'Once more, we should all stay home.' That is the message from England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, in a new coronavirus information campaign that warns the new variant is placing huge pressure on the NHS. Whitty is fronting adverts on radio, TV and social media from Friday which urge the public to ‘act like you’ve got it' to stop the spread of the virus
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‘We’re bursting’: a day inside a Covid intensive care unit
The Guardian spends a day with Covid patients and staff at Milton Keynes University hospital
In a private room by the locked entrance of the intensive care unit, Dilip Sharan is sitting up in bed, a plate of stew in front of him. He navigates his spoon around the breathing tube keeping him alive, every mouthful soundtracked by a discordant symphony of beeps and bongs from multiple monitors keeping tabs on his vital organs.
It is his fifth day in the last chance saloon of Covid care. He gasps for air, barely able to speak.
Continue reading...Covid in the UK: why is it so bad now and when will cases decline? | Nicola Davis and Linda Geddes
With a major incident declared in London and positive test results surging, experts answer key questions
The UK is seeing record numbers of people testing positive for coronavirus, with more than 60,000 positive tests reported on three days this week.
Continue reading...Covid-19 is ‘out of control’ in London, says Sadiq Khan – video
'I'm afraid this virus is out of control,' the mayor of London has said after declaring a major incident as the capital's hospitals struggle to cope with coronavirus patients. 'The NHS in London is at risk of being overwhelmed ... we could run out of beds,' Sadiq Khan said. The mayor told BBC News that as many as one in 20 people had the virus in some parts of the city. 'The best way you can help the NHS is by staying at home,' he said
Continue reading...UK coronavirus live: ‘major incident’ declared in London as cases surge; Moderna Covid vaccine approved
Latest updates: Sadiq Khan declares major incident in capital with ‘spread of virus out of control’; seven million doses of Moderna vaccine ordered
- Sadiq Khan declares Covid emergency in London
- Moderna Covid vaccine approved for use by UK medicines regulator
- Pfizer vaccine protects against new Covid variants, study suggests
- Which countries have reported the new UK Covid variant?
- Coronavirus – latest updates
Making the announcement in London, Sadiq Khan said: “We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point.
“If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.
BREAKING: I have declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point.
One in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.https://t.co/OjV7SZ4BgQ
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared an effective emergency in the city, as it grapples with soaring coronavirus case numbers and hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
London has been the worst-hit area of the UK so far in the winter peak of Covid-19 cases.
Related: Sadiq Khan declares Covid emergency in London
Continue reading...How the Covid surge has left the NHS on the brink – podcast
Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown amid fears the NHS could be overwhelmed within weeks with Covid patients. Denis Campbell and Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden describe a service already at breaking point
Fears that the NHS could be overwhelmed within weeks have prompted new national lockdowns across the UK. There are now more than 30,000 people in NHS hospitals with coronavirus as staff levels have been hit too by the disease.
The Guardian’s health policy editor, Denis Campbell, tells Anushka Asthana that the rapidly rising number of Covid patients is forcing hospitals to cancel non-urgent operations and ration care. Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, who works in intensive care units, says staff are feeling exhausted as their workloads continue to expand. She welcomes the new lockdown but fears the toll on the NHS and staff is becoming unbearable.
Continue reading...One in 50 infected with Covid-19 in England, says Chris Whitty – video
More than 1.1 million people are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week ending 2 January, the government's chief medical officer said. The latest figure was up from an estimated 800,900 in the week ending 23 December, the previous period for which figures were collated. Whitty added that even with the arrival of the vaccine, restrictions could need to be brought back next Christmas if the virus resurges.
Continue reading...Analysis: is it wise for England to mix and match Covid vaccines?
US experts warn against plan to give different second jab if supplies run low
The UK is setting the pace around the world in the approval and use of Covid vaccines but, while other countries watch intently, not all are yet prepared to embrace what looks like public health pragmatism rather than strict adherence to evidence.
Britain is the first country in the world to approve and use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, just as it was first with Pfizer/BioNTech’s. In a further trailblazing decision, it is giving everyone a first shot of either of those vaccines, with the second shot delayed to 12 weeks afterwards instead of the three- or four-week interval in the trials.
Continue reading...How is the Oxford Covid vaccine being deployed in England?
With jab to be administered to public for first time, we look at key questions about its rollout
The biggest vaccination programme in the UK’s history will receive a major boost on Monday, with the first use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Here we look at some key questions about how it will be deployed in England.
Continue reading...England health officials defend contingency plan to mix Covid vaccines
PHE says it is reasonable to mix the two approved vaccines in exceptional circumstances
Officials have defended England’s vaccine regimen after details of a contingency plan to mix the two approved jabs in a small number of cases emerged.
Public Health England’s Covid “green book” recommends that “it is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule” if the same vaccine used for the first dose is not available. But it adds: “There is no evidence on the interchangeability of the Covid-19 vaccines although studies are under way.”
Continue reading...NHS staff face burnout as Covid hospital admissions continue to rise
Nurses plead with the public to follow official advice to help relieve pressure on frontline workers
England’s chief nurse has said that NHS and care staff are working incredibly hard to cope with record numbers of Covid-19 patients, amid concern that frontline staff are close to burnout.
Ruth May pleaded with the public to follow the coronavirus advice to help relieve the pressure on hospital staff, after two days of record hospital admissions.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: more countries report suspected cases of new Covid variant
Latest updates: South Africa imposes tighter restrictions amid sharp increase in cases; UK told it must vaccinate 2 million people per week to avoid new wave
- Covid vaccine uptake high despite concerns over hesitancy
- The lost year: could Covid lockdown have helped save the planet?
- South Africa bans alcohol sales; Spain sets up Covid vaccine register
- See all our coronavirus coverage
India has found six people who returned from the UK in recent weeks with the more infectious strain of the virus that has prompted border closures around the world, Reuters reports.
Nevertheless, the country’s daily increase in cases fell to a six-month low.
Hello and thank you for reading our live coverage. I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Here’s a brief summary of where we stand:
Continue reading...NHS leaders raise concerns over pace of Covid vaccine rollout
Exclusive: more than half of hospital trusts in England yet to receive supplies as variant spreads
NHS leaders have raised concerns about the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs yet to receive supplies amid growing alarm over the new fast-spreading variant.
Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, urged the government to speed up delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in order to save lives. Experts also demanded greater transparency from ministers on how many doses are available.
Continue reading...Firm with mystery investors wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’
Exclusive: It’s unclear how PPE Medpro’s bids were processed through channel for firms referred by MPs and senior officials
A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.
PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.
Continue reading...New Covid strain ‘out of control’, says Matt Hancock – video
There is a 'long way to go' before a return to normality, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has warned, after saying a new Covid variant was 'out of control' in the UK. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show and Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Hancock suggested the new tier 4 restrictions announced on Saturday may have to remain in place for several months until vaccines have been administered across the country
- England's new Covid restrictions likely to stay 'for months' until vaccine rollout
- Police to stop people fleeing new Covid tier 4 areas, Hancock says
- Coronavirus live updates
UK Covid live: tier 3 rules extended across southern England as secondary schools face staggered January return
Latest updates: ‘vast majority’ of areas currently in tier 3 will remain there; secondary school pupils’ return to class in England will be staggered
- Parts of southern England moved to tier 3 as Bristol moved to tier 2
- Tier 3 rules explained
- England’s secondary school pupils face staggered return after Christmas
- Priti Patel accuses senior Tory MP of breaking Covid rules
- 11,000 positive Covid tests missing from Wales data after IT problem
- Coronavirus – latest global updates
The Department of Health has released a written ministerial statement giving the reasons for the decisions taken today about why areas in England are staying in, or moving from, particular tiers. It’s here - although the version up at the moment only covers the north-west, the north-east and London.
The government is to provide interim cover for EU holiday healthcare costs for people who require routine hospital treatment such as dialysis and chemotherapy in the event there is no Brexit deal to replace the current European Health Care Insurance Scheme (EHIC).
In a written ministerial statement Edward Argar, a health minister, said:
This government will introduce the scheme with the intention that it is used by individuals who are certain to require treatment while abroad, such as regular dialysis, oxygen therapy or certain types of chemotherapy. The government recognises that these ongoing, routine treatment costs can be expensive, and makes travelling abroad extremely challenging for many people.
Continue reading...Christmas plans in the balance as UK leaders re-examine Covid rules
Heads of four nations to meet to discuss tighter restrictions in break, but Johnson likely to push back
Christmas plans for millions of families were in the balance last night as ministers and devolved leaders held talks on curtailing freedoms over the festive period amid warnings that the NHS would be overwhelmed.
Boris Johnson is likely to face down calls to change course, though the government may issue new advice urging extreme caution. A government source said it was possible the four nations may diverge after no agreement was reached at a crisis meeting with devolved administrations on Tuesday chaired by Michael Gove.
Continue reading...‘It made Boris seem like a normal person’: how did Johnson’s Covid change him?
The prime minister’s spell in intensive care underscored the severity of the pandemic. Did it also make him reassess his life?
It was an unexpected twist in what already felt like an excessively dramatic disaster movie. On 6 April, the British prime minister was admitted to the intensive care ward at St Thomas’ hospital in London, after contracting a new and potentially deadly virus. Donald Trump said he was “praying for his good friend”; the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said all his wishes were with the prime minister, his family and the British people in “this difficult time”. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, described it as “terribly sad news”.
Boris Johnson pulled through, of course, surviving to witness the birth of his son, Wilfred – given the middle name Nicholas, after the doctors, Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart, who saved Johnson’s life. But more than eight months later, could the country still be feeling the impact of this dramatic turn of events?
Continue reading...UK Covid self-isolation period set to be reduced to 10 days
Chief medical officers of all four UK nations expected to formally announce change later on Friday
Governments across the UK are to announce a reduction in the coronavirus self-isolation period, from 14 to 10 days, it is understood.
It is expected the chief medical officers of all four UK nations will formally announce the change later on Friday.
Continue reading...NHS told not to give Covid vaccine to those with history of allergic reactions
Two health service workers experienced symptoms after receiving Pfizer vaccine
People with a history of significant allergic reactions should not receive the Covid vaccine, the medicines regulator has said, after two NHS workers experienced symptoms on Wednesday.
Both of the NHS staff carry adrenaline autoinjectors, suggesting they have suffered reactions in the past. These kind of devices, of which the best-known brand is the EpiPen, administer a swift adrenaline boost to counter allergic reactions that occur when some people, for instance, eat nuts.
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