Education secretary ‘puzzled’ by reports government will start charging for tests in England in few weeks
Ministers are “absolutely not” planning to scrap free rapid Covid tests, amid reports the government will start charging for them in England in the next few weeks.
The Sunday Times reported free lateral flow tests (LFTs) could be limited to high-risk settings – such as care homes, hospitals and schools – and to people with symptoms.
Continue reading...Legal advice says any challenge under equalities law would have reasonable chance of success
Government lawyers have said any legal challenge against making low-paid people take confirmatory PCR tests to get financial support during isolation would stand a high chance of success, the Guardian has learned.
Legal advice circulated within the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) is understood to warn that there is a risk of a challenge under equalities law.
Continue reading...Proposal for hair regrowth on public healthcare insurance by Lee Jae-myung criticised as populist by opponents
South Korea’s ruling party presidential candidate has ignited a fierce debate after proposing that the country’s public healthcare insurance should cover hair loss treatment.
Lee Jae-myung’s proposal this week has triggered a flood of messages of support on online communities for people suffering hair loss – but also prompted accusations that it was a bald attempt to win votes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Leaked files suggest Mone and her husband were involved in business given £200m contracts
Leaked files appear to suggest the Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, were secretly involved in a PPE business that was awarded more than £200m in government contracts after she referred it to the Cabinet Office.
Barrowman, an Isle of Man-based financier, may have played a central role in the business deal that enabled PPE Medpro to sell millions of masks and surgical gowns to the government at the start of the pandemic, documents suggest.
Continue reading...At least six trusts in have issued alerts as fears grow vital care will be compromised by workforce absence
Multiple NHS trusts across England have declared “critical incidents” amid soaring staff absences caused by Covid-19, with health leaders saying many parts of the service are now “in a state of crisis”.
Boris Johnson on Monday ruled out the introduction of new curbs “for now” but said he recognised that the pressure on the NHS and its hospitals, was “going to be considerable in the course of the next couple of weeks, and maybe more”.
Continue reading...Alliance Healthcare took delivery on 24 December and then closed for four days, amid nationwide shortage
The sole distributor of Covid lateral flow tests (LFTs) to pharmacies closed for four days over the Christmas period just as it received a delivery of 2.5m devices, it has emerged.
Alliance Healthcare took delivery of the tests on Christmas Eve and then shut, the Times reported. It provides LFTs to pharmacies to give out to the public.
Continue reading...Health secretary acknowledges at same time that there will be ‘big increase’ in number of Covid patients over next month
New restrictions on freedom in England “must be an absolute last resort”, the health secretary has said.
The record-breaking wave of the Omicron Covid variant will, however, “test the limits of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter”, Sajid Javid said, as hospital admissions in England climbed to their highest since last January.
Continue reading...Prime minister urges people to get third jab during visit to a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes
Boris Johnson has urged people to get their booster vaccine as he said up to 90% of those in intensive care had not had their third Covid jabs.
On a visit to a vaccine centre in Milton Keynes, the prime minister said people should enjoy their new year celebrations while taking extra precautions such as ventilation and testing, and he urged people to take up the offer of a third dose.
Continue reading...Analysis: growing frustration at vaccine refusers has crept into ministers’ speeches recently
A growing sense of frustration with people who have not been vaccinated against Covid has been creeping into the speeches of senior government figures from Sajid Javid to Boris Johnson in recent weeks.
The health secretary has accused those who have chosen not to take up the offer of free vaccination of taking up hospital beds, damaging society and potentially harming their families as well as themselves.
Continue reading...Sources suggest No 10 leaning away from stricter curbs in England, as doctors’ union says lack of response is ‘ludicrous’
Boris Johnson is expected to examine crucial hospital data on Monday before making any new announcement on Covid measures, but has no plans to recall his cabinet, with ministers still deeply sceptical of further legal curbs.
Sources said the prime minister would “take stock” after being encouraged by improving data on Friday, a sign that No 10 is leaning away from stricter curbs in England, but Downing Street sources said he would act quickly if there were new causes for concern.
Continue reading...Daily hospitalisations in England up by more than 40% in a week at same time as more staff on sick leave
NHS leaders have voiced alarm at a major rise in the number of hospitalisations due to Covid-19 after 1,171 people with the disease across the UK were admitted in a 24-hour period that set another record number of daily cases.
The latest government figures showed 122,186 cases of coronavirus had been recorded as of 9am on Friday. Another 137 people died within 28 days of testing positive.
Continue reading...Devolved nations to reintroduce rule of six for hospitality venues and other measures from Boxing Day
Wales and Northern Ireland have announced stringent restrictions that will come into force from Boxing Day, including the return of the rule of six for hospitality venues, in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, accused Boris Johnson of being in a “state of paralysis,” over Omicron as he set out a package of strict measures he said would put his country at “alert level two”.
Continue reading...The year has been marked by the success of the vaccination drive – yet thousands have still died
This time last year, Covid-19 cases were soaring in the UK, hospitalisations were steadily increasing, and the government had tightened restrictions to try to get a handle on a concerning new variant.
Twelve months on, there is a sense of deja vu. A weary public is worried about its festive plans being cancelled, an outcome that would be all the more painful in light of the Christmas party scandal that has enveloped Downing Street in recent weeks.
Continue reading...Analysis: ‘incontrovertible evidence’ is a tall order and in the meantime the NHS risks being overwhelmed
At a long and difficult cabinet meeting on Monday, hawkish ministers demanded “incontrovertible evidence” that Omicron risks overwhelming the NHS to justify the cost of taking action, while on Tuesday Boris Johnson confirmed his view that there is insufficient evidence to justify new measures – yet.
While some clarity on the hospitalisation rate associated with the new variant should be available within a day or two, scientists have warned that getting the evidence ministers want may be “a tall order”. So why is it so hard to work out, and what does that mean for decision-making?
Continue reading...The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said it was 'a bit of a stretch' to suggest a photograph in which the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his staff are seen sharing wine and cheese platters in the gardens of Downing Street in May 2020 was a work meeting. No 10 has denied anything social took place and the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, said no Covid rules had been broken
Continue reading...Analysis: Omicron studies so far have been rapid first takes, but the message for England is loud and clear
For a variant that came to light less than a month ago, the evidence for Omicron’s potential to wreak havoc has mounted at breakneck speed. What studies have emerged are rapid first takes, but the message they convey is now loud and clear: the scientific case for more restrictions is overwhelming. Without hard and swift action to curb transmission, the NHS faces a battering.
The first red flag came in late November when scientists in southern Africa shared early genomes of what became known as Omicron. Soon after they landed, Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, highlighted the “awful” mutations that marked it out as a fast-spreading, vaccine-dodging variant. On receiving a text about Peacock’s tweet, Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), conceded it filled her with gloom.
Continue reading...Analysis: After a steady stream of reports, how likely is it that Boris Johnson will take advice about imposing tougher restrictions?
• Boris Johnson joined No 10 party during May 2020 lockdown, say sources
Cast your minds back to 15 May 2020. Matt Hancock, the then health secretary before he quit for breaking restrictions by having an affair, was giving a press conference where he said people should be “staying at home as much as is possible”.
Social interaction was strictly limited to outdoors and one person at a time. It was the week when people were told they could meet one parent outside, in a socially distanced way, but not both of them together.
Continue reading...The chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, faces a select committee hearing where he will answer questions about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the day after new infections in the UK reached a record 78,610 laboratory-confirmed cases
Continue reading...Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, urged people not to 'mix with people you don't have to', amid mounting concern over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Whitty's comments were in stark contrast to messaging from Boris Johnson, who has previously said he does not want people to cancel Christmas parties
Chief medical officer warns of ‘two epidemics on top of each other’ as UK records highest ever daily total of new cases
Chris Whitty sent a clear message to cut back on socialising in the run-up to Christmas Day, warning that a rise in Covid hospitalisations is “nailed on” after cases hit a record high.
Appearing alongside the prime minister, who has continued to insist formal restrictions on gatherings are unnecessary, Whitty said: “Don’t mix with people you don’t have to.” He advised the public to “prioritise social interactions that really matter to them”, suggesting work parties may be ill advised.
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