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

MASS TESTING TO BE ROLLED OUT IN KENT

Mass testing will start in all 12 boroughs of Kent from Monday.

They featured in a list of 67 areas where community testing programmes can start as part of the Government's Covid-19 Winter Plan.

More than 1.6 million rapid turnaround lateral flow tests would be delivered for use this month, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the enhanced testing programmes follow a successful pilot in Liverpool and will be a “vital additional tool” in finding asymptomatic cases.

Experts have previously suggested relying on rapid tests that give a result in minutes could mean a high proportion of cases are missed with false negative results.

LEWIS SAYS HE'S NOT 100% AFTER COVID BATTLE

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was still feeling the after-effects of COVID-19 after qualifying third for Formula One's Abu Dhabi season-ender but vowed to give his all in Sunday's race.

The 35-year-old returned to the track after testing positive for the virus and missing the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain last weekend.

"I am not 100%, I still have some feeling within my lungs," he said.

"Normally, I would drive even if one of my arms was hanging off. That's what we do as racing drivers and luckily that's not the case," he added.

"It definitely won't be the easiest of races physically but I will manage and give it absolutely everything I've got."

XMAS DELIVERY

Cards, gifts and letters to Father Christmas must be posted soon to make sure they arrive with loved ones before Christmas day.

Royal Mail is warning that a huge surge in demand because of coronavirus restrictions is likely to cause delivery chaos.

It's best to get ahead and get things posted as early as possible so they arrive in time.

Royal Mail warns customers on its website: "Please post items and gifts for Christmas early, particularly for International deliveries." 

"Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe."

Click HERE to find the very last posting days you need to know about so they get there before December 25.

CHILDREN PLAN TO LEAVE HAND SANITISER FOR SANTA THIS CHRISTMAS

A quarter of children in the UK are planning to leave hand sanitiser for Santa this Christmas to keep them and their families safe.

Research carried out by  found that kids are now turning to technology – such as home security cameras – to try and catch Santa in the act.

Over a fifth of children will leave a healthy snack for Santa, with one in ten offering him a vegan treat.

But because of concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic, 30 per cent of children are worried Santa may still have to shield this Christmas.

Andrew Thompson, UK Head of Marketing at SimpliSafe, said: “Kids are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and many of them are finding setting up a home security system incredibly easy.

“But despite the new and creative methods children are employing to catch a glimpse of Santa, he has managed to outwit generations of kids, so we’re confident his magic will get him through 2020 too!”

JOHN CLEESE CHANNELS BASIL FAWLTY AS HE URGES PEOPLE OF BASILDON TO FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS RULES

Actor John Cleese has channeled his inner Basil Fawlty as he urged residents in Basildon to follow the government's covid guidelines.

The video, posted by Essex Coronavirus Action, comes as Basildon recorded 500 cases per 100,000 in the week ending December 7 - making it the third worst affected area in England.

Cleese, who starred in Fawlty Towers, said he had been asked to make a video "encouraging Basildon people to start following Covid rules, please".

"Now this is a slightly unusual request, because they want me to do sort of Basil Fawlty and I did Basil Fawlty rather well in the 70s. But I'm now incredibly old, I'm nearly dead, I am 81 years of age and I don't have the energy to do Basil Fawlty," the comedian said.

"Listen, nice people from Basildon, just be careful. We are talking about your lives here, you know?

"I know it's a bore, but you're dealing with reality here, not with people trying to order you around."

WELSH GOV ‘PREPARED’ TO SEE ‘RANGE OF PEOPLE IGNORE RULES’ DURING CHRISTMAS

Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government could theoretically break the agreement between Westminster and devolved administrations to relax social distancing rules for five days over the festive period, but added it would cause a loss of trust.

He said: “There are huge issues here about trust in the government.

“If we were to upset those rules we would lose lots of trust from a large number of people who have stuck with us and we would also see I’m afraid a range of people prepared to ignore the rules.

“Even with the agreement in place we’re likely to see a number of people go beyond that anyway.

“That’s why we are anticipating an increase after Christmas and why I expect there will be an increase after New Year’s Eve as well.”

WORLD WILL 'INEVITABLY' BE HIT BY ANOTHER DEADLY WAVE - BUT BRITAIN WILL BE READY

The world will "inevitably" be hit by another deadly virus following the coronavirus pandemic, a top biochemist has said.

Kate Bingham warned a new outbreak could be linked to deforestation and animals moving from their natural environments.

But the expert said that if another virus hit the world, Britain would be ready to tackle it this time.

Ms Bingham, 55, told : “With deforestation you are chopping down environments where these animals are living and they end up co-locating in environments they haven’t before and they spread it to humans.”

The biochemist said she is “hugely optimistic” about the future because after the Covid-19 pandemic it will be easier to combat another outbreak.

IS LONDON GOING INTO TIER 3 LOCKDOWN?

London is on the brink of be plunged into Tier 3 lockdown next Saturday after coronavirus infections in the capital became the highest in England.

All the city's boroughs were placed in Tier 2 when the one-month lockdown in England ended on December 2.

There is a threat London could be moved into Tier 3 as soon as next week due to a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.

The capital recorded 191.8 new cases per 100,000 in the week to December 6, according to a report published by Public Health England - 20 per cent higher than the week before.

Health ministers told London MPs that the positive test rate across the UK is 5.9 per cent - but it's more than 7 per cent in the capital.

Read more on the story here.

ENGLISH SCHOOLS COULD FACE LEGAL ACTION IF THEY PLAN TO SHUT EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS

Schools in England planning to allow pupils to learn remotely in the run-up to Christmas could face legal action to force them to remain open.

New powers introduced through the Coronavirus Act allow the Government to issue "directions" to headteachers around education provision during the pandemic.

But should schools fail to comply after being directed to remain open, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson could apply for a High Court injunction forcing them to do so.

The Department for Education (DfE) said directions under the act would only be used as a "last resort", while a court order would be the "final stage" if they were not followed.

It comes as a headteacher in Ware, Hertfordshire, was sent a "minded to direct" letter from schools minister Nick Gibb warning that the emergency powers could be used.

ROUND-UP: WHAT'S HAPPENED TODAY?

• Scientists have warned Brits to rethink their Christmas gatherings despite Covid rules being relaxed
• GPs will prioritise sick and elderly ethnic minority patients for the coronavirus vaccine from next week
• Brits are facing Christmas travel chaos that could spark a mad rush on "bubble" deadline
• Shoppers are set to blow £1.7billion today amid fears London will be placed in Tier 3
• A new Covid vaccine phone scam is targeting vulnerable pensioners

UK COVID DEATHS RISE BY 516 IN HIGHEST SATURDAY RISE FOR 7 MONTHS

Covid deaths in the UK today rose by 516 in the highest Saturday rise in seven months with 21,502 new cases.

The rise in infections now means a total of 124,988 people have now tested positive for the disease.

The latest figures released by the Department of Health puts the total number of people who have died from Covid at 64,026.

Today's rise is the highest on a Saturday since May 2 when 584 died.

39 DEATHS IN SCOTLAND AS TOUGHEST RESTRICTIONS EASED

Scotland has recorded 39 deaths from coronavirus and 1,064 positive tests in the past 24 hours, according to Scottish Government statistics.

It brings the death toll under this measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - to 4,109.

A total of 105,370 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 104,306 the previous day.

BUS DRIVER TAKES SPECIAL DETOUR SO PASSENGER CAN VISIT MUM AT CARE HOME

A bus driver has taken a special detour to allow a passenger to see her mum at a care home.

Alex Bailey, 57, has been praised for his gesture after he took the 11B bus off route to make sure Jacqueline Mason could meet her mum.

The woman had booked a 30-minute visit at the Bradley Manor care home in Belfast - where her mum lives - at 3.30pm.

But at 3.10pm she realised she had boarded the wrong bus and started crying as she was worried she would miss her slot.

After noticing the passenger's distress, the Translink bus driver decided to take a detour and drop her off near the care home.

Click here to read more

CHILDREN PLAN TO LEAVE HAND SANITISER FOR SANTA THIS CHRISTMAS

A quarter of children in the UK are planning to leave hand sanitiser for Santa this Christmas to keep them and their families safe.

Research carried out by found that kids are now turning to technology - such as home security cameras - to try and catch Santa in the act.

Over a fifth of children will leave a healthy snack for Santa, with one in ten offering him a vegan treat.

But because of concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic, 30 per cent of children are worried Santa may still have to shield this Christmas.

Andrew Thompson, UK Head of Marketing at SimpliSafe, said: “Kids are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and many of them are finding setting up a home security system incredibly easy.

“But despite the new and creative methods children are employing to catch a glimpse of Santa, he has managed to outwit generations of kids, so we’re confident his magic will get him through 2020 too!”

DOZENS OF GPS OPT OUT OF VACCINATION PROGRAMME

Dozens of GP practices in England have decided to opt out of the Pfizer jab rollout reportedly due to workload issues.

Other concerns expressed by GPs include staff shortages and the impact on patients if other services have to be cut back, The Guardian reported.

The newspaper said some 100,000 patients - of the more than 60 million registered at GP practices across England - would not be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine from their family doctor.

You can read more here

MAPPED: AREAS THAT COULD MOVE TIERS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WATCH: BUS DRIVER TAKES SPECIAL DETOUR SO PASSENGER CAN SEE HER MUM AT CARE HOME

PUBLIC WARNED OF NEW COVID VACCINE PHONE SCAM TARGETING THE ELDERLY

A new Covid vaccine phone scam is targeting vulnerable pensioners.

Callous con artists prey on vulnerable OAPs by calling them with an automated voice.

Victims are conned into thinking they've been selected to receive the coronavirus jab.

Unsuspecting OAPS are then told to press a number to arrange a booking.

Criminals charge victims' phone company and raid money from OAPs' accounts. 

Read more here.

GENETICS DISCOVERY

Scientists have discovered five genes that put you most at risk of catching a severe case of coronavirus.

UK researchers said this sheds light on what underpins severe coronavirus symptoms and could lead to potential new drug treatments for the killer bug.

Read more here.

GERMANY: COVID CASES RISE BY 28,438 - TOTAL NOW 1.3 MILLION

Germany has recorded 28,438 new coronavirus cases, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.

The new figure brings the total number of cases in the country to 1,300,516.

The reported death toll rose by 496 to 21,466, the tally also showed.

CHRISTMAS EASING OF RESTRICTIONS A 'MISTAKE WHICH WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES, HEALTH EXPERT WARNS

Relaxing coronavirus restrictions throughout the UK over Christmas is a "mistake" which will have "consequences", a public health expert has said.

Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said she was concerned about people travelling from areas with high infections to parts of the country with lower prevalence of the virus.

The UK Government and devolved administrations have agreed a joint plan to relax social distancing rules for five days over the festive period, between December 23 and 27, allowing friends and family to hug for the first time in months.

But Prof Bauld told BBC Breakfast: "From a public health perspective, I have to be perfectly honest, I think this is a mistake. I think people have to think very carefully whether they can see loved ones outside, or do it in a very modest way.

"I'm also concerned about the travel, people going from high to low-prevalence areas. I think it's going to have consequences."

MAPPED: CURRENT R-RATES ACROSS ENGLAND

STATS: WHERE DID CASES RISE THE MOST IN ENGLAND?

Data from Public Health England shows where cases rose the most in the week to December 6.

The data is shown as the name of the place, the cases per 100,000 and the per cent change:

• Bracknell Forest: 165.65, 70.6 per cent
• Central Bedfordshire: 119.52, 51.31 per cent
• Hackney and City of London: 195.98, 51.2 per cent
• Southend-on-Sea: 204.78, 50.61 per cent
• Enfield: 243.56, 48.90 per cent
• Haringey: 208.82, 48.02 per cent
• Waltham Forest: 313.74, 47.79 per cent
• Harrow: 216.59, 46.63 per cent
• Wokingham: 142.59, 42.69 per cent
• East Sussex: 122.21, 37.02 per cent
• Thurrock: 268.44, 36.05 per cent
• Havering: 389.13, 34.85 per cent
• Essex: 195.14, 34.29 per cent
• Bath and North East Somerset: 106.58, 33.76 per cent
• Greenwich: 197.96, 33.18 per cent
• Milton Keynes: 191.13, 33.08 per cent
• Kingston upon Thames: 224.78, 31.68 per cent
• Bromley: 198.29, 31.01 per cent
• Southwark: 132.36, 30.65 per cent
• Sutton: 176.88, 30.36 per cent

WELSH GOV 'PREPARED' TO SEE 'RANGE OF PEOPLE IGNORE RULES' DURING CHRISTMAS

Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government could theoretically break the agreement between Westminster and devolved administrations to relax social distancing rules for five days over the festive period, but added it would cause a loss of trust.

He said: "There are huge issues here about trust in the government.

"If we were to upset those rules we would lose lots of trust from a large number of people who have stuck with us and we would also see I'm afraid a range of people prepared to ignore the rules.

"Even with the agreement in place we're likely to see a number of people go beyond that anyway.

"That's why we are anticipating an increase after Christmas and why I expect there will be an increase after New Year's Eve as well."

WATCH: US FDA APPROVES COVID VACCINE WITH 2.9M DOSES TO BE SHIPPED IMMEDIATELY