Coronavirus UK news – Hundreds of Covid vaccination centres to open across England this week

GPS BEGIN GIVING COVID JABS TODAY

HUNDREDS of coronavirus vaccine centres across England are opening today as GPs get ready to inoculate the most vulnerable.

The centres will be run by local doctors who will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jabs this morning, with most GPs opening their clinics later this afternoon.

Care home residents in Scotland are due to receive the vaccine for the first time today.

The majority of clinics are expected to provide the service from tomorrow, with over 80s, care home workers and residents expected to receive the vaccine.

Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: "GPs and our teams are about to embark on an enormous challenge, delivering the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the community whilst also delivering the expanded flu vaccine programme and the usual care and services our patients rely on us for."

ALOK SHARMA TELLS BRITS TO MAKE 'PERSONAL CHOICE' OVER CHRISTMAS PLANS

Cabinet Minister Alok Sharm has suggested Brits should make a "personal choice" over whether they should form festive bubbles with loved ones this Christmas.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma told ITV's Good Morning Britain today: "If people feel that they would be safer not doing that, that is up to them.

"I know on your programme people have talked about 'families will hug' but I also know that there are people who have taken a conscious decision that, whilst they may have their elderly parents come over Christmas, they will ensure that they don't hug them."

Mr Sharma added that the approach to Christmas is "proportionate" and "balanced".

The news comes as fears grow that London and other parts of the south of England will be put into tough Tier 3 restrictions this week.

270M FEWER PINTS TO BE SOLD DUE TO TOUGH COVID RULES

Pubs across Britain will pull 270 million fewer pints this month as tough Covid rules wreck trade.

Just 30 million pints will be sold instead, as the majority of pubs stay shut or see their customer numbers drop.

In December, boozers normally sell around 300 million pints.

The news means £935 million in turnover will be wiped out from pubs and the brewing sector this month.

BBPA's Emma McClarkin warned: "This Christmas could be the last for many of our pubs."

BRITAIN COULD BE BACK TO 'NORMAL' BY SUMMER, SAYS TOP SCIENTIST

Britain could be back to normal by summer unless Christmas household mixing triggers a deadlu third wave of the virus, a top scientist has said.

Head of the Oxford Vaccine project Professor Sarah Gilbert said masks and social distancing could come to an end within six months, so long as virus rates don't surge in January.

Prof. Gilbert warned: "What we do over the next few weeks is going to have a big impact on how long it takes."

Brits across all four nations will be allowed to mix in households of three from December 23 to December 27 for Christmas.

But scientists and politicians across the UK have urged caution over the festive period.

SADIQ KHAN CALLS FOR ALL LONDON SCHOOLS TO SHUT TODAY AS TIER 3 FEARS LOOM

Sadiq Khan has called for all schools in London to shut from today following a surge in Covid cases in the capital.

The Mayor of London's comments comes hours after Labour-run Greenwich council announced it is to close its classrooms for Christmas from tonight.

And Sadiq Khan is now calling for all schools across 32 boroughs to shut as the city teeters on the brink of moving into Tier 3 this week.

Mr Khan will brief London MPs on the latest figures, which show that infections are now doubling every four days in the city.

Greenwich council leader Danny Thorpe said yesterday Public Health England had advised the authority to shut all 133 schools as Covid cases were "escalating extremely quickly".

TESTING RAMPED UP IN SEOUL AS INFECTIONS SURGE

South Korea is opening dozens of free coronavirus testing sites in the greater Seoul area amid a surge in infections.

About 65 per cent of the new cases were found in the Seoul area, which has been at the centre of the recent spike.

Starting on Monday, health authorities will open 150 virus testing centres in phases in addition to more than 210 existing sites as part of efforts to slow down the outbreak.

The new testing sites are scheduled to stay open for three weeks, and anyone can take a free coronavirus test.

FAMILY DOCS IN ENGLAND TO BEGIN GIVING COVID VACCINATIONS

Vaccination clinics run by family doctors will begin across England from Monday but people have been warned that a rise in cases after Christmas socialising could disrupt the roll out of protective jabs.

GP practices in more than 100 locations will have the approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine delivered to them on Monday, with some offering vaccinations within hours.

The majority will begin providing vaccination services to their local community from Tuesday, NHS England and NHS Improvement said.

NHS staff including nurses and pharmacists will work alongside GPs to inoculate those aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers and residents.

The vaccination centres will operate from doctors' surgeries or community hubs in villages, towns and cities.

US COVID RELIEF PLAN TO BE SPLIT IN TWO

A $908billion bipartisan Covid-19 relief plan set to be introduced in the US Congress as early as Monday will be split into two packages in a bid to win approval, a person briefed on the matter said.

The plan's highlights were made public on December 1, but the authors now plan to divide them into two proposals that could be voted on separately, the source said.

One will be a $748bn measure, which contains money for small businesses, the jobless and Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

The other will include some key sticking points: liability protections for business and $160bn for state and local governments.

The leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One of the sponsors of the $908bn plan, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, said earlier on Sunday it would be introduced formally on Monday.

"The plan is alive and well and there's no way, no way that we are going to leave Washington without taking care of the emergency needs of our people," Manchin told Fox News.

CALL FOR DRIVE-IN EVENTS TO BE ALLOWED IN LEVEL 3 AREAS

Drive-in film screenings and other events should be permitted in areas placed under Level 3 restrictions, operators of the attractions say.

A group of companies who operate drive-in events say 420 jobs could be lost if the Scottish Government does not relax restrictions on them.

The group, which includes Unique Events and itison, say other parts of the UK allow drive-in attractions in areas which have tighter rules than Scotland's Level 3.

They are calling for drive-in events to be reclassified at the next review date on Tuesday.

Guidance states that live events are not permitted in Level 3 areas.

NO NEW COVID CASES IN NEW ZEALAND

There are no new Covid cases in New Zealand today.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 56, the reports.

Officials are still investigating how an Air NZ crew member caught Covid-19. The person flew into New Zealand from the United States.

DAD-OF-TWO DIES OF CANCER AFTER MRI SCAN 'DELAYED' BY COVID-19 CRISIS

A father-of-two who had to "beg" to get an MRI scan because of the Covid-19 crisis has died of cancer, his family have revealed.

Sherwin Hall, 27, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, went to hospital on March 23 suffering from leg pain but despite repeated visits he was only given a course of antibiotics for a misdiagnosis of prostatitis.

After "begging for a scan" and 13 hospital visits in four weeks, Mr Hall was finally given an MRI scan on May 26 which revealed a 14cm malignant tumour in his pelvis and 30 small tumours on his lungs.

Before his death, Mr Hall said: "I kept begging them in April and May to give me an MRI scan, but no-one would listen.

"Both my GP and my consultant told me that I couldn't get one because scanning services were slowed down because of the coronavirus."

SERIAL COVID TESTING TO BE INTRODUCED IN WELSH SCHOOLS & COLLEGES

Regular coronavirus testing will be rolled out in schools and colleges across Wales from January, the Welsh Government has announced.

The process will see staff and pupils who come into contact with an infected person asked to take a Covid-19 test every day for 10 days or self-isolate.

Those who test negative at the start of the school day will be able to continue attending in person, while those who test positive will need to self-isolate and book another test confirming their result.

Lateral flow tests, which detect the presence of the Covid-19 viral antigen from a swab sample, will be used as they can produce results within 30 minutes.

Schools and colleges will be offered support, equipment and training, the government said.

Staff working in special schools will also be offered weekly testing under the new plans.

FIRST SCOTTISH CARE HOME VACCINATIONS DUE TO BEGIN ON MONDAY

Care home residents in Scotland are due to receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for the first time on Monday.

Residents in some care homes are expected to receive their first jab on Monday morning.

It comes after more than 5,000 NHS staff and vaccinators received the vaccine, with the rollout starting on December 8.

At the weekend, the Scottish Government announced a solution had been agreed which allowed the Pfizer vaccine to be transported from storage hubs to care homes.

The vaccine must initially be stored at minus 70C before being thawed out.

COMMUNITY VACCINATION CLINICS TO BEGIN OPENING ACROSS ENGLAND

Hundreds of Covid-19 vaccination centres run by local doctors will begin opening across England this week, the NHS has said.

GP practices in more than 100 locations will have the vaccine delivered to them on Monday, with some opening their clinics later in the afternoon.

The majority will begin providing vaccination services to their local community from Tuesday, NHS England and NHS Improvement said.

NHS staff including nurses and pharmacists will work alongside GPs to inoculate those aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers and residents.

The vaccination centres will operate from existing doctors' surgeries or community hubs in villages, towns and cities across the country, with patients invited to receive the jab.

GERMAN ANTI-LOCKDOWN LEADER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID

A prominent leader of the "Querdenker" (lateral thinker) movement in the east German city of Leipzig contracted Covid-19 and had to be hospitalsed.

The man, who was a co-organiser of the anti-lockdown demonstration in the city on November 7, was apparently brought to the hospital a week after the protest, reports.

"One of the well-known lateral thinkers who demonstrated in Leipzig was intubated eight days later," said the director of the Leipzig University Hospital, Professor Christoph Josten, at a press conference.

"The virus does not differentiate between people, no matter who they are," the doctor added.

He did not comment further on the patient's exact state of health.

TRUMP & WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS OFFERED COVID VACCINE

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top US officials will be offered the newly approved Covid-19 vaccine beginning on Monday as part of a plan aimed at ensuring the continuity of government, a source familiar with the plans said.

Essential personnel at the White House and certain officials in all three branches of government were to be vaccinated within the next 10 days, said the source.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump would get the vaccine immediately, given that he has already contracted the novel coronavirus and recovered.

It was also not clear whether President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and other members of Biden's transition team would be offered vaccinations.

TORIES MUST BE THE PARTY OF SMALL BUSINESS, FORMER MINISTER URGES

A Conservative former cabinet minister has urged the Government to prioritise small businesses after the country's recovery from Covid-19.

In a speech to the Sunderland Conservatives on Monday evening, Dr Liam Fox is expected to call on Boris Johnson to ensure the Conservative Party are "the champions of small business", as these companies are "the lifeblood of the economy".

The former secretary of state for international trade will also propose the introduction of a "small business test" in the next budget whereby every piece of legislation, regulation and taxation would be vetted as to its impact on companies prior to being enforced.

Making his virtual keynote speech on December 14, Dr Fox is expected to say: "I think we need to think about the post-Covid recovery and think, post-Brexit, what kind of economy we want to have, with or without a deal.

"I believe that stuffing the public sector with even more money is not the answer. This must be a private sector-led recovery but more explicitly a Small Business Recovery."

BRAZIL REPORTS 279 NEW COVID DEATHS

Brazil reported 21,825 additional confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 279 deaths from Covid-19, its Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The South American country has now registered 6,901,952 cases since the pandemic began, while its official death toll has risen to 181,402, according to ministry data.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS HONOURED WITH ONLINE EVENT

An annual event bringing together Holocaust survivors from around the world to mark the start of Hanukkah was held online for the first time Sunday due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The event organised by the Jewish Claims Conference also paid tribute to those killed by the Nazis and raised awareness of anti-Semitism.

Each survivor is a living example of the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil," said Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference. "You are heroes to the Jewish people and to the world.

The event included a livestream of speeches by survivors, their advocates, musical performances and the menorah lighting from the Western Wall in Jerusalem and other locations around the world.

Among the survivors who spoke was Walter Breindel, who fled Austria at the age of four with his mother and brother.

Breindel recalled how he would normally spend Hanukkah with his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but is alone this year.

NETHERLANDS TO DECIDE ON STRICTER COVID MEASURES

The Dutch government is set to decide on stricter measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the Netherlands on Monday, as the infection rate has climbed back to the peak levels reached at the end of October.

New coronavirus infections in the country jumped by almost 10,000 in the 24 hours through Sunday morning, data released by national health authorities showed, the biggest rise in more than six weeks.

The increase continues a rising trend seen over the previous week, as the effects of a partial lockdown that has been in effect since Oct. 13 seem to have waned.

All bars and restaurants in the country have been closed since mid-October, and people were urged to work from home as much as possible, but schools and shops have remained open.

Citing government sources, public broadcaster NOS said the government was considering closing all non-essential shops for several weeks and extending the Christmas break for schools among measures to stop the spread of the disease.

NHS PROVIDERS URGE 'EXTREME CAUTION' IN MOVING AREAS INTO LOWER TIERS

Chief executive Chris Hopson told the BBC: "We're about to hit our busiest time of year so people are really worried that if we relax the restrictions now the NHS simply won't be able to cope with all of the work that it needs to do in late December, January and February."

While a letter to Boris Johnson did not call for a review of the temporary relaxation of measures over Christmas, NHS Providers said it was "vital" the public understands the risks of extra social contact during the festive period.

A Government spokeswoman said ministers will not "hesitate to take necessary actions to protect local communities" and that decisions are made based on the latest available data.

"We have introduced strengthened local restrictions to protect the progress gained during national restrictions, reduce pressure on the NHS and ultimately save lives," the spokeswoman said.

"On top of our record NHS investment, this winter we are providing an extra £3 billion to maintain independent sector and Nightingale hospital surge capacity and a further £450 million to upgrade and expand A&Es."

CHRISTMAS BEHAVIOUR WILL HAVE 'BIG IMPACT' ON WHEN NORMAL LIFE RETURNS

Behaviour during the festive period will have a "big impact" on how long it takes for life to return to normal, the lead researcher behind the Oxford jab has warned.

Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said that travelling and mixing with others over Christmas could hinder the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the new year.

It comes after NHS bosses warned Boris Johnson that any relaxation of restrictions in England's tier system may trigger a third wave of the pandemic at the busiest time of the year for hospitals.

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Prof Gilbert said life could be "more or less" back to normal by next summer - but that depends on transmission rates in January.

Restrictions are due to be relaxed across the UK between December 23 and 27 to allow families to form "Christmas bubbles" and spend time together over the festive period.

BOLSONARO LABELLED 'HOMICIDALLY NEGLIGENT' OVER VACCINE PLANNING

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro has been branded as "homicidally negligent" over his Covid vaccine preparations.

Bolsonaro had dismissed the danger the coronavirus posed by calling it "a little flu. So far more than 180,000 Brazilians have died from the virus.

The Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo slammed Bolsonaro’s “homicidal negligence”, claiming Brazilians had been “abandoned by the government” and condemned to “watch in distress” as vaccination began elsewhere.

“Bolsonaro’s killer stupidity over the coronavirus pandemic has crossed every single line. It’s time for him to abandon this criminal recklessness and at least pretend to have the ability and maturity to lead a nation of 212 million at such a dramatic moment in its collective history. Enough tomfoolery with the vaccine!” it declared.

GREENWICH COUNCIL PENS LETTER TO PARENTS

In a letter to families, Greenwich council leader Danny Thorpe said: "It is absolutely essential that everyone understands this is NOT an opportunity to extend Christmas celebrations in any way, and I'm asking for this to happen to reduce the risk of transmission."

He apologised for the disruption school closures were likely to cause, adding: "I wouldn't be asking for this unless the risk was extreme, but with numbers rising so rapidly it is clear action is needed."

‘GRAVE MIX-UP’

A family was left horrified after being sent a stranger’s teeth and clothes when their dad died of coronavirus.

Raymond Nickson, 90, was a resident at Swallowfield Garden Care Home in Horwich, Greater Manchester before he passed away at Bolton Royal Hospital on October 5.

Raymond, a massive Manchester United fan and a keen gardener, contracted coronavirus at the home before passing away at Bolton Royal Hospital on October 5.

His daughter-in-law, Iris Nickson, claimed that following Raymond’s death, his loved ones had to wait eight weeks for his belongings to be returned. 

When they were returned, in a plastic bag, Iris said some of the clothes belonged to someone else and appeared “unlaundered and smelly”.

Read more on the story here.