Boris Johnson stressed the need for people who have so far refused a booster jab to "join the movement" and get a vaccination.
The PM today said he would "act according to the science" around cutting the self-isolation period for Covid-19 cases.
Experts are examining whether the period could be cut from seven to five days for cases, something which would help ease staffing crises across the economy and public services.
And Mr Johnson also pledged that free lateral flow tests would be available for "as long as it is necessary" as ministers considered how to move to a position of living with Covid-19.
He pointed out testing was an important line of defence, along with vaccinations, in the face of the Omicron wave.
Read our Covid-19 live blog for the latest news and updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Boris Johnson 'will look at science around cutting self-isolation period'
Boris Johnson said he would "act according to the science" around cutting the self-isolation period for Covid-19 cases.
Experts are examining whether the period could be cut from seven to five days for cases, something which would help ease staffing crises across the economy and public services.
Mr Johnson also pledged that free lateral flow tests would be available for "as long as it is necessary" as ministers considered how to move to a position of living with Covid-19.
The Prime Minister said testing was an important line of defence, along with vaccinations, in the face of the Omicron wave.
The Prime Minister is under pressure from Tory MPs to commit to ending restrictions and shift to a position where Covid-19 is treated in a similar way to other illnesses which do not require state interventions.
There is also a debate in Cabinet about cutting the self-isolation period, as the United States has done.
- Joseph Gamp
PM won't face fresh investigation into Downing Street furnishings
Boris Johnson will not face a fresh investigation into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
Kathryn Stone had faced calls to investigate whether Mr Johnson broke the rules for MPs after his adviser on ministerial interests Lord Geidt revealed that the Prime Minister had failed to tell him about exchanges with a Tory donor who helped fund the revamp.
However the Prime Minister's official spokesman said it had been confirmed that she would not be conducting an inquiry into the matter.
"It is not for me to speak on behalf of her but I understand she has confirmed they won't be looking at that," the spokesman said.
- Joseph Gamp
Body's defences against cold could help ward off Covid, study finds
Some of the body's defences generated after an infection of the common cold could help to ward off the virus that causes Covid-19, researchers have said.
A small study found that people with high levels of T cells – generated after infection with other coronaviruses such as the common cold – were less likely to catch Covid-19.
But the authors stressed that vaccination was the best way a person could protect themselves against Covid-19.
The new study, conducted by experts at Imperial College London, set out to investigate why some people don't get Covid-19, despite being in contact with the virus.
Dr Rhia Kundu, first author of the study, from Imperial's National Heart & Lung Institute, said: "Being exposed to the Sars-CoV-2 virus doesn't always result in infection, and we've been keen to understand why.
"We found that high levels of pre-existing T cells, created by the body when infected with other human coronaviruses like the common cold, can protect against Covid-19 infection.
"While this is an important discovery, it is only one form of protection, and I would stress that no one should rely on this alone. Instead, the best way to protect yourself against Covid-19 is to be fully vaccinated, including getting your booster dose."
- Joseph Gamp
Starmer says he would cut back isolation length 'if supported by scientists'
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would back a cut in the length of the self-isolation period if it was supported by scientists.
Sir Keir, speaking to reporters via Zoom as he is self-isolating following a positive Covid-19 test last week, said: "I'll be guided by the science on this.
"If the scientists and the medical experts say that it is safe to reduce the period of self-isolation then I would be inclined to support it."
There were "many, many people in isolation – including myself – who will be watching that science very, very carefully".
Sir Keir added that the continued supply of free lateral flow tests was "absolutely crucial at the moment" and warned against withdrawing "one of the most important means of our protection at the moment".
- Joseph Gamp
'It feels like we're close to having won the war'
After Mr Gove's remarks this morning, one backbencher told The Sun: "It feels like we’re close to having won the war."
They added: "The PM deserves a lot of credit for not giving into pressure for more restrictions over the past month, but ultimately it's this big watershed moment that will give long lasting certainty and confidence to businesses and communities."
Ministers are also under pressure to reduce the Covid isolation time from seven to five days to help industries struggling with staffing crises.
- Joseph Gamp
Michael Gove (continued…)
He told the BBC: "Our first responsibility at the moment must be to support the NHS."
But… if we get through – and at the moment, I hope and pray that we will get through this difficult period – then there will be better times ahead.
"And I think one of the things that we need to do is how we live with this particular type of coronavirus.
"So guided by the science, we can look to the progressive lifting of restrictions. But I think for all of us, the sooner the better."
- Joseph Gamp
Michael Gove: Plan B restrictions to be lifted in WEEKS if NHS copes
BRITS can look forward to "the progressive lifting of restrictions" if the NHS rides out a tough few weeks, Michael Gove said today.
The top Cabinet Minister fuelled hopes that controversial Plan B measures will be dropped at the end of the month.
Hospitals appear to be coping better with Omicron patients than first feared amid evidence the variant is much milder.
The encouraging data has triggered demands for Boris Johnson to throw off remaining Covid curbs like mandatory masks and working from home.
Levelling Up Secretary Mr Gove this morning admitted the country should start learning to live with the virus once the NHS is in the clear.
- Joseph Gamp
IS Omicron over in London?
Asked whether the Omicron wave is over in London but not elsewhere in the country, Graham Medley, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think that at the moment the testing capacity issues, and the Christmas and the new year, mean that we can't really rely on cases to tell us what's going to happen exactly.
"At the moment we are seeing a relatively high number of admissions, how long that continues, whether that goes up or goes down, I think is unknown at the moment."
He said the Omicron virus itself is "less severe" than Delta but it is "just as threatening" due to its transmissibility.
Pressed on whether the nation was moving away from a situation where Covid-19 was an "emergency", Prof Medley said: "I think that that transition is absolutely true. It can't be an emergency forever.
"So at some point it will have to stop being an emergency but that is likely to be a phase out rather than an active point in time where somebody can declare the epidemic over.
"It's going to fade out and disappear much more slowly than that I think."
- Joseph Gamp
Private hospitals to support NHS (continued…)
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: "NHS staff continue to go above and beyond to ensure people get the treatment they need this winter and our support for the NHS through this challenging period remains at full throttle.
"This agreement demonstrates the collaboration across our health care services to create an additional safeguard that ensures people can continue to get the care they need from our world-leading NHS, whenever they need it.
"I encourage everyone to keep doing their bit to look after themselves and their loved ones and, most importantly, for all those eligible, to get boosted now."
- Joseph Gamp
Private hospitals will support NHS through pandemic
Hospitals will be able to use spare capacity in the private sector under a new deal struck with the NHS, while hospitals have been told to find extra beds.
The three-month agreement, for an undisclosed sum, will see private healthcare staff and facilities put on standby to support the NHS should Covid cause unsustainable levels of hospital admissions or staff absences.
There are no routine figures for how many doctors and nurses from the NHS also work in private hospitals.
In the announcement, NHS England said the patients who can be referred to private firms under the deal include some of those waiting for cancer surgery.
The NHS has also been asked to look at using spare capacity in gyms and education centres to create "super surge" wards on top of their usual surge capacity.
Nightingale hubs are already being created in the grounds of some hospitals as part of a move to find up to 4,000 extra beds.
- Joseph Gamp
The Sun’s Jab Army needs YOU
Although Omicron is markedly milder than previous variants, the sheer number of cases have left up to a million people self-isolating and threatening widespread disruption to schools and the economy.
Ministers also say the combination of boosters and Plan B measures are “working” and are not expected to announce fresh measures.
A third jab also significantly slashes the risk of falling seriously ill – and The Sun’s Jab’s Army campaign is helping get vital boosters in people’s arms.
- Joseph Gamp
Covid news round up
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared Britain would “get through this wave” without further restrictions.
- In early signs the Omicron storm may be subsiding, UK Covid cases fell for the second day in a row.
- The number of people being taken to hospital with Covid in London — Omicron ground zero — also tumbled.
- And the number of people with the virus and on ventilation in hospitals in England also fell for the second day on the trot.
- Hopes are growing inside Downing Street that all Plan B curbs will be ditched by the end of the month and Britain can get back on the road to normality.
Getting vaccinated is the single most important thing you can do this winter
This is a comment piece by Dr Zoe Williams
OUR NHS is facing extraordinary pressures at the moment.
It’s not unusual at this time of year – I can’t remember a single year since I qualified where we haven’t had a very challenging winter.
When temperatures plummet below zero, we see a huge increase in people suffering heart attacks and strokes, because the blood is more likely to clot.
There’s a higher risk of pneumonia and, of course, it’s also flu season. And that’s all before you add Covid into the mix.
This year, like last winter before it, we are seeing a system that was already at capacity being pushed beyond its limit.
The health service can’t take much more, and the incredible staff who work in the NHS have endured a gruelling two years and haven’t had a break.
So, with the inevitable pressures that the NHS is facing, it’s important to remember that every single one of us can do our bit to help. First and foremost, you can protect yourself against Covid. Getting vaccinated is the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself, your family, friends, wider society and our NHS.
I understand there are still people who are hesitant, but my advice is get your jabs and booster – get every vaccine available to you. We know they are safe and effective. And recent data has shown they make a huge difference against Omicron, with 90 per cent of patients in some ICUs unjabbed.
Covid ‘nearing peak across England as cases plunge outside of London’
Official records show as of January 8, daily infections are starting to fall in the South East, East of England and in London.
Cases are still increasing in all other regions, but at a much slower rate than before.
Sage scientists last month issued the gloomy warning up to 75,000 more Brits could die from Covid this winter – with a total of 175,000 hospital admissions between December 1 2021 and April 30, 2022.
But Prof Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia and an adviser to the WHO, said cases seem to be slowing nationwide.
He told The Telegraph: “I think it's beginning to look quite hopeful, but we've been here in the past.
“The worst case scenarios that were being talked about before Christmas by the SAGE modellers aren't coming to pass, fortunately.
“I think the [number of hospitalisations and deaths] are going to be falling a long way below the worst case scenarios that were being talked about before Christmas.
“In England we peaked at around 3,800 – 4,000 hospitalisations a day, on average, a year ago, but we will probably peak around 2,000 this winter.”
“New normality”
Experts have also called for a “new normality” and a focus on disease management to allow people to get back to a normal life.
Dr Clive Dix, former head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce, said: “It is pointless keeping giving more and more vaccines to people who are not going to get very ill. We should just let them get ill and deal with that.
“We need to analyse whether we use the current booster campaign to ensure the vulnerable are protected, if this is seen to be necessary. Mass population-based vaccination in the UK should now end.
“We now need to manage disease, not virus spread. So stopping progression to severe disease in vulnerable groups is the future objective.
“We should consider when we stop testing and let individuals isolate when they are not well and return to work when they feel ready, in the same way we do in a bad influenza season.”
- Louis Allwood
Covid lateral flow tests for sale on Facebook and eBay for up to £100
The tests have found their way on to Facebook and eBay for a price – despite being free to Brits.
Some have even popped up at an auction house in Stockport as the shortage grips the UK, MEN reports.
Simon Charles Auctioneers and Valuers had four job lots of tests due to go under the hammer this week.
Each contained up to 20 kits – with bids of around £5 already floating around as revellers tried to grab one before last night's New Year celebrations.
Other "unused and sealed" tests have appeared on Facebook for as much as £100.
One shameless user was slammed for trying to flog the kits on social media for £5 each.
Posting on the Didsbury M20 group, they wrote: “12 lateral flow tests for sale. £5 per box but will do deal for more than 1.”
- Louis Allwood
5 to 11 Year-old's could get Covid vaccines in weeks
Experts believe that the roll out of jabs for kids aged five to 11 may be key to stop disrupting education because of staff shortages.
Professor Russell Viner believes that the “balance of risks” indicates that schoolchildren should be vaccinated.
Prof Viner, from University College London, is an expert in child and adolescent health and is a member of SAGE.
He believes that while the age group are the least affected by covid sickness, if they were jabbed then it could stop the spread of the virus to staff.
Speaking to the i he said: “Five to 11s are probably the group least affected by Covid disease.
“The thing about Covid is it’s got the most extraordinary age risk profile… to be honest, five to 11 is the healthiest time of our life.
“It’s the time when we’re least likely to die or get sick from almost anything, and that is true of Covid.
“However, I expect and I would like the Government to include educational disruption and mental health issues in the decision, which is what happened with teenagers.
“I think it’s a very marginal medical decision, but if you include those broader issues.
“I think given the extremely promising safety profile in children– but I think the balance of risks is towards vaccination.
“We can be fairly sure that this is really a very safe vaccination for the five to 11-year-olds."
- Louis Allwood
Covid round up
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared Britain would "get through this wave" without further restrictions.
In early signs the Omicron storm may be subsiding, UK Covid cases fell for the second day in a row.
The number of people being taken to hospital with Covid in London — Omicron ground zero — also tumbled.
And the number of people with the virus and on ventilation in hospitals in England also fell for the second day on the trot.
Hopes are growing inside Downing Street that all Plan B curbs will be ditched by the end of the month and Britain can get back on the road to normality.
- Louis Allwood
Murray breaks silence on Djokovic’s visa hell
World No1 Djokovic was denied entry into Australia this week after touching down in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
The row is down to the medical exemption the unvaccinated Djokovic had been given to play at the tournament.
But border officials claim he 'failed to provide appropriate evidence' for entry.
And Djokovic is currently being held in an immigration detention centre after having his visa cancelled, which he has appealed.
He claims that he tested positive for Covid in December and was therefore exempt from needing a vaccination.
The Australian government has also failed in a bid to delay Djokovic's visa hearing until after the Australian Open draw is finalised.
On the situation, on-court rival Murray said: "I think everyone is shocked by it, to be honest.
"I'm going to say two things on it just now. The first thing is that I hope that Novak is OK.
"I know him well, and I've always had a good relationship with him and I hope that he's OK.
"The second thing, it's really not good for tennis at all, and I don't think it's good for anyone involved. I think it's really bad."
- Louis Allwood
Anti-vaxxers practise smashing through police lines
Anti-vaxxers were this weekend caught practicing to smash through police lines as an ex-army sergeant put them through their paces.
A total of 200 black-clad supporters of Alpha Men Assemble (AMA) reportedly gathered for the combat-style training camp at Chasewater Country Park, Staffs., on Saturday.
The men and women were told they need to target "vaccine centres, schools, councils and local directors of public health" as ex-Royal Fusilier Danny Glass gave them terrifying kick-boxing drills, the Mail on Sunday reports.
At one point, three rows of five men reportedly linked arms to practise how to force their way through police lines.
Wearing a green Royal Irish Regiment beret, Glass, 46, shouted: "Pretend I am WPC Doris just out of Hendon [police college] and march towards me."
- Louis Allwood
Boosters provide the most protection
It comes as a string of hugely positive studies show Omicron IS milder than other strains, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
The Sun’s Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits’ arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
- Louis Allwood
Join The Sun’s Jab Army
Although Omicron is markedly milder than previous variants, the sheer number of cases have left up to a million people self-isolating and threatening widespread disruption to schools and the economy.
Ministers also say the combination of boosters and Plan B measures are “working” and are not expected to announce fresh measures.
A third jab also significantly slashes the risk of falling seriously ill – and The Sun’s Jab’s Army campaign is helping get vital boosters in people’s arms.
- Louis Allwood
Daily cases drop for FIFTH day in a row
There have been a total of 141,472 cases reported in the UK today after the 146,390 people reported yesterday when Covid deaths passed the grim milestone of 150,000.
In comparison, last Sunday 148,187 people tested positive for the virus in the UK while 73 deaths were recorded.
A total of 51,950,528 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by January 8, Government figures show.
This is a rise of 30,713 on the previous day. Some 47,677,951 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 45,468.
A combined total of 35,499,486 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 225,541.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said today he believes that Britain will be the first to put the pandemic behind us.
- Louis Allwood
New ‘Deltacron’ Covid variant found in Cyprus
The discovery was made by a research team led by Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus.
The team have identified 25 such cases and data shows the relative frequency of the combined infection is higher among patients hospitalised due to Covid, Bloomberg reports.
The variant was called Deltacron due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, Kostrikis explained.
“There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two,” Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday.
Kostrikis, the head of the university’s Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology said “we will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail”.
But his personal view is that this strain will also be displaced by the highly contagious omicron variant.
- Louis Allwood
Are lateral flow tests safe?
LFTs are totally safe, and pose no risk to your health.
Officials have expressed concerns about misinformation regarding the tests spread via Facebook, Whatsapp and other social media platforms.
The Department for Health and Social care told Reuters: "Lateral flow tests have been rigorously tested and are safe to use on a regular basis. Any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate and harmful misinformation.
"Ethylene oxide is only used in the sterilisation of swabs and it is one of the most commonly used sterilisation tools in the healthcare industry, principally applied by manufacturers to keep medical devices safe."
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