Covid live news: 1.7 million people in UK had coronavirus last week; thousands of Christmas flights cancelled | World news

In Bethlehem, hoteliers have been disappointed. After a near-total lockdown last year, Israel has again closed its borders.

Celebrations on Friday were subdued as just several hundred huddled in the city’s Manger Square to watch the Palestinian scouts and bagpipers parade past.

This year, like last, midnight mass on Christmas Eve will be reserved for just a small circle of people by invitation only.

“It is a bit surreal,” American student Hudson Harder told AFP.

“There is a selfish part where it’s like ‘Oh I get to see this place so empty’ but on the other hand you feel for the shops, all the money they are losing, it’s really quite tragic.”

The prospect of a fourth Covid booster jab in the UK is possible as immunity may subside for millions by the new year, the Telegraph newspaper reported.

Protection against getting ill with the Omicron variant is as low as 35 per cent 10 weeks after a booster, according to government data.

The UK government will send millions of text messages on Boxing Day urging people to get a coronavirus booster vaccine.

The message, part of the Get Boosted Now campaign, is the latest attempt to reduce the impact of the Omicron variant sweeping the UK.

More than 32 million booster and third doses have already been administered, PA reports.

The message will read: “Get boosted now.

“Every adult needs a Covid-19 booster vaccine to protect against Omicron.

“Get your Covid-19 vaccine or booster.

“See NHS website for details.”

Rebecca Miller is cooking up a Christmas Day feast – even though she can’t taste a thing.

Both Miller and her partner Steven have Covid. They’ve cancelled their plans to go to Tasmania – where they were due to be celebrating her 50th birthday for 3 January, and his delayed 50th from last year. Instead they will spend Christmas at home in Adelaide instead, video-calling family and friends.

“Even though I’ve lost my sense of taste and smell, I’m still cooking up a full vego roast, a big stuffed butternut pumpkin with roast veggies,” Miller said.

In response to figures showing today’s 1,171 Covid hospitalisations in the UK, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the sharp rise was “really worrying” for the NHS.
“Daily hospital admissions with Covid have gone up by over 40% in the last week [815 on 14/12; 1098 on 21/22 – England only] and this is really worrying for health leaders whose teams are working flat out in the context of rising staff absences and wider pressures”, he said. “While the preliminary findings suggest that omicron may be less likely to cause serious illness than other strains, positive cases are increasing and so, we must remember this virus presents a very real risk to daily life and to the NHS.

The NHS will continue to be there for everyone who needs it but the best thing the public can is to continue to behave in ways that can keep themselves and others safe from illness.
“This includes ventilating indoor areas, testing before social gatherings and if eligible, taking up that vital offer of a vaccine or booster.”

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This rise, and today’s record of daily cases of infections, shows that we must keep watching these hospital numbers very closely. In particular, we need to see what happens as larger numbers of older people start to be infected with the new variant. It is likely the number of older people catching omicron will increase given the amount of inter-generational contact over the next 72 hours of Christmas”

France reported a record 94,124 new daily Covid-19 infections on Friday while the number of people hospitalised for the disease reached a seven-month high at close to 16,200, according to official data.

The seven-day moving average of new cases, which evens out weekly data reporting irregularities, also reached a new record of 66,417, a total that has tripled in just one month, Reuters reports.

Italy reported a second successive record daily tally of Covid-19 cases on Friday, with new cases hitting 50,599 compared to 44,595 a day earlier, the health ministry said.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths fell to 141 from 168 on Thursday, Reuters reports. Italy has registered 136,386 deaths linked to Covid-19, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 5.57 million cases to date.

Hospital admissions due to Covid have nearly doubled week-on-week in London, the latest figures show.

New data from NHS England shows that 386 Covid-19 admissions were recorded by hospitals in London on December 22, up 92% week-on-week and the highest number for a single day since February 1.

Across England, 1,246 admissions were recorded on December 22, up 55% week-on-week and the highest number for a single day since February 16.

But this is still well below the second wave peak of 4,134 admissions reported on January 12, PA reports.

Global airline carriers cancelled more than 3,000 flights over the Christmas weekend, the FlightAware website said, as a spike in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant piled on misery for travellers.

The website showed that 2,175 flights around the world had been scrapped on Friday, which is Christmas Eve and a typically heavy day for travel. Around a quarter of those flights were in the U.S..

Another 1,259 Christmas Day flights were called off globally, the website said amid a surge in Covid-19 infections driven by Omicron, Reuters reports.

Ministers could meet as soon as Monday to determine whether new restrictions are needed in England over the new year amid growing concerns that soaring Covid cases could hit public services.

They will be expected to assess new modelling from the University of Warwick, given to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in documents published on Thursday.

Scientists have looked at the effects of a potential return to step 2 restrictions from 28 December or 1 January, lasting either two weeks, four weeks or three months until 28 March. No 10 said the data had not yet been considered by ministers.

Protesters in Guadeloupe are occupying the local legislature in the French Caribbean overseas territory, in a new standoff with Paris sparked by Covid rules.

There have been tensions in Guadeloupe and the neighbouring island French territory of Martinique during the last weeks over rules including obligatory Covid vaccinations for health workers, which have fed into long-standing local grievances.

Protesters first entered the debating chamber of the regional council while it was meeting on Thursday with several staying the night and deciding to continue their action into Friday. Councillors were able to leave peacefully.

They want to negotiate with Paris over the crisis, but officials have so far indicated that there can be no talks as long as such actions are carried out, AFP reports.

The protesters notably want all sanctions halted against health workers who have refused the Covid jab.

There were 1,171 Covid-19 hospital admissions in the UK on 20 December, government figures show.

This is up 30% week-on-week and the highest number since 19 February.

During the second wave of coronavirus, UK admissions peaked at 4,583 on 12 January, PA reports.

• Passengers travelling home for Christmas have been hit with disruption worldwide after airline companies cancelled more than 2,000 flights on Friday, according to a flight tracking website FlightAware.
• One in 35 people in England had Covid last week, new figures show, with 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK – the highest number on record so far.
• South Africans without Covid symptoms will no longer have to test or self-isolate if a contact tests positive, the government announced on Friday.
• Additionally, people in South Africa will be offered a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine from Friday after the health regulator approved its used for the general public.
• France will require passengers to show negative Covid tests to travel to its overseas territories, with the new measure coming into effect on 28 December.
• The UK Health Security Agency’s chief has suggested the government might decide on whether further restrictions are needed in England based on Omicron’s wider impact, rather than the variant’s severity alone.
• The UK government’s chief scientific adviser has defended Sage against the charges that the group’s modelling was fearmongering, saying it was not their job to “spread gloom”.
• Dozens of officials have reportedly been punished over a virus outbreak in the locked-down city of Xi’an, China’s disciplinary body said on Friday, Agence France-Presse reports.

That’s all from me for today – thanks for reading along and happy Christmas. I’m handing over to my colleague Nadeem Badshah who will be here shortly to take you through the next few hours.

Mark, 44, will be self-isolating on Christmas Day and plans to spend it relaxing. “I’ve got my two cats with me, a pile of books, and probably catching up on a few things on Netflix in bed as well,” the Church of England priest based in Manchester said.

Meanwhile, Lauren, 31, from London, stressed that she would try to remember that tomorrow was just a day and that there were better days ahead.

My colleague Aamna Mohdin spoke to people who will be stuck in their flats and bedrooms tomorrow about how they’re keeping their spirits up:

A quick line from Reuters about the situation in France, which is dealing with a record number of cases: Emmanuel Macron will hold a Covid-19 meeting on Monday, the presidential palace has announced.

The meeting, scheduled at 1500 GMT, will be followed immediately after by a cabinet meeting.