans" for workplace absences, as the government warned rising cases could see up to a quarter of staff off work.
Public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for "worst case scenarios" of 10%, 20% and 25% absence rates, the Cabinet Office said.
The UK has seen record numbers of daily cases over the festive period.
Transport, the NHS and schools have already seen the effect of absences.
Rising case numbers have led to large numbers self-isolating and being unable to go to work. This has particularly affected industries where staff are unable to work from home.
Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay is chairing regular meetings with ministers to assess how the spread of the Omicron variant is affecting workforces and supply chains, the Cabinet Office said.
The prime minister had asked ministers working with their respective sectors to test preparations and contingency plans to limit disruption, it explained.
Mr Barclay said the highly transmissible Omicron variant meant businesses and public services "will face disruption in the coming weeks, particularly from higher than normal staff absence".
However, his department said that so far disruption caused by Omicron has been controlled in "most parts of the public sector".
People who test positive for Covid must self-isolate for at least seven days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Two negative lateral flow results, 24-hours apart, are required to end self-isolation - the first no earlier than day six.
In Scotland, positive cases must isolate for the full 10 days.
Unvaccinated contacts of positive cases must also isolate for 10 days in all parts of the UK.
In December, the education secretary urged retired teachers to return to classrooms to help with Covid-related staff shortages in the new year.
Some schools had to close early or move to online learning before the end of last term because of staff absences.
And several train operators have had to reduce services because of staff absences.
Rising cases are also affecting the NHS, with 24,632 staff at hospital trusts ill with coronavirus or self-isolating on 26 December, up 31% on the previous week and nearly double the figure at the start of the month, according to NHS England.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said Boris Johnson should have told ministers to start planning for workplace absences weeks ago.
"Boris Johnson's lack of leadership means his government has dithered and delayed, leaving contingency planning to the very last moment," she said.
"With record Covid infection numbers, the prime minister must immediately get a grip on workforce pressures, keep essential services moving, keep schools open and keep people safe."
England reported 162,572 new cases on Saturday - a record number for the fifth day in a row - and Covid hospital admissions are at their highest level since January 2021.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not report figures on Saturday.
England is currently under Plan B restrictions, which includes mandatory masks in most indoor public places, Covid passes for nightclubs and other large venues and guidance to work from home if possible.
The measures are set to expire six weeks after implementation - 26 January, with a review after three weeks, which is expected on or close to 4 January.
Other parts of the UK have already introduced tougher restrictions for hospitality venues.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said any additional restrictions in England "must be an absolute last resort".
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James
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<b>BBC — Covid: England must stick with Plan B to protect NHS - PM</b>
England will continue with its Plan B Covid measures amid growing pressures on the NHS, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister said it would be "folly" to think the pandemic was over and pressure on hospitals would be "considerable" over the coming weeks.
However, he added the country was in a "much better position" than this time last year thanks to vaccinations.
The PM stressed Omicron looks less severe than other variants, despite it being "incredibly transmissible".
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Aylesbury, he said the "mixture of things we're doing at the moment" were the correct measures.
He said this included continuing with Plan B, which includes mask wearing in certain indoor settings and guidance to work from home where possible, ensuring it is taken "seriously" by people.
These measures are due to expire on 26 January, although they are expected to be reviewed on Wednesday.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said to expect the status quo to rumble on until the end of the month, when the picture should be clearer as to what impact Christmas and New Year mixing had.
On Monday, 157,758 new coronavirus cases were reported across England and Scotland, with data from Wales and Northern Ireland to be reported after the holiday weekend.
A further 42 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were reported in England.
Mr Johnson added people should be "sensible" and take a rapid test before going to see people they do not usually meet, as well as getting their first, second and booster jabs.
"We've got to make sure we look after our NHS in any way that we can" he said, adding: "I appreciate the pressures that our hospitals are under.”
As NHS trusts warn of staffing pressures, Mr Johnson said the government was looking at what it could do to "move people into those areas that are particularly badly affected".
He said: "Looking at the pressures on the NHS in the next couple of weeks and maybe longer... looking at the numbers of people who are going to be going into hospital, it would be absolute folly to say that this thing is all over now bar the shouting.
"We've got to remain cautious, we've got to stick with plan B, we've got to get boosted."
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said on Twitter it was "very clear" the NHS in the rest of the country was "now coming under the significant pressure London has been encountering".
Many trusts said the biggest challenge was rising staff absence, he said, so some were declaring critical incidents to manage those.
Parts of the health service are in crisis, Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation chief executive, warned.
"Some hospitals are making urgent calls to exhausted staff to give up rest days and leave to enable them to sustain core services. Many more hospitals are having to ban visitors to try to reduce the spread of infection," he said.
The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the power to set their own Covid restrictions.
It comes as secondary school children are due to head back to school this week, with testing and mask wearing in classrooms part of their return.
On a new requirement for masks, Mr Johnson agreed with Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and said the government "won't keep them on a day more than is necessary."
Mr Johnson said he did not "like the idea of having face masks in classrooms any more than anybody else does", but said there is an "increasing body of scientific support" for the idea that face masks contain transmission.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Zahawi defended plans to require secondary pupils to wear masks during lessons until 26 January, adding ministers were determined to keep schools open after learning a "painful lesson" from earlier closures.
He confirmed all secondary pupils in England would be tested before returning this week.
— — —
England will continue with its Plan B Covid measures amid growing pressures on the NHS, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister said it would be "folly" to think the pandemic was over and pressure on hospitals would be "considerable" over the coming weeks.
However, he added the country was in a "much better position" than this time last year thanks to vaccinations.
The PM stressed Omicron looks less severe than other variants, despite it being "incredibly transmissible".
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Aylesbury, he said the "mixture of things we're doing at the moment" were the correct measures.
He said this included continuing with Plan B, which includes mask wearing in certain indoor settings and guidance to work from home where possible, ensuring it is taken "seriously" by people.
These measures are due to expire on 26 January, although they are expected to be reviewed on Wednesday.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said to expect the status quo to rumble on until the end of the month, when the picture should be clearer as to what impact Christmas and New Year mixing had.
On Monday, 157,758 new coronavirus cases were reported across England and Scotland, with data from Wales and Northern Ireland to be reported after the holiday weekend.
A further 42 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were reported in England.
Mr Johnson added people should be "sensible" and take a rapid test before going to see people they do not usually meet, as well as getting their first, second and booster jabs.
"We've got to make sure we look after our NHS in any way that we can" he said, adding: "I appreciate the pressures that our hospitals are under.”
As NHS trusts warn of staffing pressures, Mr Johnson said the government was looking at what it could do to "move people into those areas that are particularly badly affected".
He said: "Looking at the pressures on the NHS in the next couple of weeks and maybe longer... looking at the numbers of people who are going to be going into hospital, it would be absolute folly to say that this thing is all over now bar the shouting.
"We've got to remain cautious, we've got to stick with plan B, we've got to get boosted."
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said on Twitter it was "very clear" the NHS in the rest of the country was "now coming under the significant pressure London has been encountering".
Many trusts said the biggest challenge was rising staff absence, he said, so some were declaring critical incidents to manage those.
Parts of the health service are in crisis, Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation chief executive, warned.
"Some hospitals are making urgent calls to exhausted staff to give up rest days and leave to enable them to sustain core services. Many more hospitals are having to ban visitors to try to reduce the spread of infection," he said.
The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the power to set their own Covid restrictions.
It comes as secondary school children are due to head back to school this week, with testing and mask wearing in classrooms part of their return.
On a new requirement for masks, Mr Johnson agreed with Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and said the government "won't keep them on a day more than is necessary."
Mr Johnson said he did not "like the idea of having face masks in classrooms any more than anybody else does", but said there is an "increasing body of scientific support" for the idea that face masks contain transmission.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Zahawi defended plans to require secondary pupils to wear masks during lessons until 26 January, adding ministers were determined to keep schools open after learning a "painful lesson" from earlier closures.
He confirmed all secondary pupils in England would be tested before returning this week.
— — —
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A further 218,724 coronavirus cases and 48 COVID-related deaths have been recorded in the UK, official figures show.
The UK-wide figures have been released after the Bank Holiday, when only England released figures for both deaths and cases.
It comes as a further 141,825 people had their booster jab - bringing the total to 34,363,986, the latest figures show.
A further 19,158 people had a first dose, bringing the total to 51,820,652. Another 29,295 people had a second dose - bringing the total to 47,482,789.
The latest NHS England figures show 14,210 patients with Covid-19 were in hospital on January 3, including 777 requiring mechanical ventilation.
The UK-wide figures have been released after the Bank Holiday, when only England released figures for both deaths and cases.
It comes as a further 141,825 people had their booster jab - bringing the total to 34,363,986, the latest figures show.
A further 19,158 people had a first dose, bringing the total to 51,820,652. Another 29,295 people had a second dose - bringing the total to 47,482,789.
The latest NHS England figures show 14,210 patients with Covid-19 were in hospital on January 3, including 777 requiring mechanical ventilation.
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PM: 'Good chance' of no more restrictions but 'can't rule anything out'
The PM is asked if it is "unlikely or highly unlikely" that more restrictions will be imposed in England.
Mr Johnson says "we will monitor everything very closely - we clearly can't rule anything out".
He adds that his government are trying to take "a balanced approach" and says people "are doing their absolute best" to help the effort.
"If you ask me to guess, I would say we have a good chance of getting through the Omicron wave without the need for further restrictions - and without the need, certainly, for another lockdown," the PM says.
The PM is asked if it is "unlikely or highly unlikely" that more restrictions will be imposed in England.
Mr Johnson says "we will monitor everything very closely - we clearly can't rule anything out".
He adds that his government are trying to take "a balanced approach" and says people "are doing their absolute best" to help the effort.
"If you ask me to guess, I would say we have a good chance of getting through the Omicron wave without the need for further restrictions - and without the need, certainly, for another lockdown," the PM says.
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