Latest Covid news live: NHS chiefs say boosted target unlikely to be achieved as Boris Johnson faces Tory rebellion against Plan B

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Dominic Raab said more restrictions are planned for Christmas and it is likely that Plan B rules will be enough to stop the spread of Omicron.

The justice minister said families would be able to meet during the festive period as he appeared to be confusing the number of hospitalizations due to the new format.

Rapp was forced to revise his Sky News 250 number down to 9 during his subsequent appearance on BBC Breakfast.

Meanwhile, the prime minister faces the biggest rebellion in his premiership over Plan B rules.

More than 70 members of the House of Representatives threaten to defy the whips and oppose England’s government plan B which sees work from home, mandatory face mask rules, covid passports and self-isolation rules back.

Read moreIn other developments: Live updatesView the latest updates 1639471998 around the world

– Government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed on Tuesday that France will not impose new restrictions to combat the Omicron variant. There are currently about 130 cases of the strain in the country.

The United States has advised Americans against travel to Italy, Greenland and Mauritius, while California will impose a statewide mask mandate in all indoor public places while ramping up precautions against the Omicron variant.

Nigeria will destroy about a million expired vaccines and take diplomatic steps to try to undo the travel ban that some countries have imposed on it.

– India has reported the lowest rate of active Covid cases in 18 months, although a sharp drop in the use of face masks has raised concerns among government officials.

Lateral flow tests are still not available

For the second day in a row, lateral flow tests cannot be ordered via the government website due to shortages.

A message on the site Tuesday morning stated that no tests were available for home delivery, although tests could still be collected from pharmacies.

On Monday, the UK’s Health Security Agency said that “due to exceptionally high demand, the request for lateral flow tests on gov.uk has been temporarily suspended to meet existing requests”.

Gov.UK1639470694Tory MP Vaccine Brands ‘Irrational’

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said vaccine passports, as part of the government’s Plan B, were “nonsensical”.

It comes as the government faces a widespread rebellion over the policy as it is brought to a vote in the House of Commons this evening.

Ellwood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Three votes are going on today, first on face masks, I’m not against, that makes sense, and second on mandatory vaccinations for NHS staff, and I agree with that too.

“The latter is about vaccine passports for large events, and there are some practical implications for how this is implemented.

“But more importantly, you can go big with a recent negative lateral flow test, which makes sense again, but you can also attend if you have evidence of two shots, which may have been completed six months ago, so even with A new mutation could be a carrier of Covid.

“Leadership is about taking people where they may not have realized they need to go, but they have to understand the plan, which doesn’t make sense at the moment.”

Horror admits teething problems

Raab admitted there were “teething problems” after people queued for hours to get their Covid vaccinations on Monday.

He told BBC Breakfast: “I appreciate there are some teething issues while we ramp up this, it just takes a few days to make sure we’re stable.

“We will continue to strain every tendon to make sure we can reach that goal.”

1639469395 Return of Plan B, Rapp tells the rebels

Mr Raab urged Tory rebels to support Plan B’s Covid restrictions, arguing that Covid health certifications are not “a big step or a slippery slope”.

Arguing that it’s not just evidence of vaccination but a negative lateral flow test as well, he told Times Radio: “If you want to go to a crowded place, I think most people think it’s voluntary as a matter of their safety, but also those around them, that makes sense.

“I don’t think this is a big step or a slippery slope, but I understand the concerns and that’s why we should have a proper discussion.

“But, in the end, I think people should vote for these measures, it’s a proportionate and purposeful approach given what we don’t know and the precautionary approach we need to take, only temporarily, while we deal with Omicron.”

See the horror of the OMICRON hospital number down from 250 to 9

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has revised his figure for the number of people in hospital with Omicron reduced from 250 to nine.

After earlier comments on Sky News, he told BBC Breakfast: “I know we have had one death.

“I think we have nine people in the hospital with her.”

The new figure given by Raab is slightly lower than the figure given by Boris Johnson yesterday.

1639468594 A South African doctor claims the UK is ‘overreacting’ to Omicron

The South African doctor who first discovered the Omicron variant has claimed the UK government is “overreacting” to its spread.

In an opinion piece for the Daily Mail, Dr. Angelique Coetzee wrote: “I’ve seen quite a few Omicron patients who have ever used the delta variant and they’ll tell you that while no one ever wants to get Covid, they almost feel lucky it was only Omicron they had the time. the second.

Patients usually experience muscle aches, body aches, headaches and a bit of tiredness. And their symptoms don’t seem to get any worse than that. After about five days they clear up, and that’s it.”

Dr Coetzee, president of the South African Medical Association, claimed that the reaction of ministers in Britain was “amounting to hysteria”.

Boris Johnson dismissed suggestions the alternative is mild and does not cause severe disease, saying on Monday it “results in hospitalization” and Britons should recognize the “absolute pace” at which it is spreading in the population.

1639467802 Schools see drop in attendance amid Omicron outbreak

Jeff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said schools across the country are seeing a “very sharp decline in attendance” as the Omicron variant spreads.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Listening to the speculation, the news, certainly the emails I get from members, you get very, very low attendance, partly from young people, partly from staff.

“One (school) emailed me this morning saying that 25 percent of the staff has been out of work for three weeks, you can imagine that if you can’t get teachers it becomes very difficult to maintain the quality of education.”

1639467463 Rapp confirms that at least 250 people are in hospital with Omicron

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said there are at least 250 people in hospital with Omicron – and that those numbers could increase dramatically unless action is taken quickly.

It comes on the heels of last night’s news that around 200,000 Britons are infected every day with the new variant.

1639467039 Deputy Prime Minister says Plan B rules are ‘enough’ for Christmas

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the government believes its Plan B is enough for Christmas and that people will have “the ability to spend it with their loved ones”.

Discussing the rollout of the accelerated booster, he told Radio Times, “It’s a tough target but…the facts are that we’re going to this Christmas with the ability to spend it with loved ones in a way that was impossible last year.”

He did not rule out further action for Christmas or New Year’s, saying: “These issues are always discussed but we have Plan B, and that’s what we think is needed during the Christmas period.”

Urging him if Christmas would be safe, Mr. Raab replied, “Yes, I think it is. I want to give that reassurance. I think people can look forward to spending Christmas with their loved ones in a way that we couldn’t achieve last year.”

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