Covid latest news LIVE: ‘Nearly 75% of new London cases are Omicron’ as Rishi Sunak cuts short US trip – Evening Standard
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ong queues formed at the Port of Dover on Friday as thousands of travellers tried to get to France ahead of the country’s ban on UK tourists, which comes into force at 11pm.
Many brought their Christmas travel plans forward to avoid the new restrictions, which require UK citizens to have a “compelling reason” to enter France, with trips for tourism or business banned.
Meanwhile another Covid record was broken on Friday as the UK reported 93,045 new cases, more than 4,600 up on the previous high a day earlier.
It comes as a leading health expert said most people who contract the Omicron variant have a “milder condition that looks just like a severe cold” and will recover “within five days”.
Professor Tim Spector, chief scientist on the ZOE Covid App, said many patients were not experiencing the “classical triad” of a persistent cough, loss of sense of smell or taste and high fever.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s Cabinet has agreed to introduce an 8pm closing time for hospitality amid concern about the spread of Omicron.
Health experts have advised the Dutch government to adopt a “strict” lockdown to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, RTL Nieuws reported on Friday.
Omicron is having a major impact on staffing at a large hospital trust in England with hundreds off work due to illness, leading to the cancellation of non-essential services to tackle a surge in admissions driven by the variant.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust (GSTT) in London is preparing to redeploy staff to work in its A&E and intensive care units to cover for the growing number of staff who are off work sick.
It has seen the number of patients in hospital with Covid rising by a third over the last week.
The risk of reinfection from Omicron is more than five times higher than Delta and shows no sign of being milder than the previous coronavirus variant, according to a study by Imperial College London.
The results, based on data from the UK Health Security Agency and Britain’s National Health Service, analysed people who tested positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test in England between 29 November and 11 December.
The Chancellor has again met with business groups to discuss the support available amid the rising threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Rishi Sunak met virtually with the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the British Chambers of Commerce on Friday afternoon, after he returned early from a trip to California.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “The Chancellor spoke to business and industry leaders this afternoon.
“We recognise how important the festive period is for so many businesses and the Government will continue to engage constructively on how it can best provide ongoing support to the businesses and sectors affected.”
The groups raised concerns about the impact of cancellations and the importance of clear messaging from the Government.
A booster shot could provide around 85% protection against severe illness, according to London researchers.
The protection is a bit less than vaccines gave against earlier versions of Covid.
But it means the top-up dose should still keep many people out of hospital.
The modelling, from the team at Imperial College London, is based on limited information on Omicron.
As he annnounced the new restrictions in an address to the nation on Friday night, Taoiseach Micheal Martin offered a stark warning about the threat Omicron poses to Ireland.
“We are going to see a massive rise in infections,” Mr Martin warned.
“The challenge we face as a Government and a people is how we slow the rise in infection that is coming and how we prevent it getting out of control.
“We are likely to see infections at a rate that is far in excess of anything we have seen to date.”
Ireland’s Cabinet has just agreed to introduce an 8pm closing time for hospitality, amid growing concern about the spread of the Omicron variant.
The PM said there needs to be “swift engagement with the Treasury” on Covid-19 support funds during a phone call with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister’s spokesman has said.
He said Friday’s call was constructive “though at this stage inconclusive” and that they “shared respective views on the current Omicron situation and agreed that it represents a significant threat to health and the economy”.
He added: “The First Minister emphasised the extreme urgency of the crisis for businesses in the hospitality, events, culture and related sectors which are already suffering a severe financial impact, and stressed that they needed immediate assurances of support from the Treasury.
“The Prime Minister agreed that there needed to be swift engagement with the Treasury on the immediate action needed, and committed to further talks over the weekend.
“The First Minister also made clear that the devolved administrations require clarity that additional funding support would be available, and also on how it can be triggered by any or all of the UK administrations, in the event of further protective measures being necessary to tackle the virus in the period ahead.”
Thousands of motorists are amassing at Dover as they try to get to France ahead of the country’s UK tourist ban…which comes into effect at 11pm GMT.
