Britain’s Omicron R number is estimated to be between three and five, officials have revealed.
That means the a single person infected with the new Covid variant will go on to infect between three and five other people, on average – a clear sign the strain is on the rampage across the UK.
It comes after England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said it is “entirely possible” that the number of daily hospital admissions because of the Omicron variant could exceed the record set for Covid in January.
He told MPs on the health committee on Thursday the previous peak – 4,583 – could be exceeded.
Meanwhile businesses warned of a fresh threat hitting their existence on Thursday following calls from Government advisers to limit social interactions. Professor Whitty on Wednesday evening said people should prioritise the events that matter to them over Christmas period.
The UK recorded 78,610 new Covid cases on Wednesday – the highest daily number reported since the start of the pandemic.
Treasury to hold talks with hospitality sector
12:30 , Elly Blake
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to hold talks with representatives of the hospitality sector seeking further Government support following the emergence of the Omicron variant, Downing Street has said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that Mr Sunak – who is currently in California – and Treasury chief secretary Simon Clarke would be speaking to about a dozen representatives from the sector later on Thursday.
Sturgeon: Omicron spreading ‘exceptionally fast’
12:26 , Elly Blake
Omicron is “spreading exceptionally fast, much faster than anything experienced so far in the pandemic”, Nicola Sturgeons has said.
She told MSPs in the Scottish Parliament: “Let me be clear, this is not a choice between protecting health and protecting the economy.”
She said a surge in infections “will cause and indeed is already causing staff absences that will also cripple the economy and other critical services”.
She added: “Please reduce your contact with people from households other than your own as much as you possibly can. For now, please stay at home much more than you normally would and as much as is feasible.
“Right now the risk of getting Covid from interactions with others is high and it is rising. So ask yourself before doing anything you might have planned over the coming days, is it as safe as it needs to be and is it vital enough to you to justify that risk.
“I suspect what is most important to most of us over the next couple of weeks is having time with our families at Christmas. Every interaction we have before then increases the risk of us getting Covid and so possibly losing that”
Music venues calling for ‘raft of financial assistance’
11:46 , Elly Blake
Music venues are calling on the Government to provide a “raft of financial assistance” to the live music sector as it struggles due to the rise of Covid-19 case numbers and the spread of the Omicron variant.
Greg Parmley, chief executive of industry body Live (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), said: “The current lockdown by stealth is quickly pushing the live music sector to the edge.
“We are now facing a crippling blow as individual venues scramble to cover the spiralling costs of Covid-related cancellations, which will inevitably result in permanent closures.
“The Government must step up to the plate and provide a raft of financial assistance now if it is to avoid much-loved live music venues and businesses closing up shop for good.”
Height of Omicron will fall faster than previous peaks – Prof. Whitty
11:45 , Elly Blake
Prof Whitty said he anticipates the height of the Omicron wave will fall faster than previous Covid-19 peaks.
He told the Commons Health and Social Care Committee: “I think what we will see with this – and I think we are seeing it in South Africa – is that the upswing will be incredibly fast, even if people are taking more cautious actions, as they are.
“That will help slow it down, but it’s still going to be very fast.
“It’ll probably therefore peak really quite fast. My anticipation is it may then come down faster than previous peaks but I wouldn’t want to say that for sure.
“I’m just saying that that is a possibility.”
‘Hybrid working’ added to Oxford English Dictionary
11:39 , Elly Blake
The Oxford English Dictionary has updated its definition of ‘hybrid’ to incorporate hybrid working, reflecting the importance this practice has had over the past year.
Plan B measures introduced by the Prime Minister to limit the spead of the Omicron variant ask people to work from home where possible.
Mark Dixon, founder of IWG said: “Millions are now working long term in the hybrid model, so the Oxford English Dictionary’s decision to add hybrid working into the dictionary is very much welcomed to reinforce that hybrid working is here to stay.
“Hybrid working is delivering spectacular benefits for employees and employers alike. Team members gain better mental health and reduced costs through not having to travel into city centres, along with greater career opportunities closer to home.
“Not only that, but it gives companies the financial flexibility to invest in their staff and in growing the business, instead of the buildings from which they operate”.
Breaking: Queen cancels pre-Christmas family lunch
11:28 , Elly Blake
The Queen has cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch next week.
It is understood the decision was a precaution with a source suggesting it could put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.
PM denies lockdown ‘by stealth’
11:26 , Elly Blake
Boris Johnson denied he was imposing a lockdown by stealth.
Speaking to broadcasters, the Prime Minister said the situation was “very different” from last year.
He said: “What we have is the additional protection of the vaccines, and the ability to test.
“So if you want to do something, if you want to go to an event or a party, then the sensible thing to do, if that’s a priority, the sensible thing to do is to get a test and to make sure that you’re being cautious.
“But we’re not saying that we want to cancel stuff, we’re not locking stuff down, and the fastest route back to normality is to get boosted.”
UK could surpass the daily peak number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 – Prof. Whitty
11:17 , Elly Blake
Professor Chris Whitty said the UK could surpass the daily peak number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
He told the Commons Health and Social Care Committee: “The peak of just over 4,500, or 4,583 to be exact, people admitted at the absolute peak – it is possible because it is going to be very concentrated… even if it is milder, because it’s concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day.
“That is entirely possible. It may be less than that. But I’m just saying that is certainly possible.”
Almost all pregnant women in hospital with Covid-19 are unvaccinated, says Prof. Whitty
11:08 , Elly Blake
Professor Chris Whitty has repeated calls for pregnant women to get vaccinated, saying almost all of those in hospital and intensive care had not got the vaccine.
“Covid and pregnancy are a dangerous combination,” he said.
He called on pregnant women to get vaccinated and said it was a “serious problem” for expectant mothers.
Omicron moving ‘very fast’ – Prof. Whitty
10:54 , Elly Blake
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has warned that “everybody can see this is moving very fast”, in reference to the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Prof Whitty told MPs on the Commons Health and Social Care Committee that “this is highly transmissible and the rates are going to continue to go up.
“It’s a period of the year when lots of people have got things that really matter to them family-wise, also in other bits of their life, and my point was – and I hope I can reiterate this – that people want to protect the time that is most important to them.
“And that does therefore mean in practice it is sensible for people to cut down on work or other interactions with people, including potentially social ones, which are less important to them so that they reduce their chances of catching Covid and indeed reduce their chances of passing it on.”
Prof Whitty said he did not wish to dictate to people what they can and can’t do.
But he added: “This is about saying to people, look, this is a period to prioritise. And also to be clear, (this) was a message the Prime Minister also said last night.”
Professor Chris Whitty repeats message of importance of booster jabs
10:35 , Elly Blake
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty is repeating pleas for people to get boosted.
He also told people to “prioritise” social events.
He told MPs: “Anybody that has something that really matters to you, build out from there, instead of accepting every invitation.”
“People should prioritise what really matters to them and cut down on things that don’t”.
Study shows one fifth of workers worried about cost of heating as more work from home
10:30 , Elly Blake
More than one in five workers say they will not turn the heating on while working from home this winter, due to worries around the cost of energy, a study has shown.
Research has revealed people are concerned about how this will affect their energy bills, and are taking measures to try and lower the costs this winter.
According to the data, 22 per cent of employees said they will not turn their heating on at all while working from home this winter
Just under half (48 per cent) told Electric Radiators Direct they will be more mindful of their overall energy consumption.
Almost one fifth (19 per cent) said they will invest in smart heating solutions to better monitor energy usage this winter.
Coming up…
10:25 , Elly Blake
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty will be questioned on Omicron by MPs at the Health and Social Care Committee from 10.30am.
The UK Health Security Agency’s Dr Susan Hopkins will also appear before the Health and Social Care Committee.
Labour writes to Chancellor about support for businesses
09:20 , Elly Blake
Labour has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to provide more support for businesses facing “closure by stealth” amid rising coronavirus fears.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in the letter that they met business leaders and major trade union bodies on Wednesday.
They said they “learnt that many of them hadn’t had proper engagement from Government on how Plan B and the necessary restrictions resulting from Omicron would affect them”.
The letter went on: “Since then, the public have been told to ‘de-prioritise social contact’. Following the science is crucial, but this will hit businesses and workers hard, especially in sectors like hospitality and leisure. Businesses face a perfect storm of cancelled bookings, rising costs and staff shortages.
“Businesses and their employees have put up with so much from this Government. It is time the Government came forward with their plans to ensure our great British businesses and their workers have the clarity and support they need to weather this storm.”
Man Utd announces game against Brentford is postponed
09:11 , Elly Blake
Manchester United has announced that its game against Brentford on Tuesday has been called off due to an outbreak of Covid.
“Following PCR confirmation of positive LFT Covid-19 tests among the first-team staff and players, the outbreak requires ongoing surveillance,” the club said in a statement.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank said he wants this weekend’s full round of Premier League fixtures postponed to “break the chain” on the current Covid crisis.
Minister had to cancel Christmas ski trip due to Omicron
09:06 , Elly Blake
Health minister Gillian Keegan said she had been forced to cancel a skiing trip over Christmas due to the rising threat of Omicron.
Ms Keegan was asked on LBC radio whether she had been forced to change her Christmas plans, and said: “I have altered them several times.
“I was, at one point, intending to go away skiing, but that’s changed.
“So now I will be with a small group, I think there six of us – actually there was going to be seven for Christmas Day but one person has tested positive so will be isolating over Christmas Day – so I think there’s going to be six of us.”
British tourists to be banned from France amid rise in Omicron cases
08:55 , Elly Blake
British tourists are to be banned from France amid concern over the “extremely rapid” rise in Omicron COVID cases in the UK.
From Saturday morning, France is banning travel to and from the UK without “compelling reasons”.
Those reasons do not include travel for tourism and business, Paris said.
French nationals and their spouses are exempt from the new rules.
France said in a statement: “In the UK government’s own words, the UK is facing a “tidal wave” of the Omicron variant in the coming days.”
It added: “In response to the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK, the government is reinstating compelling reasons for travel to and from the UK, and strengthening the requirement for testing on departure and arrival.”
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Labour: Govt should help hospitality
08:32 , Elly Blake
Labour has called on the Government to “hammer out a deal to help hospitality” amid reports bookings have been cancelled over fears of Covid.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng needed to meet with businesses and trade unions to offer more help.
He said Labour supported Plan B measures, and specifically Covid passes – which he saw as “pro-business” – in the interests of public health, and added that “this is one of the ways in which we can coexist with the virus without having to hammer businesses with restrictions, either closures or indeed, restrictions on numbers”.
He said: “But, as I say, I do think the Chancellor and the Business Secretary need to get business leaders around the table with trade union leaders to hammer out a deal to help hospitality because, you know, they really need us right now.”
He added: “Those businesses are having a hard time at the moment and we want Government to be by their side.”
There are measures in place to help businesses through the pandemic, says minister
08:15 , Elly Blake
Health minister Gillian Keegan insisted there were still measures in place to help businesses through the pandemic.
She told Sky News: “We do still have support in place for businesses.
“So we’ve still got VAT reductions, we’ve still got business rate cuts of 66%, and we’ve still got recovery loans in place.
“And as I say, we’re hoping this is quite a short period of time so that we can, you know, get everybody boosted and get that wall of defence back up. That’s what we’re trying to do here.
“So hopefully, we’ve got those in place till March, or May in some cases, but of course the Chancellor keeps everything under review.”
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