UK Covid latest news LIVE: ‘No sign there’ll be surge in Omicron deaths’, says top statistician

A total of 231,856 booster and third doses of Covid-19 vaccine were reported across the UK on Thursday, new figures show.

More than 35 million booster and third doses have now been delivered in the UK, with just over one million in the past seven days.

Nearly 66% of all adults in the UK have now received a booster or third dose.

The figures have been published by the UK’s four health agencies.

Anna Earnshaw, chief executive of West Northamptonshire Council, said she does not think military support is currently required after the council declared a system-wide major incident.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme, she said: “We benefited hugely in the first wave of the pandemic from military help around planning – they are extremely good at planning and logistics and everything else – so the chances are that if we need that, it may well be there that we need it.

“But at the moment we are fortunate in the sense that our fire and police services are not quite at that same stage, and are absolutely helping us too in terms of that coverage.

First Minister Mark Drakeford told a Welsh Government briefing that no decisions have been made about whether the Six Nations rugby matches can go ahead in Wales next month with crowds attending.

He said: “We have to see the tide turn on the Omicron wave, we have to manage our way through the very difficult weeks that follow while numbers are still rising.

“If the model is accurate, we see those numbers coming down – reasonably rapidly as they have risen – then we will be in a position to see whether it is safe to allow greater social mixing.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has denied the Welsh NHS has been “overwhelmed” by the Omicron variant.

He said: “I don’t think it would be right to describe it as being overwhelmed but the health service in Wales is quite certainly having to deal with the very real impact of coronavirus – both in the way it is driving more people to fall ill and then to need hospital treatment but the fact staff in the health service are themselves falling ill from the Omicron wave.

“Health boards are having to make difficult decisions, such as in maternity services, to concentrate the staff they have available in fewer places so that a service can go on to be provided.

“Not overwhelmed but quite certainly facing very challenging circumstances.”

Boris Johnson still sees no need for further Covid restrictions in England despite rising staff absences in the NHS due to the virus, Downing Street has said.

After the Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of 200 troops to assist hospitals in London, a No 10 spokesman said ministers would ensure the health service had the support it needed.

However, he said the Covid booster jab programme meant there was not the same level of pressure on intensive care units seen in previous waves.

“The Prime Minister has been clear on controls. Plan B is balanced and proportionate to respond to the Omicron variant. It is continuing to help reduce its spread. But the important thing is the booster programme and the effectiveness it has in stopping the disease,” the spokesman said.

He added: “The military have helped out throughout the pandemic and they will do so again. We know that staff absences are contributing to the pressure the NHS is currently facing. Of course we will continue to take appropriate measures to ensure the NHS has the support they need.”

A fortnight of further hospital admissions for Covid-19 are “already baked in” as some NHS staff face “the steepest climb of the pandemic yet”, the head of the health service has said.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, thanked staff during a visit to King’s College Hospital in London on Friday.

More than 400 people are currently in the hospital with Covid-19.

She said: “We’re a week into 2022 but I do know that for some colleagues it already feels like it’s been a long year.

“Case rates of the new variant have been highest so far here in London, but there is no community, no part of the country, that has been untouched by Omicron and this has obviously had, and will continue to have, an impact on NHS staff and on the services that we’re able to provide.

“Realistically, another fortnight of admissions from Omicron are baked in. The only unknown is what level we will see and, of course, we will hope that the more optimistic forecasts are going to be the right ones.”

Back-office council workers are being asked to volunteer to step into social care roles as the Omicron variant is reducing staffing levels due to illness and isolation.

North Yorkshire County Council is asking those in “non-critical services” in highways, planning and other office roles to help keep vulnerable people safe.

They would be asked to carry out tasks such as cooking, cleaning and helping older people to eat, as well as assisting them to speak to relatives on the phone or online.

The council said training will be provided and it will match new duties with volunteers’ normal working patterns.

NHS hospital staff absences due to Covid more than doubled in a week across the North East and Yorkshire, new figures show.

A total of 8,788 NHS staff at hospital trusts in the region were ill with coronavirus or having to self-isolate on January 2, up 110% on the 4,179 reported on Boxing Day.

The new NHS England figures, published on Friday, also show Covid hospital staff absences in the North West rose by 85% week-on-week from 3,966 to 7,338, while in the Midlands it was up 65% to 7,931, from 4,812.

Covid staff absences at acute trusts rose by 58% week-on-week in the South West, 42% in the South East and 40% in eastern England.

But the lowest rise was in London, where the Omicron variant first began to surge, with hospital staff absences due to Covid rising 4% from 4,580 on Boxing Day to 4,765 on January 2.

The number of weekly registered coronavirus deaths in England and Wales has been revised upwards by more than 250 after a coding error, statisticians say.

Some 261 deaths registered in the week to December 24 were mistakenly not recorded as having involved Covid-19, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.

It takes the total number of registered deaths that week, where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, to 852, up from 591.

The ONS said an issue with its automated coding system meant the causes and contributory factors for some deaths were coded late.

Demand for foreign holidays is recovering towards pre-pandemic levels following the relaxation of coronavirus travel rules, according to travel firms.

Steve Heapy, chief executive of tour operator Jet2holidays and leisure airline Jet2.com, said bookings soared after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that the testing and quarantine requirements for arrivals will be eased.

His firm reported huge popularity for trips to mainland Spain, the Canaries, the Balearic Islands, Turkey, and Greece.