This is bbc news with the latest headlines. Northern ireland announces a new six week lockdown beginning on boxing day including supermarkets being told to close at 8pm for the first few days. New restrictions for millions more people around the uk amid a rise in Coronavirus Infections large parts of southern england will move into tier 3 at midnight. We want to hear your thoughts on the latest lockdown plans and restrictions. Do you support them . What effect will they have on you . Do get in touch with me on twitter annita mcveigh, and use bbcyourquestions, and ill try to read out some of your comments. After an evening phone call between borisjohnson and Eu Commission head ursula von der leyen, downing street warns that post brexit trade talks are in a serious situation. A quarter of a million New South Wales residents are urged to remain in their homes as the australian state sees a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. With just a week to go until christmas, couriers across the uk are dealing with an unprecedented volume of parcels thanks to the rise in online shopping. And coming up this hour. With most traditional Christmas Parties cancelled because of covid restrictions, well be finding out how some companies are finding alternative ways of bringing their teams together. Good morning and welcome to bbc news. Northern ireland will go into a new lockdown on the 26th
december, lasting for six weeks. The executive said the country faces very difficult times and without the drastic new measures, the Health Service would be overwhelmed. Nonessential shops in Northern Ireland will close from the end of trading on Christmas Eve in a bid to stop the spread of covid i9. Ministers will review the measures after four weeks. Close contact services, such as hair salons, will have to shut and pubs, cafes and restaurants will be restricted to takeaway services. Announcing the lockdown deputy minister Michelle Oneill said the Health Service would be completely crushed injanuary if there wasnt an intervention now. In short the message from boxing day in Northern Ireland is back to stay at home. Lets speak to our ireland correspondent chris page, whos in belfast. Good morning, chris. Before we talk about the impact of this, tell us about the impact of this, tell us about the impact of this, tell us about the context in which the decision has been taken. How close
oui decision has been taken. How close our Health Services in Northern Ireland to being overwhelmed . Ministers last night after they reach the decision to reimpose lockdown from boxing day, that will bea lockdown from boxing day, that will be a stricter lockdown than we have had at any point except back in the spring, they had taken advice from Senior Health officials, scientific advisers, and basically hospitals here are already operating beyond capacity, for example earlier this week in an Antrim Area Hospital at one stage there were 17 ambulances parked outside and medical staff we re parked outside and medical staff were treating patients inside the vehicles because there were no beds left inside the hospital. So that is certainly one potent sign of how serious the situation year is. The virus infection rate has been going up, yesterday there were more than 650 new recorded cases, for a place with a population the size of
Northern Ireland, that is very high. Ministers said they basically had no option but to put in place very tough measures as soon as Christmas Day and, the new lockdown begins, so on boxing day, instead of hitting the shops in the city centre for sales or going to traditional sporting fixtures, people will be told stay at home and for that first week the measures will be even more strict, from boxing day until january the 2nd, even essential retailers like supermarket serving food, will have to close between eight oclock in the evening and six oclock in the morning and people are being told they should not leave their homes at all unless a shift worker. What reaction are you getting about this new lockdown . Lots of people are saying about clearly in order to protect the Health Service and bring down the high infections there has to be some sort of intervention, difficult though it might be. As far as
businesses are concerned, the Hospitality Industry said this is the news it is dreading that it will work with the government in the hope this lockdown will do what is needed and protect the economy in the longer term, although hospitality ulster, the organisation representing pubs and restaurants, has said it will be the end for many businesses which simply will not make it to the other side. The organisation representing independent retailer says the lockdown will cause thousands more job losses so businesses are appealing for the devolved government to put in place more measures and Financial Support to help them and what will be an extremely difficult few weeks between now and the beginning of february. As regards the medical profession, the likes of the bma has said this intervention is welcome, something has to be done, the Health Services under much too much pressure already and if this intervention was not made now then
the situation injanuary intervention was not made now then the situation in january would intervention was not made now then the situation injanuary would be pretty disastrous. Thank you, chris pagein pretty disastrous. Thank you, chris page in belfast. Chris mentioned hospitality ulster. Colin neil is the chief executive of hospitality ulster, and joins us from belfast. Good morning, colin. Is this the right decision, and i ask you that in the full knowledge of the difficulties that this lockdown will cause for the businesses you represent . We havent asked for this lockdown, we havent welcomed it but we are supporting it, because we cannot sustain the repeated stop start, stop start, half hearted lockdowns we have seen, hospitality has been closed but the virus rate keeps going up. Traditional non food pubs have now been close and st patricks for all but three weeks. We cannot sustain this. Closed since st patricks day. We are supporting the lockdown, but with a heavy heart. Is it more costly for
businesses to go through the cycle of opening and closing compared to having a fixed period of closure . Of opening and closing compared to having a fixed period of closure . M really is, particularly when it is to be an open two weeks and then closed, we had one instance where traditional pubs were open for ten days and then closed. You had to buy stock, then you had to rebuy for reopening, you have staff to know what is going on, while we have been close, hospitality has been chosen, i hate to say it, but we are a co ntrolla ble i hate to say it, but we are a controllable risk, we can be put in a box and locked down to counterbalance the uncontrollable behaviours in society, and it has not worked, giving it to us. Believe me, it is a heavy heart, as i speak there will be businesses close that will never reopen. Family businesses that have been in families for
generations. But we have to get a handle on this virus, we accept it is out of control which is why weve supported this. Looking purely at economics, what assistance is there already and what does there need to be helped keep businesses afloat, albeit that some businesses will simply not naked to this period . We havent we are very grateful, we are not turning our noses up, we have a return to closure grants were premises forced to close get a weekly grant, but when you look at furlough, it cost £30 per person per week, it is not free to do business. We wa nt week, it is not free to do business. We want to keep staff on furlough but if you have 100 that is £3000 a week you have defined, we need the executive and westminster to back us with the many across the uk, make up
the deficit. We are not about making money, this isjust give us the deficit. We are not about making money, this is just give us the money, this is just give us the money to pay furlough and fixed costs if you want a Hospitality Industry at the other side. Westminster took away the Job Retention scheme bonus which was due injanuary retention scheme bonus which was due in january which lots of retention scheme bonus which was due injanuary which lots of people had spent that money on covid measures that they have not been allowed to use and money that the treasury has taken away. I was reading the statement put out by hospitality ulster in response to the news about the six week lockdown and i want to read that sentence for our viewers, we are appealing for everyone to abide by this decision which has come at such a heavy price so we never had to experience anything like this again. I can really feel your response to the enormity of the situation, the sadness, the frustration. What was going through your mind when you wrote that .
frustration. What was going through your mind when you wrote that . I can almost get emotional at this, daily, since this started in march, seven days a week i speak to Business Owners and staff who are beyond breaking point, they have nowhere to turn, they are losing their homes and it is just. Turn, they are losing their homes and it isjust. We cannot keep using the Nuclear Option of lockdowns and partial lockdowns. Northern ireland, our restrictions in our outlets have been so severe that even when open you are practically closed, the Table Numbers are limited to two families per table, we have a curfew, we cannot survive on the money given to us cannot survive on the money given to us close to, we cannot survive on the money we can make open, so this lockdown. The money we can make open, so this lockdown. Government need to get control of the virus, we accept that, but they actually have to get control, we cannot keep locking down
the economy. Colin, thank you for speaking to us this morning, the chief executive of hospitality ulster, colin neill. Tens of millions of people across the uk are braced for tougher covid restrictions amid growing concern about rising infections. From tomorrow, swathes of eastern and southern england will move into tier 3 measures. The changes come just days before the five day relaxation of rules over christmas. Aruna iyengar has more. Around the uk, restrictions are tightening. From saturday in england more than two thirds of the country will be in tier 3, with a number of areas, including bedfordshire and buckinghamshire, moving to the toughest level. But theres some respite. Bristol and North Somerset will move from tier 3 to tier 2. And herefordshire goes from tier 2 to tier 1. In clevedon, North Somerset, dropping down to tier 2 is a cause for celebration. Yes yes, yes, yes hurray
i can go out on my 70th birthday, on monday, and celebrate in a pub locally i think its a mistake. I probably think its a mistake, because surrounding areas are still increasing. Bristol has gone down, but i think weve just got. Just got to sort of live with it and try and get over it. Hastings in east sussex will move into tier 3. It is a shame to see such a vibrant place as hastings old town seem to grind to a halt, and its such a shame that all the talented people that work and operate here are not doing that. These restrictions come into force just days before the christmas relaxation. Wales has already announced a post christmas lockdown. The first minister warned other nations could follow. My prediction would be that in other parts of the uk, as current restrictions are lessened, they too will find themselves with numbers escalating
and more action needing to be taken. With pressure on the nhs mounting, difficult days lie ahead. Aruna iyengar, bbc news. Lets speak to our Health Correspondent anna collinson. This morning, it was interesting hearing chris page in belfast 18 minutes of total kibet the situation at one hospital, where doctors were having to treat patients in ambulances outside the building. Just give us the broad context we are looking at, only a matter of days before the five day relaxation in england at least . Exactly, this is all building up, we see cases and admissions writing and, as you say, this relaxation is happening next week. While there are differences across the four nations, i have been looking across it in detail over the last 2a hours, there are
similarities for the challenges all four nation states. They are juggfing four nation states. They are juggling the usual winter demand you would expect, things like seasonal flu, respiratory conditions, slips and falls, and continuing to try to treat coronavirus while rolling out a vaccine. Waiting lists are long, because i have been lots of cancellations this year, and there are fewer beds because of social distancing and staff are enormously tired, physically and emotionally exhausted, we have been told some hospitals are struggling to cope with shortages because of staff sickness. They are also struggling because they are not able to treat patients who dont have covid, basically, because the first people to be affected by any cancellations are the ones who do not have covid, people waiting for hip operations etc, something which can really impact your life, people are having to wait more than 12 months and
counting. If you look at england, around nine in ten hospital beds are being used, this only covers up to december the 13th, and it does not ta ke december the 13th, and it does not take into account struggling areas, and some areas are experiencing difficulties. London is seeing a real increase in demand and is having to cancel services, in kent, some of the highest covid rates aaron cairns, they are seeing more cases than during the front tyre first wave some of the highest covid rate are intense. People have been told to act as if they had coronavirus, that is the only way they will bring this down. There is real pressure being felt and there is concern that this pressure being felt now, we have not even got to the christmas break and january is a lwa ys the christmas break and january is always the hardest time of the year for the nhs. Thank you for that
overview, anna collinson, our health correspondence. Dr Katherine Henderson is president of the Royal College of emergency medicine, and joins me now. Good to have you with us today. Another 532 deaths from coronavirus recorded yesterday, almost 35,530 cases including those from wales missed out at some of the official figures yesterday. How ability are you about the ability of the nhs to close to christmas beyond, everything from icus to essential Non Covid Services . Everything from icus to essential noncovid services . Extremely worried, your health correspondence has such analysis spot on. We are now at a really dangerous point where we could hip into finding it incredibly difficult to manage. If you look back, the stories of crowded departments, emergency departments, happens every winter, but now we have crowded departments
with covid as the additional burden, which is a really scary and challenging place to be. You can see this as we are increasingly getting ambulances queueing outside departments, that is a situation we do not want, but we have looked at members end fellows and what they are experiencing and they find it very difficult to get ambulances off loaded, they have no cubicles for patients, no cubicles because there are no beds on the wards, there are no beds on the wards, there are no beds on the wards, there are no beds because we have too few, we have staff off sick so we cannot manage them, we have covid and not covid awards and we are still trying to do the other work, we cannot get patients back into the community. All that cycles back to an ambulance outside the ed which cannot go to the next patient who needs it, which is an awful situation. As you describe it, it is
an over predicament for everybody involved in health care. How close to using Health Services are to being overwhelmed, based on what you describe . Throughout the year we have heard from the government that action must be taken to stop the nhs from being overwhelmed. The sad thing is that you stop the overwhelming, which i am sure we will do, we had to stop the other work, and in itself that is heartbreaking because people who have been helping with the end of the first wave they might get the procedures they have been waiting for, the non covid work, the elective backlog work which is not very elective, it is often very urgent, it is really hard to keep that going and people have been trying to keep that going, but if you had to have something done that would need an itu bed at the end of it because it is a complex procedure, at the moment it will be so tight on itu beds, it will be very difficult to say we can carry
on doing that sort of work so we have to get a grip of the virus, get the suppressed or we just will not be able to do those other vulnerable patients procedures. We need to hang on, get suppressed, get the vaccine into people and get it going again but if we let it run riot now, we will suffer. A lockdown from the 28th of december in wales, Northern Ireland, a six week lockdown from boxing day, do you still hope scotla nd boxing day, do you still hope scotland and england will follow suit . Yes, as a royal doctors we do not want to say whether we have a lockdown for christmas or not as a Royal College we do not want to say. We cannot carry on like this, so we need to do whatever it takes a different means for lockdown, it means full lockdown, to stop the Community Transmission rates we have at the moment. As your correspondent
said, everyone is pretty tired and it is really difficult to keep this going and reality in increasing members of staff off sick or because they are self isolating, so what effects the community, the nhs as a community, everybody working in the nhs is part of a family, their local town, the people wanting to celebrate the 70th birthday, we are all part of this together and had to get suppressed together. That said, what is your message to Boris Johnson today, what is your message to the Front Line Health Workers . The Front Line Health Workers, thank you, you have been doing an amazing job that you will have to carry on doing it. To everybody else, please think really carefully about what you are doing, think about your messaging, think about the people you dont know that you might affect by going out and about, you might be
young, fit and healthy and an asymptomatic carrier that you might give it to somebody else who wants to go and see their elderly relative and ends up passing it on, so whatever we do, we had to make sure we do not cause more harm by our actions over the next three days. Dr Katherine Henderson, president of the royal emergency medicine, thank you very much. And you can find out what the rules are in your area of the uk, by entering your postcode in our interactive tool you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. Borisjohnson says talks to reach a post brexit trade agreement are in a serious situation, with a no deal scenario now very likely unless the eus position changes substantially. The prime ministers comments came following a call with the European Commission president , ursula von der leyen, last night. Speaking in the last hour, the eus chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the next few hours would be crucial in deciding whether a deal is possible before
the end of the year. Translation its the moment of truth. We have very little time remaining, just a few hours, to work through these negotiations in a useful fashion if we want this agreement to enter into force on 1st january. As you were informed by our president , ursula von der leyen, a few days ago in this very room, there is a chance of getting an agreement, but the path to such an agreement is very narrow. The time when the decisions need to be taken, that will also be the time for each and everyone to assume their responsibilities. Well, lets just remind ourselves of what the three sticking points have been in these negotiations. The first and Biggest Issue is over fishing rights. Its just a small part of the uks Economic Activity but a symbolic one
with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. The uk government argues it would be the only country in the World Without full sovereignty over its waters. Another issue is fair competition, also known as the level playing field. The eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that theres no unfair advantage. And then theres whats known as the governance of the deal if an agreement is reached, who will police it . Our europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels. This morning. After that phone call yesterday evening, terminally at least we had slightly different assessments of how it had gone, with ursula von der leyen seemingly more positive about that. With a tone, at least, we had slightly different assessments. Please cut through
that. They are in the middle of a really intense negotiation so public proclamations may not always reflect what is happening around the negotiating table, but the european side have been quite clean to stress the positive quite keen. They are talking about largely one issue, fishing, being the real stumbling block preventing a deal from being reached. In his Statement Last night, Boris Johnson said reached. In his Statement Last night, borisjohnson said the eu needs a fundamental shift in position, particularly on fish but also when it comes to competition rules and a level playing field, and echoing what michael gove, one of his senior ministers, had said earlier, putting the chances of a deal at less than 50 , so quite a gloomy assessment from downing street. This morning we heard from the eu chief negotiator Michel Barnier, time was his big scene. He said there are only hours left to do a deal and he said basically it is
the fault of the british that we have in this position because the uk side had an option in the summer to extend the transition period, which they declined, and he lamented the lack of time they had to do a deal and that is why he said the next hours, not days or weeks any more, alice, crucial. Thank you, neck nick beake in brussels. Hundreds of thousands of residents in sydney, australia, have been told to stay home after a new outbreak of coronavirus ended a two week run of no local cases. Australian officials are trying to trace the source of the infection, afterfinding dozens of cases across the citys northern beaches region. The new cluster has sparked National Concern and cast uncertainty over many australians plans for a relatively normal christmas. Phil mercer is in sydney for us. Hello, how are the authorities getting on in trying to find out the source of this latest outbreak, and how difficult will it be to contain
age . There have been four key pillars to australias coronavirus strategy, mass testing, sophisticated Contact Tracing, Strict Lockdown turned the closure of International Borders to foreign travellers. It is a sophisticated Contact Tracing that is now in full swing in sydney as the authorities raised to try to find a source of 28 infections in the northern beaches district of the city. 28 infections might not seem a large number compared to other countries, for example, but in the australian context it is significant, the authorities here are urging residents to be on high alert and, as you say, 230,000 People Living on syd neys as you say, 230,000 People Living on sydneys northern beaches have been told to stay at home at least until monday understatement at market New South Wales says its the outbreak cannot be contained in the next two
or three days, there could be more stringent measures in place over the Christmas Period. Thank you, phil mercer in sydney. Ministers have been defending plans for secondary School Pupils in england to return to school on a staggered basis after the christmas break. Only teenagers in years 11 and 13 will go back as normal. Everyone else will have their lessons online for the first week of the new year allowing headteachers time to set up mass covid testing for pupils and staff. It comes a day before a lot of schools break up for christmas. But the start of the new term will be different depending on where you are in the uk. Lets take a look so in england, only those who have exams will go back in the first week, along with key workers children and youngsters considered vulnerable. In wales, there will also be a staggered start with a full return to the classroom by the 18th of january. In scotland, there are no changes and pupils
will be expected to return to school between the fifth and seventh of january, as normal. And in Northern Ireland there are currently no changes to the return to school plans but with a six Week National lockdown starting from boxing day, Health Officials are urging a limited re opening. The changes in england have been described by one Teaching Union as a shambles. But the schools minister, nick gibb has been defending the plans. Education is a national priority. We want schools to remain open. We wanted schools to remain open right till the end of term. That was why we took the action we did a few days ago. Injanuary, we want to break the cycle, break the chain of transmission. We want to test 5. 5 Million Secondary School students. Weve been piloting these testing arrangements in schools for the last few weeks. To enable us to do that, other than those exam year groups wholl be going to school on 11th january, the first five days injanuary, we want children to be learning at home through remote
education while schools prepare to test 5. 5 Million Students first, followed three days later by a second test, 11 million tests. But our priority is to ensure that we have as many children as possible in the classroom. Thats what this testing is all about. If you test negative, it means you can stay in the classroom. Simon uttley is the head of a high school in reading which has 850 pupils. He says the staggered return announcement came as a surprise and is too short notice. We are still making sense of this whole thing at the moment. The rhetoric is very much battle of britain. The reality of it feels more like dads army. Were trying to make sense of this this morning. Were hoping to make progress today and to make sure first and foremost that our families understand whats going to happen because again, this didnt need to happen this way. If we had worked together
over a period of time, i think we could have done this an awful lot better and been an awful lot more successful. We believe in the idea of testing. Many of us also believe in the idea of looking at vaccination of school staff as a separate point, but this approach at the moment means that we are going to have potentially a lot of uncertainty, which we are going to have to work out over the next few days and weeks, in other words the christmas holidays, to make sure we can deliver on this project after christmas. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres mike bushell. Good morning. It was a night to remember on and off the pitch for Marcus Rashford as he helped lift, Manchester United up to sixth in the premier league. They won 3 2 at Sheffield United who actually led early on but rashfords double turned things around to ensure his side continued their record of winning every away league match this season. Theyre five points off the top with a game in hand while Sheffield United stay bottom. And get this. Their one point from the first 13 games is the worst start to a season by any league club ever. And it was a special night for rashford off the field too because before that, he won an award at the best fifa football ceremony. The england and Manchester United striker, won the Fifa Foundation award for his work trying to End Child Poverty in the uk. As we know, rashford was successful in lobbying the government to provide Free School Meals to those in need. It is of course a nice feeling to be noticed for the work that ive been doing. But for me, the positive thing is that it will encourage more people to go ahead and do things that they believe in. So its a good moment for me now, but for the future, its even better. Elsewhere, the best mens coach of the year went to liverpool boss jurgen klopp for the second year in a row, while Manchester City defender lucy bronze has become the first english player to win the best womens player award. If theres anything that 2020 has taught us, its to appreciate every single moment that youve got, to never look too far ahead and to just live in the here and now. So i think winning this award right now this year, ill appreciate it more than ever and i will remember this moment for the rest of my life. Ban tackling in all school rugby sessions thats the call this morning from sports and science academics at three universities, oxford brookes, newcastle and winchester. Theyve written to the uks chief medical officer, asking for Government Action to review the evidence that they say links participation in some Contact Sport to early onset dementia. It comes after more former Rugby Union Players came forward to sue the games authorities for alleged negligence. At 30, former Dragons Centre adam hughes has become the youngest to claim he has suffered permanent brain damage. It might be a time when someone will start telling a story and i start off by thinking i dont know what youre on about, and then they will Say Something and it might trigger a memory, but the detail within that story is completely gone. And ive spoken about some of the games where i had these big knockouts. Theres literally not a single part of the day i remember and its an odd sensation whereby you remember sometimes and it almost feels like waking up. You just wake up in the physio room after a game or in the hospital and you think, how on earth did i get here . The law firm representing hughes and others say over 100 players have come forward with concerns and theyll be tested for dementia. The rfu, wru and world rugby issued a joint statement to confirm they have received the letter and are deeply saddened to hear personal accounts from the players. They added that player welfare is taken extremely seriously and is their number one priority. Now, later today mayo and dublin will be making their final preparations for gaelic footballs all ireland final. It takes place tomorrow afternoon. Its one of the biggest days on the sporting calendar for irish communities around the world, but this years final will take place in an empty stadium. And could this strange year change things for mayo . They havent won the trophy for 69 years, and theyre looking to break what some think is a curse placed on them. Joe lynskey reports. 0h, oh, the green and red of mayo. Cou nty oh, the green and red of mayo. County mayo is where irelands mountains meet the sea. Its wild, its remote, but its not quiet. This weekend, leo play in gaelic s all ireland final. For them, this match is on accession. Mayo last won the match in 1951. Since then, they have reached the final nine times and lost them all, a run that makes some fans believe in the supernatural. Did that team in the 50s create the mayo curse . The story goes that on the drive home, a team
neglected to pay proper respect s toa neglected to pay proper respect s to a funeral and the local priest cursed the team that while any member of the 1951 team lead, mayo will never win an all ireland final. There are only two surviving members, one of him as my grandfather. He thinks its funny, but he doesnt truly believe in it. He has a different account of how they travelled home. People from mayo will watch around the world, perhaps even the president elect. He has roots there. But the county knows how hard it will be. For the cup, they face dublin. They are going for a sixth title in a row and three times this decade, they have beaten mayo in the final. In all of them by just beaten mayo in the final. In all of them byjust a point. This dublin tea m them byjust a point. This dublin team is by far the best team that has ever played the da because no one has ever won five in a row until last year and now they are going for six. They have been awfully dominant. You play for where you are from and a sense of pride that comes with that is huge. What would it
mean to your family with that is huge. What would it mean to yourfamily and with that is huge. What would it mean to your family and this county for mayo to win this on saturday . Mean to your family and this county for mayo to win this on saturday7m would mean so much, especially for my grandfather, given that he is 91. That is what i want. I want it for him and for all that is what i want. I want it for him and forall our that is what i want. I want it for him and for all our family. This year, croke park will be empty, just like irish clubs in the uk. But they are end there because anywhere they can. They have lost nine times before, but in this county, they keep coming back. Stunning coastline and a quick cricket update from adelaide, where the top two ranked test teams are in action. India were all out for 244 in theirfirst innings. Well, australia are struggling on 115 for 7 in reply. You can follow that and all the other days stories on our website. Yes, mayo is definitely beautiful. You have to put that on your travel list when we can travel again cant
wait. Lets return to the subject of coronavirus. And i was taken straight into intensive care, straight into a e, and then onto intensive care. And i spent several days on intensive care, and another about four days on an ordinary ward. It took three months for tess to get her strength back. Even now, she sometimes struggles for breath. Ifeel a different person. I think the whole experience for a lot of people has changed you. And itsjust, im. One of the challenges is, yes, you know, its eight months since i caught this, and youre always thinking, well, things always change anyway. So sometimes youre thinking, is this just part of growing older . But fundamentally, no, i feel changed in that, like, my breathing is much more of an issue than it used to be. The tiredness is much more intense. Its thought around one in ten patients with the virus may develop whats known as long covid, lasting for more than 12 weeks. New guidance for Doctors Today from the Health Watchdog nice and the Royal College of gps, lists 28 possible symptoms from fatigue and nausea through to chest pain and dizziness. It seems to hit all age groups, including young people, people who sometimes even get just a mild infection with covid or know people who have a more severe infection and are more likely to get it. We know it happens more often in people who have got pre existing Health Conditions like diabetes or heart disease. But we dont really understand
why some people seem to get it and some people dont. The new guidance says patients should now be offered a follow up consultation if theyve either been in hospital, or have symptoms lasting longer than eight weeks, and then referred on to specialists if necessary. It comes as the nhs said it has spent £10 million on more than 60 dedicated long covid clinics in england. Doctors, though, say more funding is likely to be needed to deal with the long term impact of the disease. Jim reed, bbc news. Vanessa vyapooree was on a ventilator at the Royal Brompton due to covid after getting the disease in march and she is still feeling the effects. Tell us about your experience. You got covid in march. How quickly did you end up in hospital . Actually, i went into the hospital with
suspected bronchitis and i was diagnosed with a positive test within three days of being in the hospital. As soon as i arrived in the hospital, i was advised that the best thing was to let my lungs rest and in order to do that, they need to put me on a ventilator. That must have been scary to hear that. To put me on a ventilator. That must have been scary to hear thatm to put me on a ventilator. That must have been scary to hear that. It was scary, but i have faith in our nhs and in our doctors. So they looked and in our doctors. So they looked and listened to me, they checked my temperature and said, we are 80 sure you have the virus. The best thing is to put you on a ventilator. I trusted them. How long were you on a ventilator and how long were you in hospital altogether . a ventilator and how long were you in hospital altogether . I was in hospitalforjust over in hospital altogether . I was in hospital forjust over four in hospital altogether . I was in hospital for just over four weeks. In hospital altogether . I was in hospital forjust over four weeks. I understand i was on a ventilator for around four days, and then that
wasnt working. My family were actually told i wouldnt survive and then one of my consultants at real brompton who worked at Royal Brompton who worked at Royal Brompton was also at the chelsea and westminster hospital. He explained that i was a candidate for ecmo, a super machine dubbed the iron lungs. It oxygenates your blood by draining it from one tube, adding oxygen, cleaning it and putting it back into your body in another tube, so act as your body in another tube, so act as your lungs when your lungs are unable to work. They had amazing ca re unable to work. They had amazing care from the nhs and then thankfully, you got to the stage where you could be discharged and go home. At that point, how are you feeling . Elated to be home. But i
knew there was a long road ahead. Did you have any idea you were going into this period of what we now call long covid . No. And to be honest, neither did the doctors. It was unknown to all of us. Even now, i am every now and again getting a new symptom, with no idea where it has come from, and it is long covid. The National Institute for care and excellence as we have identified 28 of the most common symptoms. That is not to say that is the exhaustive list. What are the symptoms you are going through . I am still suffering with a bit of mass in my lungs. So daily, iam having mucus come with a bit of mass in my lungs. So daily, i am having mucus come up from my lungs. I have lost 60 to 70 of my hearing on my right side. Idid 70 of my hearing on my right side. I did lose my hair, but that is now coming back. I have got nerve damage
down my left side and i also get dizzy spells frequently over the last couple of weeks. So this is clearly having a big impact on your life. What sort of help have you been offered as medical experts begin to recognise that long covid asa begin to recognise that long covid as a consequence of this virus . Honestly, amazing help. The team at Royal Brompton and chelsea and westminster are constantly checking on me. I have call probably every six weeks with a different team, whether it be ecmo, the covid team. The support has been phenomenal. Said the idea that all patients who have been hospitalised with covid or
evenif have been hospitalised with covid or even if they havent been hospitalised and still have symptoms after eight weeks, the idea that they should be offered checkups and consultations, that is obviously a positive step. You have been getting help, but we have heard from people who say they havent been getting the sort of help you have been able to access. I do believe that help is imperative for people to understand how to manage their symptoms. So if eve ryo ne how to manage their symptoms. So if everyone could get that help, that would be amazing. The nasa, we appreciate you talking to us. Va nessa, appreciate you talking to us. Vanessa, we hope you have a swift recovery. Take care. With just a week to go until christmas, couriers across the uk are dealing with an unprecedented volume of parcels thanks to the rise in online shopping. According to one Online Retail trade body, sales for the first two weeks of decemberjumped by more than 50 compared to the previous year. Some royal mail customers have been
experiencing delays, as our Business Correspondent emma simpson reports. Mariusz lucza kowski runs a small Chocolate Company in worcestershire and uses royal mail to send out orders to customers via first class delivery. Over the past few days, he says he has received emails from customers complaining of delays sometimes of seven or more days. Tell us about your situation . We have been experiencing a lot of delays. We started sending our first christmas collections out at the beginning of november and we have been contacted by our customers that they havent received the parcels. So we have been checking and some of them have been delayed by eight to ten delays in november. By eight to ten days. So the delays were
kicking and even in november . Yes, evenin kicking and even in november . Yes, even in november, we had some parcels delayed by eight to ten days. Those parcels were sent with first class royal mail. And obviously, the volume of mail overall has been building since then. Have you been in touch with royal mail to ask about deliveries or have they given you any reassu ra nces or have they given you any reassurances that your parcels will get to their destinations . reassurances that your parcels will get to their destinations . I spoke to my local post office lady, because i have a good connection with them. She was explaining that this year, it is an unprecedented amount of parcels they are dealing with. I understand, there is no problem. I didnt contact the post office directly because when you go to their website, they are talking about the pandemic and delays and things like that. I thought hopefully by the end of november,
december will be better. You are a small business. Tell us a bit about it and what your customers have been saying and what impact this might be having . I produce chocolate. I do send many online this year. A lot of our Christmas Markets have been cancelled, so online is the only way ican cancelled, so online is the only way i can sell this year. It has been unprecedented. There was huge demand for online sales. I had to shut my website twice just to deal with the demand for orders. Some of the customers contacted, asking where the chocolates, they were understanding. They have been great. They support small businesses. Overall, it is heart warming and made me happy. That is good to hear. But you must be concerned about the ongoing impact on your business. Do you feel customers will still send you feel customers will still send you orders in the future . That is worrying, we dont know that. I hope the quality of the product will speakfor the quality of the product will speak for itself. But i have to assume that maybe 25 of my customers will not come back. I do try to explain in the best way possible, but if you order chocolates for christmas and they dont arrive for christmas, obviously you are going to get some bad reviews. Its mainly about reputation. Going into 2021, you hope to grow your business but you dont know how its going to end up. Mariusz, we wish you well. Thank you for talking to us. Hopefully, those parcels will get to those who
ordered them. Mariusz luczakowski there. Under normal circumstances you might be looking forward to your works Christmas Party this weekend. Sadly, as we know too well, this is not a normal year. With most traditional parties cancelled because of covid restrictions, some companies are trying to find alternative ways to bring colleagues together. Jayne mccubbin has been invited to join the festive fun. Ah, the work Christmas Party cancelled because of covid, but lets just cross over to Party Poopers anonymous. Raise a hand if you are actually really relieved the office party isnt happening this year . And not everyone is disappointed. Because its just stressful when you have to go to a Christmas Party with work people, pretend you like them, pretend youre interested you dont want to be sat around making small talk with your boss, do you . No. Oh, theyre just
terrible, arent they . I mean, you get dragged around pubs you dont want to go to, with people you dont want to be with. If you leave too early, youre a party pooper, and if you leave too late, youre looking on whatsapp the next day to see what happened the night before. Admit it, weve all been there. But not this year. Cheers this year, if were doing the works do, were doing it online. Can ijust ask, is everybody having a good time . Yeah. Yay bless the lovely volunteers from macmillans, whove let us crash their Christmas Party. They, and party hosts likejohnny and helen, are trying to keep the fun going, virtually. Flipping heck, i dont have a drink nobody wants to do this. Id like to be on stage. I was on tour when this happened. I was playing to real people in a real room on a tour. And, you know, ive ended up doing zoom parties. But what i would say is that were good at giving it a go,
and were good at its the blitz spirit thing of saying, come on, its not what we want, but lets make it work. We are dealing with anything from 30 to 400, and we have had an inquiry this morning for 600. I cannot imagine a Virtual Party online with 600 people . yeah, its interactive as well. So, well see. Ill let you know. Good luck with that is it as good as a face to face party . No. The one thing ill miss when i go back to the live circuit is the ability to mute people. You can even eject them yourself without getting bouncers involved. Its fantastic. What were going to do is, were going tojust have our private party. Were having a little get together here. But if youre a Virtual Party isnt, well, virtual enough, this Liverpool Company will create an avatar for you and take your Party Anywhere in the world, or beyond. Hi hello. Ive got vertigo. Weve seen a real surge in inquiries, really, this year in particular, of course, you know. People are looking for new ways of getting together. And, you know, what we offer is something that really goes beyond a traditional sort of video call, if you like. Can we dance at this party . Yes clemence is our, eh. Clemence . Yeah, he can bust a few moves. There we go. Wheres your famous robot dance, clem . There you go. Yay we think it definitely has a lot of a lot of potential. Can we go somewhere where theres wine at this party . Beach. Look at that. And i have some virtual drinks here. U nfortu nately, theyre just out of. Argh out of reach for goodness sake, oh its estimated that all of this could cost the hospitality sector over £700 million. And many remember the good old days of real cocktails with real work mates in real time with a real sense of loss. Paul, were they gorgeous dos . Magnificent. Absolutely glorious. Marvellous. And this year . And this year is very different indeed. They are ditching the do altogether. In its place, good deeds. Instead of handing out Golden Tickets for a guest list, they are blowing their budget on books for children in need in their city. Each of our guests who would normally come to one of our parties will be getting a book donated in their name. Its such a nice idea are you going to miss the party, though . Well miss the party. Well make up. Well have a post covid party. Well do it in the summer. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed so for now, lets enjoy the safety of socialising while staying apart. And just imagine how messy its all going to get this time next year. Chin chin jayne mccubbin, bbc news. Lets return to the news that millions more people are facing the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions in england. From tomorrow, the number rises to 38 million. Thats two thirds of the population
living under the toughest measures. We can speak to councillor Tony Jefferson the conservative leader of Stratford District Council an area that will remain in tier 3. That is doubtless disappointing to you . It is indeed disappointing for us you . It is indeed disappointing for us all. He previously said he would be pursuing legal action over the decision to have your area and tier 3. What is happening with that . The response we got from the government indicated that we would have little success pursuing it any further. So we took the decision not to proceed further. That you have made the point that being in tier 3 is not just about the number of infections, evenifin just about the number of infections, even if in your specific area, numbers might be low compared to the
whole of warwickshire . Our members are indeed low. Unfortunately, they are indeed low. Unfortunately, they are rising, which is why we are still in tier 3. But the reality is the economic damage being done that is really starting to be seen. If you look at stratford on avon, at one stage we were thought to be the fourth most heavily impacted area in the country and also the worst impacted in the west midlands. So the impact on our economy is very serious. To be honest, that is what is beginning to concern people most now. As you look at what is happening in wales with the lockdown post christmas on the 28, a lockdown in Northern Ireland from boxing day, do you think borisjohnson needs to do you think borisjohnson needs to do more around the Christmas Period and rollback on the easing of restrictions for five days .
and rollback on the easing of restrictions for five days . I think these decisions are terribly fraught and difficult. If one looks at what happened in the usa, post thanksgiving, there was indeed a bounce in cases and i must admit that my big concern locally is that after the christmas break, there will be a bounce in cases and we will be a bounce in cases and we will not escape from tier 3 until february. That is a real concern, given the impact it will have on businesses. But as i say, its a terribly fraught decision. Would you support a change to it . A change in tiers . A change to the easing of the five days . Personally, iwould. And looking to the new year, everybody wa nts to looking to the new year, everybody wants to turn a new page but clearly, you a re wants to turn a new page but clearly, you are worried that that
might not happen . That is my concern, that it may not happen. If we ease off over christmas, i would expect there to be a bounce in cases in the new year and we will have to manage the consequences. Councillor tonyjefferson, conservative manage the consequences. Councillor Tony Jefferson, conservative leader of strafford council, thank you very much. Now its time for a look at the weather with nick miller heavy rain for some of us today, with flooding and disruption. The greatest likelihood will be in south wales as rain totals mount is the day goes on. In the brecon beacons, there was a met Office Amber Warning forup to there was a met Office Amber Warning for up to 100 millimetres of rain before the day is done. Rain across much of the uk this afternoon. East anglia and south east england, the odd spot of light rain or drizzle, but it will be mainly dry. Northern ireland is brightening up. It is
mild but very windy, gusts of 60 miles an houror mild but very windy, gusts of 60 miles an hour or so. So the heavy rain here and into wales and parts of north west england and southern scotla nd of north west england and southern scotland into the first part of the night before the rain pushes further east as we start saturday on a blustery but mild night. A wet start in eastern england, then it brightens up. Places for three bands of heavy and possibly thundery showers moving through. It will be another windy but mild day. Further sunshine and showers on sunday. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Health leaders urge people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions due to come into force across much of the uk as concern continues to grow about rising infection rates. It comes as Northern Ireland announces a new six week lockdown beginning on boxing day including supermarkets being told to close at 8pm for the first few days. More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped by gunmen in Northern Nigeria a week ago have arrived back in the state capital after their release. As brexit trade talks continue, the eus chief negotiator says there are just a few hours left, for the two sides to agree a deal