Coronavirus - 7th January 2022

Summary for Friday, 7th January 2022

• New figures from NHS England reveal the extent to which Covid is affecting staff at hospitals
  
• There were 39,142 staff at England hospital trusts off work for Covid reasons on 2 January
  
• That is a 59% rise compared to the previous week
  
• The biggest percentage jump in absences for all reasons was in north-east England and Yorkshire
  
• Armed Forces have sent 200 personnel to NHS hospitals in London to tackle staff shortages
  
• Royal College of Nursing says deployment shows government cannot deny there is a "staffing crisis"
  
• From 04:00 GMT on Sunday, fully vaccinated travellers to the UK will be able to take a cheaper lateral flow within two days of arriving
  
• Arrivals who receive a positive lateral flow result must take a PCR test - which can be a free NHS one
  
• Australia is checking the visas of other tennis players, after detaining Novak Djokovic in a vaccine rules row
  

Good morning and welcome

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are some of the headlines from around the world this morning:

• As of 04:00 GMT fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK do not need to take a pre-departure test and do not need to isolate while waiting for their post-arrival PCR result
  
• The Armed Forces is sending 200 personnel into NHS hospitals across London to plug staff shortages - with thousands off sick or isolating as the Omicron variant surges through the capital
  
• There are concerns that some older pupils in England are refusing to take lateral flow tests and wear face coverings in classrooms as they head back to school, parents and other pupils say
  
• Australia has said it is investigating the visas of other foreign tennis players, after detaining men’s world number one Novak Djokovic in a chaotic row over vaccine rules
  
• In India at least 13 passengers, who tested positive for Covid-19 upon their arrival in the city of Amritsar, have escaped institutional quarantine
  
• It comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world
  
• Britain’s first wave of coronavirus raised the risk of death by more than 40% for most adults regardless of their underlying health and other factors, research suggests.
  
• Johnson & Johnson has confirmed a real-world study shows that its single shot Covid vaccine produced long-lasting protection for up to six months against breakthrough infections and hospitalisations.
  
• Mexico is likely to surpass 300,000 deaths from Covid this week - the fifth highest death toll worldwide - as infections rise after the holiday season, fuelled by the Omicron variant and largely unrestricted tourism.
  
• Peru raised its pandemic alert level in numerous cities and tightened some restrictions amid a third wave of infections caused by the spread of the Omicron variant.
  
• Nigeria is working to develop a Covid vaccine, President Muhammadu Buhari said in a televised interview on Thursday, as the country battles growing cases of the virus.
  
• Chile will begin offering a fourth shot of the Covid vaccine next week to immunocompromised people, making it the first country in Latin America and one of the first in the world to offer the extra dose.
  
• The Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has ordered the arrest of unvaccinated people who violate stay-at-home orders aimed at curbing “galloping” infections driven by the Omicron variant.
  
• Schools in England are “teetering on the edge” with more than a third (36%) struggling with staff absence rates in excess of 10%, according to a snap poll by a headteachers’ union. Almost one in 10 heads (9%) who took part in the survey said more than 20% of their teaching staff were absent on the first day of term for Covid-related reasons.
  
• Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has criticised the country’s health regulator Anvisa for authorising the vaccination of children aged five to 11 years against Covid. His comments came as the country reported reported 35,826 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number of infections since September.
  
• Australia’s home affairs minister has dismissed any suggestion Novak Djokovic is being held “captive” in Melbourne, declaring the world No 1 is free to leave the country whenever he chooses.
  
• The more infectious Omicron variant appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta, but should not be categorised as “mild”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
  
• Authorities in Henan province, China, have imposed more Covid restrictions after a sharp rise in infections, limiting travel and activities in some cities or launching mass testing drives in others.
  
• Argentina reported a record number of Covid-19 cases on Thursday for a third day in a row at nearly 110,000, as Omicron drives a third pandemic wave in the South American nation.
  
• The efficacy of boosters against Covid-19 is likely to decline over the next few months and people may need another shot in the fall of 2022, Moderna Inc chief executive officer Stephane Bancel has said.
  
• A Japanese government panel has put forward a request to declare quasi-emergency measures in three regions to stem a Covid-19 surge that some officials have linked to US military bases in the country. If approved, it would mark the first such measures since September.
  
• After the debacle of the Ruby Princess’ arrival in Sydney in March 2020 led to over 900 cases of Covid-19 and 28 deaths, the cruise ship appears to be in another Covid-19 outbreak situation in San Francisco. Local media reports around 25% of passengers on board were tested and 12 people came back positive.
  
  

Australia studies other tennis players' visas amid Djokovic row

Australia says it is investigating the visas of other foreign tennis players ahead of the Australian Open tournament, after detaining world number one men’s player Novak Djokovic in a row over vaccine rules.
Djokovic remains in immigration detention in Melbourne and is facing deportation after his entry to the country was denied on Wednesday.
He has launched an urgent court challenge to be heard on Monday, a week before the major tournament begins.
In an interview with Channel 9, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said there was intelligence to "indicate there are some individuals here now that have not met the entry requirements and we have to investigate that.
Djokovic, who has said he is opposed to vaccination, had been granted a medical exemption to play in the tournament for unspecified reasons, a decision that infuriated many Australians.

Pre-departure tests and isolation on arrival ditched for UK

Good news for anyone waking up this morning with upcoming holiday plans – the requirement for a pre-departure test for fully vaccinated travellers coming to the UK has been scrapped.
People are also no longer required to self-isolate while they wait for the result of their test taken within two days of arriving.
From Sunday, this post-arrival test will no longer need to be a PCR either, but instead can be a cheaper lateral flow test (LFT) - although positive results from these rapid tests must be confirmed via NHS PCR.
LFTs must be bought from a private provider – free NHS ones cannot be used.
However, these changes will only apply to people who have had two doses of a Covid vaccine and to children.
The government introduced the now defunct rules in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant late last year, but now it has spread widely ministers say testing is no longer needed.
The travel industry has welcomed the move, which will make travel considerably cheaper and easier again, with some businesses confirming bookings have already risen since the changes were announced on Wednesday.
The changes were initially announced for England, but Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have all aligned their rules.

What are the new travel rules for the UK?

And if you’d like a short summary of exactly what has changed for fully vaccinated people (those who have had two doses of a Covid vaccine) coming to the UK, we’ve got you covered:

• People no longer need to take a pre-departure test two days before travelling
  
• You still have to take a PCR test within two days of arriving, but no longer have to self-isolate while waiting for the result
  
• However, from Sunday you can take a cheaper lateral flow test (LFT) instead - but these cannot be free NHS tests and must be purchased privately
  
• If your post-arrival LFT is positive, you must self-isolate and have a NHS PCR to confirm the result
  
• Vaccinated travellers still have to fill in and submit an online passenger locator form no more than 48 hours before arriving, even if they are just transiting
  

For more detail on the changes, click here.

Armed forces help to plug staffing gaps in London hospitals

Our top story this morning is that 200 armed forces personnel are helping to plug staff shortages in NHS hospitals across London.
The Ministry of Defence will provide 40 defence medics and 160 general duty personnel for the next three weeks.
Hospitals in London have been hit hard by staff absences, with thousands off sick or isolating as the Omicron variant surged through the capital.
Earlier this week, the prime minister said he hoped England could "ride out" the latest wave without further restrictions.
Pressure on London hospitals has increased over the past month, with 4,000 patients currently in hospital with Covid compared with 1,100 in early December.
The Royal College of Nursing's director for England, Patricia Marquis, says the deployment shows the government could not deny there was a "staffing crisis" in the NHS.
As of Thursday afternoon, 17 hospital trusts in England were experiencing critical incidents - about one in eight of the total.

Potential for further military support - forces chief

A bit more on that military support for NHS hospitals in London.
The head of the deployment is Air Commodore John Lyle, chief of staff at the Standing Joint Command. He says the military has a long history of supporting government departments and, in particular, the NHS over the past two years, "so this isn't anything new".
But he says there could be the potential for "further military support" in other areas.
He tells BBC Breakfast that throughout London the military has broken down its personnel into smaller teams, with a mix of defence medics and general duties personnel - who are able to help with tasks like carrying oxygen or helping at meal times.
"All of that allows the highly skilled clinicians to focus their care where it is needed most," he says.
He adds that "throughout this current surge we know that it is particularly difficult in London at the minute, but we are aware that it is impacting all across the UK" - and he says there are "a number of areas where we are looking at the potential of more assistance".

‘Do not worry about military’s presence in hospitals’ - NHS Confederation

As we told you earlier, the armed forces have sent 200 personnel to NHS hospitals in London to help deal with staff shortages.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, says people should not feel "concerned" by their presence.
"In some parts of the country we are going to have to cancel non-urgent operations and I know that's really frustrating for people who've been waiting for a long time, but it's important to understand that these are very special circumstances we're in," he says.
He adds there will also be a "price to be paid" in terms of ambulance wait times or cancelled operations but the "NHS will get through this".

Analysis: Is this NHS winter crisis different?

Nick Triggle - Health Correspondent
The NHS is in crisis every winter – so is this any different?
The army has been brought in before to lend a hand in extreme circumstances and have already been used in the pandemic.
This tends to be the busiest week for the health service so it’s not surprising given the pressure it is under that steps like this are being taken or that we are hearing so much about critical incidents.
As of yesterday, one in eight hospital trusts in England had declared a critical incident – an internal warning to the system that they are struggling to provide priority services such as emergency care.
We do not have comparable figures for previous years.
But to provide some comparison with previous years, there are two key figures to keep in mind.
Firstly the number of Covid admissions being seen is already double the number normally seen at this time of year for all types of respiratory infection – and it is still rising.
Staff absences are also thought to be twice what they would traditionally be – the latest figures will be published shortly.

 

Hospital staff absences up by nearly 60% in England

A total of 39,142 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England were absent for Covid-19 reasons on 2 January, up 59% on the previous week (24,632) and more than three times the number at the start of December (12,508), according to new figures from NHS England.
The total includes staff who were ill with coronavirus or who were having to self-isolate.

Sharp rise in NHS absences in north-west England

Here is some more from the latest NHS England data.
In north-west England, 7,338 NHS staff at hospital trusts were absent due to Covid on 2 January, up 85% week-on-week from 3,966, while in north-east England and Yorkshire there were 8,788 absences, more than double the number a week earlier (4,179).
In London - where the impact of the Omicron variant was first felt in the UK - absences were up 4% week-on-week, from 4,580 to 4,765.

Several hospital trusts say their critical incidents are over

Nick Triggle - Health Correspondent
As of this morning, it is understood there were 16 hospital trusts in England that were in critical incident status.
This is down from 17 on Thursday afternoon. It is around one in eight of the total.
On Wednesday night the number exceeded 20, but since then several have declared their critical incident over, NHS sources told the BBC.
A critical incident is declared when a trust is worried it might not be able to provide core priority services, such as emergency care.
It is an internal warning to the local system and means extra support can be provided - such as redeploying staff or helping find places in care facilities for patients who are medically fit to be discharged but cannot be released because there are no available places in care homes or support in the community available.

James Corden, host of the Late Late Show, has tested positive for Covid

In a post on his Instagram account the British comedian said he was “fully vaccinated, boosted and because of this am fortunate enough to say I feel completely fine.”
He also said the show would be “off the air for the next few days”.

His diagnosis comes a day after fellow TV host Seth Meyers was forced to cancel his Late Night show after also catching the virus.

Philippines’ Duterte orders arrest of unvaccinated people who violate stay-at-home orders
The Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has ordered the arrest of unvaccinated people who violate stay-at-home orders aimed at curbing “galloping” coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant, AFP reports.
The government tightened restrictions in Manila and several provinces and cities this week. Unvaccinated people among the capital’s 13 million people were ordered to stay home, after infection numbers tripled in the last two days.
Health officials said infections were projected to increase further in the coming days and would peak by the end of the month.
“Because it’s a national emergency, it is my position that we can restrain” people who have not got their shots, Duterte said in a pre-recorded message on Thursday.
“I am now giving orders to the [village chiefs] to look for those persons who are not vaccinated and just request them or order them, if you may, to stay put.
“And if he refuses and goes out of the house and goes around in the community or maybe everywhere, he can be restrained. If he refuses then the [official] is empowered to arrest the recalcitrant persons,” he added.

More Covid restrictions in Henan province, China, following sharp rise in infections

Authorities in Henan province, China, have imposed more Covid restrictions after a sharp rise in infections, limiting travel and activities in some cities or launching mass testing drives in others.
On Thursday health authorities reported 64 community cases in Henan for the preceding 24 hours, a jump from four the day earlier. None have been reported as Omicron, the fast-spreading new variant which has raced through numerous other countries, but China has remained committed to a Zero-Covid policy of stamping out all infections, which officials are under pressure to maintain especially ahead of next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics.

People queue up for Covid tests in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

The one million residents of Gushi have been stopped from leaving the county, and visitors have been discouraged after two cases – one symptomatic and one asymptomatic – were reported on Wednesday. Another four million people in Xuchang are set to be tested.
New rules have also been added for people travelling to China from the US. They are now required to complete a nucleic acid test seven days before departure, and report their body temperature daily.
The city of Yuzhou, home to almost 1.2 million people, has been locked down since earlier this week, after three asymptomatic cases were detected.
It joined Xi’an in Shaanxi province, which has held 13 million residents under lockdown for more than two weeks so far, with troubling reports of limits on access to medical care. On Thursday officials apologised after a woman miscarried at eight months pregnant after she was denied entry to a hospital because her negative Covid test was four hours past the dictated validity.

Novak Djokovic: refugees hope tennis star’s hotel detention will cast light on their ‘torture’
Mostafa Rachwani and Ben Doherty - The Guardian
‘We came for safety, not to play tennis’. Refugees and asylum seekers speak out against their harsh treatment
Novak Djokovic’s wrangling with authorities over entering Australia has inadvertently highlighted a different plight: those of the refugees and asylum seekers stuck for months, and years, at the Park Hotel.
The infamous detention hotel in Carlton, Melbourne, where the tennis star is likely to spend the weekend as he awaits a court hearing over his visa cancellation has been described by detainees as a “torture cell”.
“There is no fresh air, there was recently a fire, the food is not great, we do not have access to a gym, the hotel is totally locked up,” 38-year-old Jamal Mohamed told Guardian Australia.

Detainees at Park Hotel watching the protests Photograph: Jamal Mohammed

More on the refugees being held in the same Melbourne hotel as Novak Djokovic
Ben Doherty - The Guardian
f you want to read more on the refugees being held in the same Melbourne hotel as Novak Djokovic, check out this interview with Mehdi, an Iranian who sought asylum in Australia when he was 15 and has been locked up by authorities there for the past nine years.
Here’s a short extract:

Mehdi has watched boatmates he arrived alongside leave detention to begin lives, careers and families in Australia; he has watched others in detention burn themselves to death in despair. He has been beaten, abused, incarcerated without reason.
Mehdi has never been charged with a crime, nor has any wrongdoing been alleged against him, yet still he has not known a day of freedom in Australia. Friday is his ninth birthday in detention.
“I’m getting older; it’s really sad that my youth, my teenage time – that’s been wasted. I don’t want to leave here as a middle-aged man, all those years lost.”

Mehdi, an asylum seeker who is being held in Melbourne's Park Hotel

Argentina reported a record number of Covid-19 cases on Thursday for a third day in a row at nearly 110,000, Reuters reports, as the highly infectious Omicron variant drives a third pandemic wave in the South American nation.
The record tally of 109,608 in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer holiday season with tourist centres full of travellers, has not translated into a similar exponential rise in Covid-related deaths, which totalled 40, the government said.
“We do not have a strong impact on intensive therapy units and less in terms of deaths,” the chief of staff of the Ministry of Health, Sonia Tarragona, told local radio station Urbana Play. “The cases are mild or moderate and they are not putting stress on the health system.”

People queue to be tested for the Covid in Buenos Aires. Photograph: Agustín Marcarian/Reuters

Argentina accelerated its vaccination campaign in recent months, which started with the Sputnik V vaccine, then added AstraZeneca and Sinopharm and, later, CanSino, Pfizer and Moderna.
Tarragona said she does not know “what the ceiling for infections is going to be,” but some experts believe the true number among the country’s 45 million population is already significant.
“Today in Argentina we could be quietly at around 150,000 or 200,000 cases of new infections per day,” biochemist Jorge Geffner told Reuters.
He estimated that the infection peak could come in mid-January.

A Japanese government panel has put forward a request to declare quasi-emergency measures in three regions to stem a Covid-19 surge that some officials have linked to US military bases in the country
Reuters reports.
If approved, it would mark the first such measures since September, when Japan lifted emergency controls that had prevailed over the country for most of last year.
Official approval is expected later on Friday after a meeting of health experts.
The infectious Omicron variant has been found in about 80% of Japanese prefectures, and coronavirus cases are surging. New infections exceeded 4,000 nationwide on Wednesday, compared with an average of about 200 per day last month.
“There are cases where there is no history of overseas travel and the route of infection is unknown, while the Delta strain also continues to spread,” Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto told reporters.
“We must be prepared for the rapid spread of infection in the future,” he added.
The new measures, affecting the southern prefecture of Okinawa and the western prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, would last from Jan. 9 until the end of the month.
All three regions host bases for the US military, which on Thursday announced stricter infection controls at Japan’s urging after on-base outbreaks appeared to have spilled into surrounding communities.
Governors of the prefectures had requested the quasi-emergency steps, which include limited opening hours for bars and restaurants, after seeing a surge in cases, driven by the infectious Omicron variant.
The southern island chain of Okinawa, host to 70% of U.S. military facilities in Japan, has been the hardest hit so far, in what appears to be the nation’s sixth wave of the pandemic.
The prefecture is expected to report more than 1,400 new cases on Friday, Okinawa TV reported, a new record and up from 981 on Thursday.

India reports a further 117,100 new cases on Friday

India reported 117,100 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, the most since early June, as the Omicron variant overtakes Delta in the cities, Reuters reports.
The health ministry also reported 302 new deaths, taking the total to 483,178. Total infections stand at 35.23 million.

Australian state of NSW reinstates restrictions as infections surge

Tory Shepherd - The Guardian
A third vaccination shot will soon be mandatory for frontline workers in the Australian state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, as it bans singing and dancing in pubs and clubs, and pauses non-urgent elective surgery, to try and slow the state’s Omicron outbreak.
High-risk major events could also be postponed, the premier, Dominic Perrottet, said on Friday.
NSW will additionally start requiring positive rapid Covid test results to be reported to health authorities – as already occurs in Victoria – and has asked residents to “minimise mingling” whenever possible.
Teachers, health workers and those in frontline disability roles will be among the groups required to get a booster shot to be considered “fully vaccinated” against Covid-19, Perrotet told reporters.
The state reported 38,625 Covid cases on Friday – taking the three-day total above 100,000.
Perrottet was warned by health experts not to ease restrictions as Omicron cases spiked ahead of the Christmas holiday period, but nevertheless scrapped most measures on 15 December.

Covid-19 cases on Ruby Princess again

Tory Shepherd - The Guardian
I regret to inform you the Ruby Princess is at it again.
After the debacle of the cruise ship’s arrival in Sydney in March 2020 led to over 900 cases of Covid-19 and 28 deaths, the ship appears to be in another Covid-19 outbreak situation in San Francisco.
The cruise ended its 10-day trip in San Francisco, but according to reports there is an outbreak on board.
SFist reports around 25% of passengers on board were tested and 12 came back positive, amid suggestions the outbreak may be much larger than just among those tested, with entertainment cancelled as performers had reportedly tested positive for Covid-19.
According to NBC, one passenger said they were not going to get tested and “the Bay Area is getting us as is”.
In a statement to NBC, Princess Cruises said a small number of Covid-19 cases were detected among vaccinated guests who are all asymptomatic, and will either return home in their own cars, or be taken to hotels to be quarantined.

India's Covid cases jump five-fold in a week

India’s daily Covid-19 cases have jumped to 117,100 on Friday, Reuters reports, a five-fold increase in a week and on course to overtake its previous infection peak as the fast-spreading Omicron variant replaces Delta in cities.
Government officials have privately said they are working under the assumption that daily infections will surpass the record of more than 414,000 set in May.
“We will clearly surpass our record shortly and reach a new peak by early February,” MD Gupte, a former director of the state-run National Institute of Epidemiology and an immunisation adviser to the government, told Reuters.
“Given the size of our population, we will report more daily cases than the US. But what we have seen is that these cases are much more mild, so the need for hospitalisation and oxygen and all that is not picking up.”
He said India’s high rate of infection during a previous major wave in April and May, as well as vaccinations, would mean a reduction in the severity of the illness for those infected by the Omicron variant.
Health officials have said hospitals and testing infrastructure have yet to come under pressure as many people are recovering quickly at home.
In Mumbai, about quarter of all tests are positive but fewer than a fifth of those who have contracted the virus have needed hospitalisation, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope told reporters. The city recorded 20,181 new infections on Thursday, well above its previous high of just over 11,000 set last year.
“Around 80% of the hospital beds are still empty,” he said. “Oxygen demand is not rising in proportion to the rising cases. Right now, there is no plan to impose a lockdown. If required, we may increase restrictions.”
Delhi, where daily cases have risen by more than five times in a week, goes into a 55-hour lockdown from Friday night to Monday morning. Authorities have also imposed a night curfew on weekdays, closed schools, and ordered most shops to open only on alternate days when there is no curfew.

Thailand will extend the suspension of its quarantine waiver programme and bring in new restrictions after a jump in new coronavirus cases linked to the Omicron variant, the government’s Covid taskforce said on Friday.
Reuters report that new applications for Thailand’s “Test & Go” quarantine waiver scheme will not be approved until further notice to stem the increase of coronavirus infections, but existing applicants can still enter Thailand without quarantine until 15 January.
“We can still make changes if the situation improves, but for now we have to learn more about Omicron,” said Taweesin Visanuyothin, the spokesman of the Covid taskforce
Due to concerns over Omicron, Thailand had halted the waiver programme since 22 December.
To curb local virus transmissions, alcohol consumption in restaurants will be stopped after 9pm from Sunday in eight provinces including the capital Bangkok, and banned in the country’s other 69 provinces, Taweesin said. “Social drinking is the cause of the virus spread. Measures to restrict this will help curb the spread,” he said.
However, from 11 January, Thailand will lift an entry ban on people travelling from eight African countries it had designated as high-risk.

France's Omicron wave expected to peak in 10 days

The Covid-19 wave engulfing France could reach its peak in about 10 days’ time, said Prof Alain Fischer, an official responsible for France’s Covid vaccine strategy.
“I think we are coming to the peak of this new wave,” Reuters report Fischer told LCI TV, adding that this peak could come “primarily towards the beginning of the second fortnight of January, so if we work it out this would be in around 10 days’ time”.
France reported 261,481 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, less than the record of more than 332,000 set on Wednesday, but the seven-day moving average of new cases rose above 200,000 for the first time since the start of the health crisis.
French president Emmanuel Macron is banking that enough people will take up Covid vaccine booster shots to mitigate the effects of the virus, and thereby allow Macron to avoid enforcing major new restrictions to tackle the pandemic.

Australia’s treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has tested positive to Covid-19, he has announced.
Josh Taylor - The Guardian
As the country deals with a massive rise in case numbers due to the spread of the Omicron variant, with more than 78,000 Covid cases reported in a single day on Friday, Frydenberg tweeted the news that he had joined the statistics.
“Like thousands of Australians, I tested positive today to Covid-19. I have the common symptoms and am isolating with my family,” he said.

Hong Kong government officials sent into quarantine after attending banquet

Ten Hong Kong government officials, including the heads of home affairs and immigration, were among more than 100 people sent into quarantine after attending a banquet where two guests tested positive for Covid-19, health authorities have said.
The banquet was on Monday, before the new restrictions came into force but after the first Omicron community transmission was confirmed in Hong Kong on 31 December.
None of the officials has tested positive but they were sent into quarantine as a precaution, in line with the city’s zero Covid policy.
City leader Carrie Lam said she was “highly disappointed” that so many officials attended a big gathering and they should not be “engaging in activities that carry risks and create more work for the city’s health bureau.”
Reuters reports that senior officials who attended included home affairs secretary Casper Tsui, director of immigration Au Ka-wang, police commissioner Raymond Siu and the head of the city’s independent commission against corruption, Simon Peh.

What Covid tests do I need to travel to the UK?

Here's a reminder of those changes to testing rules which have been relaxed for some people travelling to the UK.
Fully vaccinated passengers and under-18s no longer need to take a pre-departure test two days before travelling - and don’t need to isolate while waiting for their post-arrival PCR result.
All other travellers who are not fully vaccinated, aged 12 and over, must show proof of a negative test taken in the two days before departure - and take a PCR test two days after arriving.
Digital Covid passes showing your vaccination status can be downloaded to your phone. They must be in English, French or Spanish.
European Union residents can use the EU Digital Covid Certificate to show their vaccination status or test results.
For more details on the changes, click here.

Hospital staff Covid absences treble in a month in England

We’re still digging through those figures from NHS England.
Covid-related staff absences at hospital trusts in England have trebled since the beginning of December.
Some 35,596 daily absences were recorded on average in the week up to 2 January – up from 11,957 in the week ending 5 December.
You can see that change in the red area of the chart below.
Back at the beginning of December, Covid cases were relatively flat - Omicron was just beginning to take hold, having only been named by the World Health Organization a few days earlier.
Covid absences are rising quickly in most parts of the country, fastest in the north, but there is a silver lining.
London, which has been at the leading edge of the Omicron wave and seen cases start to fall recently, has seen absences flatten in the most recent week.

‘Paramedics are crying at work’

BBC Radio 5 Live
Ali is a paramedic in Yorkshire who says colleagues are “crying at work” because of the stress they’re facing.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live as 200 members of the armed forces are sent to ease pressure on staff shortages in London NHS hospitals, Ali says people should “use the services responsibly”.
“They should still ring for an ambulance if they have an emergency,” she says. “They just may need to wait some time before that ambulance comes.
“It’s not a good use of our resources to be sitting outside a hospital, it puts immense pressure on staff… our job is to go out and respond to emergencies, so that’s what we want to be doing.”
“Without a doubt we’ve got [staff] who are frustrated and angry – people who are facing really high levels of anxiety and stress.
“We’ve got people that are disillusioned with the service and are thinking of leaving [their jobs].”

'This situation is not safe' - Royal College of Nursing director

Responding to the latest figures on staff absences Patricia Marquis, Royal College of Nursing director for England, says the figures show why the government announced military support for the NHS in London last night.
"Outside of healthcare, staffing shortages are closing shops and cancelling trains but nurses can't stop helping their patients," she says.
"Instead, they find themselves spread thinner and thinner, but they can’t keep spinning plates indefinitely either - this situation is simply not safe."
She calls for the highest grade of masks to be provided to NHS staff and for them to receive priority testing as she says too many are exposed due to "improper protection".

One in 15 would test positive in England last week

We have some more Covid data for you with the latest from the Office for National Statistics infection survey.
The number of people in the UK who would have tested positive in the week ending 31 December was more than 3.7 million, the ONS estimates.
This is the highest level of infections recorded by the ONS since the survey started and equates to 5.8% of the population.
For this same period the ONS says:

• one in 15 people would have tested positive in England
  
• one in 20 in Wales
  
• one in 25 in Northern Ireland
  
• one in 20 in Scotland
  

The Omicron variant continued to increase rapidly across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and Omicron is now the most common variant across all UK countries, the ONS says.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, says: "While infections have increased across all age groups in England, there are some early signs of infections no longer increasing among some, including secondary school ages.
"We will continue to closely monitor this as schools return after the Christmas holidays."
These figures may sound somewhat familiar as the prime minister quoted them earlier in the week.

Army to support ambulance service in England

The armed forces have been called on for support at various stages of the pandemic

Around 150 military personnel are to support the North West Ambulance Service from next week to help cover staff absences caused by Covid.
Troops will begin training on 11 January in driving ambulances, manual handling, kit familiarisation and basic life support.
They will be available to respond to patients whose need is not urgent who often have longer waits when the service is busy, NWAS said.
It comes after about 200 personnel were sent into NHS hospitals across London to plug staff shortages.
NWAS director of operations Ged Blezard said the ambulance service - and the NHS as a whole - has been under "extreme pressure for several months".
The service was also seeing high numbers of staff absences due to confirmed Covid-19 cases and isolation, with around 25% of the workforce currently affected, he said.
He added: "We worked alongside the military last February and March, and it allows us to have more of our vehicles on the road, getting people the treatment they need sooner. This frees up emergency ambulances to attend to urgent, life-threatening cases."

Czech tennis player being detained in same hotel as Djokovic

Rob Cameron - BBC Prague Correspondent

Renata Voracova arrived in Melbourne earlier this week

The Czech tennis player, Renata Voracova, is being detained in the same immigration hotel as Novak Djokovic, after apparently having her Australian visa cancelled
Doubles player Renata Voracova arrived in Melbourne earlier this week and had already played a match in a preliminary tournament.
The Czech foreign ministry said she had entered Australia with what she believed was the correct paperwork.
According to reports in the Czech media, the 38-year-old had previously recovered from Covid and was therefore exempt from the vaccination requirement. All players and staff at the tournament must be vaccinated or have an exemption granted by an expert independent panel.
The ministry said Voracova had decided to abandon the Open and leave Australia.

Covid probe into English football club whose ground is in Wales

The border between Wales and England runs through the car park of Chester FC's ground

An investigation is being held into whether an English football team broke Covid rules - because their ground is in Wales.
Chester Football Club's Deva Stadium is in Flintshire, with the border between Wales and England running through the car park to the east of the stands.
In Wales, restrictions mean most matches are being played behind closed doors.
However, since rules came into force on 26 December, Chester FC has held two games with each attracting more than 2,000 fans.
The Welsh government said the club's ground was in Wales and must follow Welsh rules.
In a statement, the club said it had been told it "may commit further potential breaches if it continues to play home fixtures with crowds while the current restrictions in Wales remain in place".
"It was agreed that all parties would seek further legal advice given the complex issues and future implications of any outcome," the club added.
Read more

Older adults more likely to social distance over Christmas, ONS survey finds

Tim Vizard - Consultant statistician, BBC News
Figures from another ONS survey today suggest older adults were more likely to social distance when meeting others during the Christmas period.
The survey found 58% of adults aged 70 and over said they always or often social distanced when meeting with others in the past seven days. This dropped to 25% of adults aged 16 to 29.
The survey, of 4,700 adults in Great Britain (so not including Northern Ireland) between 15 December 2021 to 3 January 2022, was conducted during the introduction of new Covid measures.
The ONS also found 57% of adults said they had taken a rapid lateral flow test during the past seven days, with rates highest in younger adults. The most common reason given by adults was testing before meeting with friends and families.

Norwegian conscripts told to return underwear as Covid hits supplies
Norway, which guards Nato’s northern borders and shares a border with Russia, calls up about 8,000 young men and women for military service every year and until recently allowed newly discharged conscripts to leave barracks with the underwear they were issued.
But the pandemic has seriously strained the flow of supplies with factory shutdowns and transport problems, leading the Norwegian military to ask conscripts to hand over underwear, including bras and socks.
Though originally voluntary, it has now been made mandatory, public broadcaster NRK reported on Friday.
“Now that we have chosen to reuse this part of the kit, it helps us. … We don’t have enough in stock,” the defence logistics spokesman Hans Meisingset told NRK.
“The textiles are washed, cleaned and checked. What we distribute is in good condition,” he said.
A conscripts’ representative, however, criticised recurrent shortcomings, saying they could end up affecting operations.
“Severe shortages of equipment and clothing can potentially affect operational readiness and, in the worst case, the safety of the soldier,” Eirik Sjohelle Eiksund told trade publication Forsvarets Forum.

Pakistan’s largest city Karachi is launching a door-to-door campaign to vaccinate women, who are lagging behind men in rates of Covid inoculation as the country enters a fifth wave of the pandemic

Pakistan on Friday reported nearly 1,300 cases in a single day, its highest tally in two months, with a positivity rate of 2.5%. Karachi’s positivity rate rose to 10%, from 4.74% on 31 December.
“We have found that a sizeable population of housewives are unvaccinated, and they socialise and attend weddings without face masks,” Qasim Siraj Soomro, parliamentary secretary health of the Sindh provincial government, told Reuters.
In contrast, the rate of vaccination among male family members who go out to work is higher than the rate among women, he added.
The provincial government’s campaign will use female health workers, who have long played an instrumental role in country-wide polio vaccination campaigns in Pakistan.
“We plan to target clusters in urban areas and at later stage in rural areas,” said the parliamentary secretary.
About 70 million people, or 32% of the population, have had two vaccine doses.
The first case of the Omicron variant was reported on 13 December in Karachi, and the federal government has acknowledged that a fifth pandemic has started in the country, with Karachi, Lahore and the capital Islamabad seeing most of the cases.
The government has not yet announced new restrictions but has urged people to follow precautionary measures.
The government has authorised booster doses for citizens over the age of 30 from Monday. Children over the age of 12 are being offered vaccinations at their schools.

Police in India are tracking down Covid-positive air passengers who escaped on their way to quarantine, reports CNN.
At least ten passengers have escaped from an airport in the northern Indian city of Amritsar after testing positive for Covid-19, Ruhee Dugg, a senior district official, told CNN.
The travellers had flown in on an international chartered plane from Italy on Thursday and 125 people tested positive on arrival. The passengers were tested for coronavirus upon arrival, in accordance with India’s entry rules. While those who tested positive were being taken to a local hospital, at least ten of them separated from the main group and managed to evade authorities.
“They were supposed to go to the hospital but they went home... The police are now working on tracking these people down and will take the required action,” Dugg told CNN.
V.K. Seth, director of Amritsar airport, told CNN that 160 passengers were tested, while 19 were exempted because they were under five years of age.
India’s medical resources are coming under great strain as the fast-spreading Omicron variant rampages through the cities. The country’s daily Covid-19 cases have jumped to 117,100 on Friday, Reuters reports, a five-fold increase in a week.

Workers make preparations to convert the Chennai trade centre into a Covid-19 isolation ward, with capacity of up to 900 beds, amid rising cases in Chennai, eastern India. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer tests positive for coronavirus

The Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, has tested positive for Covid-19 following contact with an infected member of his security team, he wrote on Twitter.
The chancellor said he went home immediately to quarantine following his positive result and will continue to work remotely. His contacts had been notified, he said.
Nehammer added:

Of course I am 3-fold vaccinated and thus protected as best as possible from a severe course.

Rocky few weeks ahead for NHS, warns Javid

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been visiting King's College Hospital in London today and has spoken to the media after his visit.
He says the UK is in a better position than it was at the same time last year, pointing to vaccinations, antiviral treatments and testing.
But he adds: "Despite all of that we are still seeing rising hospitalisations, particularly with the case rate rising with older age groups - that is of concern. And I think we have to be honest when we look at the NHS and say it will be a rocky few weeks ahead."
The health secretary once again calls on people to get vaccinated, adding that staff at King's College estimate around 70% of Covid patients are unvaccinated.

We haven't seen infection rates like this before - health secretary

We have some more from the health secretary now.
Sajid Javid says there are some "encouraging signs" with the Omicron variant, stressing that it is less severe and that the government's latest analysis suggests that once you get boosted your chances of hospitalisation are "almost 90% less than it was with Delta".
But he warns that it is highly infectious and we haven't seen infection rates like this before.
"More and more parts of the NHS" are declaring critical incidents and there is a need for health services to "work together" due to the "workforce pressures" hospitals are facing.
He adds the prime minister is "sticking with Plan B" and people must remain cautious.

PM failing to protect people in England - Drakeford

Wales’ first minister has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of failing to take the necessary action to keep people safe from Covid.
Mark Drakeford said: "Wales is taking action, as is Scotland, as is Northern Ireland, and as are countries right across Europe and right across the globe.
“The one country that stands out as not taking action to protect its population is England.”
Earlier this week, the prime minister said he hoped England could "ride out" the Omicron wave without further restrictions.
Drakeford's comments came as he announced Covid restrictions would not be relaxed in Wales.
Read more here.


 

UK records nearly 180k new Covid cases

A further 178,250 new coronavirus infections have been recorded in the UK, according to the government's daily figures.
There were also 229 deaths within 28 days of a positive test result, the data shows.

NHS Grampian in Scotland has said it could declare a major incident next week as Covid case numbers continue to rise sharply.

In a briefing to staff it said that due to “an exponential growth” of cases in the last fortnight, it could declare a “major incident” as early as next week. It said:

Based on our modelling data, we anticipate a continued and significant growth in the levels of the disease placing even more significant pressure on care homes, primary care teams, community teams and hospitals.
Our planned response will include a declaration of a major incident when a number of key trigger points are reached.
Looking at our local data, these triggers could be met as early as the end of next week.

Covid deaths in Northern Ireland pass 4,000

The number of deaths in Northern Ireland linked to Covid-19 has now topped 4,000, PA Media reports. Another 18 fatalities were recorded in the week December 25-31, according to data compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra). They take the total number of coronavirus-linked deaths recorded by Nisra during the pandemic to 4,024.

UK records 178,250 new cases and 229 further deaths

The UK has recorded 178,250 new coronavirus cases, and 229 more deaths, according to the daily update to the government’s Covid dashboard.

What are the Covid rules across the UK?

As we reported earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of failing to take action to protect people in England from a surge of Omicron cases, as pressure mounts on NHS hospitals.
Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford says England is the "outlier" in the UK when it comes to Covid.
The prime minister has resisted calls to introduce further measures and says he hopes the country can "ride out" the latest Covid wave with current rules, which are due to be reviewed on 26 January.
But new measures were introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after Christmas.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said Scotland's current restrictions will remain in place until a planned review on 11 January.
Wales’ first minister has confirmed the present Covid measures will not be relaxed.
While in Northern Ireland, First Minister Paul Givan says no further Covid restrictions are necessary.
For a full breakdown of the different rules around the UK - click here.

Recap of some of today's main news:

• The health secretary says he is concerned about Covid cases rising in older people, adding the NHS has a rocky few weeks ahead
  
• NHS England figures show Covid-related staff absences have trebled since early December, and about one in eight hospital trusts have declared critical incidents in order to redeploy staff and resources
  
• More than one in 15 people in the UK would have tested positive for Covid in the last week of 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates
  
• Infections have been rising in all regions of England except London, where a slowdown looks possible
  
• A leading statistician says it's unlikely the UK will see a big surge in serious illness and deaths during this Omicron wave
  
• Meanwhile, about 1,800 armed forces personnel are supporting the NHS response across the UK, with 200 sent to London's hospitals
  
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson still sees no need for further Covid restrictions in England, Downing Street has said
  
• And tennis star Novak Djokovic has thanked people for their support as he continues to be detained in Australia over Covid vaccination rules. A court challenge is due on Monday, a week before the Australian Open begins
  
• The UK recorded 178,250 new coronavirus cases, and 229 more deaths, according to the daily update to the government’s Covid dashboard.
  
• Large school systems in the US, including those in Newark, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Cleveland, have gone back to remote learning as infections soar and sideline staff members. Dozens of smaller districts have followed, including many around Detroit, Chicago and Washington. The disruptions also raise alarms about risks to students. Long stretches of remote learning over the last two years have taken a toll, leaving many kids with academic and mental health setbacks that experts are still trying to understand. Joe Biden, who campaigned on a promise to reopen classrooms, is pressing schools to remain open. With vaccines and regular virus testing, his administration has said there’s no reason to keep schools closed. But the reality for some districts is not so simple: Testing supplies have been scarce, and many districts face low vaccine uptake in their communities. Story here.
  
• Japan is to introduce limits on bar and restaurant opening times in three areas in an attempt to stem a surge in coronavirus cases that has been linked to US military bases. The measures – officially described as a quasi-state of emergency – will go into effect from Sunday until the end of the month in Okinawa, home to more than half of the US service personnel based in Japan, and parts of the western prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, which also host American troops. Story here.
  
• Dozens of senior officials and legislators in Hong Kong that have been sent into a 21-day quarantine after they attended a birthday party despite the government’s own pandemic warning. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said it was a “deep disappointment” that her bureaucrats ignored the government’s own advice on avoiding large gatherings in the middle of an Omicron outbreak. Story here.
  
• Germany’s leaders agreed to introduce stricter requirements for entry to restaurants and bars, and decided to shorten quarantine and self-isolation periods for people who have been boosted. Customers will have to show either that they have received a booster shot or provide a negative test result on top of proof that they have been vaccinated or recovered. Scholz and the governors also agreed to shorten quarantine or self-isolation periods that are currently as long as 14 days, something that many other countries already have done. People who have received boosters will no longer have to go into quarantine after having contact with coronavirus cases, Scholz said. All others can end their quarantine or self-isolation period after 10 days if they don’t have – or no longer have – symptoms; that can be cut to seven days with a negative test.
  
• The Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, tested positive for Covid-19 following contact with an infected member of his security team. The chancellery said in a statement that Nehammer was in self-isolation and was not showing symptoms. The chancellor, who is boosted, is conducting official business from home via video and telephone conferences and will not attend any public appointments in the next few days, the statement added.
  
• Romania will cut the isolation and quarantine periods for Covid-positive people, their direct contacts and untested travellers from high-risk countries to varying lengths depending on whether they are vaccinated, health officials said. For direct contacts of Covid-positive people and travellers arriving from high-risk countries, quarantine will last five days from 14 currently for people who are vaccinated or have already been infected, and 10 days for the unvaccinated, according to a decision approved on Friday. The health ministry will approve a separate decree mandating that Covid-positive people will isolate for seven days if they are vaccinated and for 10 days if they are not, Pistol said. The shorter isolation period is appropriate because of faster incubation of the new variant, officials said. As of Saturday, wearing face masks becomes mandatory in both outdoor and indoor public spaces, and officials have banned the use of cloth face coverings, saying surgical or FFP grade respirator masks offered better protection.
  
• French president Emmanuel Macron said he stood by his earlier comments saying he wanted to “piss off” the 5 million French people who are still not vaccinated against Covid-19, adding it was his responsibility to sound the alarm given the Omicron threat.