This is bbc news. The headlines at seven. In the uk, pressure grows to shut more schools. Unions are demanding an immediate two week closure of all primaries and secondaries in england as coronavirus cases surge. This isnt about head teachers wanting to close schools. This is about head teachers wanting to open schools but in order to do that we need to have risk assessments that ensure that there is safe practice across our schools. President trump and the election now 11 republican senators say theyll support him and object to the official results. India begins a nation wide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid 19. French police shut down an illegal rave that had been under way
since new years eve with more than 2,500 partygoers. Pressure is growing on the government to keep all schools in england closed for two weeks after the christmas break amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Teaching unions say it is unsafe for their members and want all teaching moved online. Some unions are advising teachers not to return to school on monday as planned. It comes as the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine has started to arrive in uk hospitals, with the first doses due to be given on monday. Elsewhere, india has begun testing its plans for a huge
Vaccination Programme. A full scale rehearsal is now under way, involving tens of thousands of Health Workers and volunteers across the country israel has given israel has given vaccinations against coronavirus to more than i Million People, the highest rate in the world, as global immunisation efforts step up. Globally, there are now more than 84 million cases and more than 1,830,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins university which tracks the Global Impact of the virus. First, the latest on schools in england from our education correspondent dan johnson. Children and teachers were amongst those invited for tests at charltons Football Ground today. One way to help keep the virus out of schools but will it be enough . Some think things are out of control and they want schools to stay closed. Teaching unions say staff are at risk. We know that members of our union got sick, some of them died over the christmas period,
so there is the concern for our members. Theres also the concern for parents and grandparents and we dont think its safe. We think there should be a period of closure to get those cases down. Londons Primary School children will all stay off after a u turn ended the patchwork of partial closures. So harrisons got a fortnight at home. Were not going back to school and were going to have to do home learning. What do you think about that . Not very good because i want to see my friends. And mum and dad have the challenge of finding childcare. It all seems very last minute, really. Its all very confusing. They keep chopping and changing, which makes it very hard to plan. Teachers are also being tested in liverpool, tier 3, where schools are due to open. Although scientists advised closures could help reduce the spread of the virus, Officials Say theres no evidence schools themselves arent safe. I dont feel they should close because i feeljust as safe in school as i would do anywhere. Ifeel the children have missed
a lot of education as it is. The new strain has come out and what were seeing happening in london, it was happening with us. You know, we had the extra testing brought in earlier on. London didnt, now they are closing. I think we should all be just doing the same. I dont feel like they should stay closed. 0ur r rate is a lot lower, isnt it, and the school i work at, the head teacher there, shes amazing and shes put everything in place to protect staff, parents and children. There is now a legal challenge to see the governments basis for reopening Primary Schools on monday. In wales and northern ireland, the return was already delayed a week. In scotland, its two weeks. There is a lot for the government to consider here the new strains, the rising transmission rates, the pressure on the nhs, and the demographics in different communities. It has always said keeping children off school would be a last resort, but there is growing pressure to extend these closures beyond london and parts of the south east, and teachers
are calling for decisions to be made quickly but clearly. A phased return is planned for englands secondary schools, starting a week on monday, with the hope that mass testing will limit disruption and minimise online learning. Despite the downsides of that, its already a reality for many children, and possibly beyond the next two weeks. Dan johnson, bbc news, in southeast london. The latest official figures here in the uk show there were 57,725 new Coronavirus Infections, recorded in the latest 24 hour period. The average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 48,849. There were 445 deaths reported thats of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid i9 test, but todays figures dont include scotland. It means that on average in the past week, 584 deaths were announced every day, 5 taking the total
across the uk, to 74,570. Lets turn now to a development in the aftermath of the us president ial election. 11 republican senators say they will raise objections this week to president elect joe bidens victory. Theyll do it during a congressional review of the Electoral College result. It wont be enough to alter the outcome. But it could force other republicans to support or reject mr trumps claims of fraud. 0ur washington correspondent lebo diseko has more. Well, its led by senator ted cruz and it is a group of senators and senator elect, so theyre not all senators, and what they are talking about is basically, ceremonially this is usually a ceremonial event where the senate and the house of representatives accept the result of the Electoral College vote. You will remember in december,
that was when the Electoral College was decided, so theyll accept those results next week. Now, if a senator and a member of the house of representatives raise an objection then they can force a debate on that and a vote. Basically, each objection would need, in both houses, for the vote to go to reject it. It is very unlikely that this would go through because it would mean that the lower house, the lower chamber, which is the house of representatives, would need to vote to invalidate joe bidens win, which, as you can imagine, is unlikely to happen. I think that, whilst this is very unlikely to go through what it does is it really indicates the splits within the republican party. The leader of the senate, the republicans in the senate, mitch mcconnell, and the number two republican in the senate had last week urged senators, republican senators, not to do this because its not going to succeed and it really could be quite damaging, and the fact that theyve gone ahead and done it anyway
is really indicative of, the schisms within the party at the moment. With the second highest number of Coronavirus Infections in the world, india has begun testing its plans for a huge Vaccination Programme. A full scale rehearsal is now under way involving tens of thousands of Health Workers and volunteers. Its was designed to build expertise and avoid any glitches when the time comes to do it for real. 0ur south asia editor, Anbarasan Ethirajan has more from delhi. Volunteers waiting for their turn in a massive rehearsal for the immunisation drive. It will be almost real, except that there was standing here will not get the dose. The Indian Government wants to ensure a glitch free coronavirus immunisation programme. This mammoth exercise is essential as the country wants to inoculate 300 Million People by the middle of this year. So if you have any health
conditions, you will not be given the vaccine. So, a full verification if you are healthy and fit, you will be sent for the vaccination. After vaccination, you will be sent to the observation room. To see if theyll have any complications or anything. An expert panel has recommended to vaccines, one by Astrazeneca Oxford university and another one jointly developed by an Indian Company and dates date government body. Both are Cost Effective and locally manufactured. Still, some are doubtful about the efficacy of the vaccine. Translation im not that co mforta ble vaccine. Translation im not that comfortable taking the vaccine, but i get it, this could offer is the cure, but its not yet confirmed. Elsewhere, they are using the vaccine and there are still unsolved problems, so i think if people are Getting Better after they quarantine by staying at home, its still the
best option. The government says the aion at the trial immunisation drive is also to remove misconceptions about the vaccine. It wants the country to get back to normal so that the economy can be revived. The aim of the child immunisation dry. Thats happen, it is aware that it needs to conduct a successful Vaccination Programme. Subtlys exercise will play a crucial role in achieving that goal. Bbc news, delhi. New figures suggest israel say the country has given vaccinations against coronavirus to more than i Million People, the highest rate in the world. According to a global tracking website affiliated with Oxford University israel has a rate of 11. 55 vaccination doses per 100 people, followed by bahrain at 3. 49 and the uk at 1. 47. More than 2,500 people have attended
an illegal rave in brittany, in defiance of french coronavirus restrictions. It started on new years eve and went on for more than 30 hours. At least three Police Officers were injured in clashes with some party goers. The prefect of brittany said officers were faced with a difficult choice between breaking up the gathering and keeping everyone safe. Translation clearly, the organisers were prepared to resort to violence if confronted by law enforcement. When we saw that, we decided to pull them back and control the area, and from 10pm on new years eve, no vehicle was able to enter the rave site. Our correspendent in paris, hugh schofield, explains why the police decided not to shut down the rave. Theyre obviously under a lot of pressure, and the governments under a lot of pressure now, because theres an awful lot of criticism about why this rave party was allowed to go on for so long when everyone else is in lockdown, when the police are out enforcing curfews around the country,
how come 2,500 people from across france and indeed from abroad were able to dance, party away for 36 hours from thursday evening till saturday morning . The right, the far right in particular, are very, very critical of the government, which is why theyre reacting now by saying when you are the prefect of the department, saying its a very difficult decision. They were faced, notjust by ravers, but at the beginning by people who were acting violently, they say, when they tried to stop it, and after that it became a matter of simply containing it, and they thought it was the best decision simply to circumscribe the warehouses where the rave was going on and then fine people, check people as they left, and thats what happened. It has now more or less ground to a halt, this rave party, with a large number of fines imposed on people as they left. But you can see why the government finds it all acutely embarrassing, because this is, you know, a large number of people thumbing their nose at the government when everyone else is knuckling under. Hugh schofield, our paris correspondent. You are watching bbc news. The second Coronavirus Vaccine to be approved for use in the uk, is now being distributed to hospitals across the country. The oxford vaccine will be rolled out from monday. The body which advises the government on immunisation, has been defending the decision to delay giving people their second dose of the Pfizer Vaccine, so that many more people can receive an initial jab. Heres our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. Some of the first deliveries of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine arriving at the Princess Royal hospital in sussex. Nhs staff are preparing to receive the new Coronavirus Vaccine, the second to be approved for use in the second to be approved for use in the uk, i had a nationwide roll out on monday when the first injections will be given. What this does is it allows us to focus on the most vulnerable people, you know, and
make sure they are protected from this disease. And ultimately that is going to keep people well but it is going to keep people well but it is going to keep people well but it is going to reduce the pressure on the Health Service over the next few months. The oxford vaccine joins the pfizer one which is approved for use in early december. Almost a Million People have received the first injection and expected a boost to three weeks later. That has been extended to 12 weeks. The governments vaccination advisors say delaying the booster is the right approach. We are raid a dire situation in this country at the moment. The virus is rapidly spreading animal vaccination we can get into these priority groups that we have identified the more deaths and hospitalisations we will prevent. But some patients who have already had their first dose are concerned about the changes and that they could be this can the disease than disease than they had expected. Ican than disease than they had expected. I can manage that but a lot of elderly people will not be in a position to manage it and they will worry a lot about it and i dont,
again, i dont think they felt this through. So how much protection does one shot of the vaccine give you . Welcome the government sign to say two to three weeks after getting the first Pfizer Vaccine of around 90 of people are protected from following on from covid 19. As for the oxford vaccine, that figure was around 73 after three weeks. So protection seems to be high. For gps who have been rolling out the Vaccination Programme the changing guidances, is a challenging time. Our most vulnerable patients who have had the vaccination often only have had the vaccination often only have a landline and actually need to be foam so it is very time consuming to let people know and also takes time to explain to people, people are understandably disappointed. Actually need to be phoned. Convincing there is no waiting longer than they had expected that the delay is safe will take time. Sophie hook stinson, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. In the uk pressure grows to shut more schools. Unions are demanding an immediate two week closure of all primaries and secondaries in england as coronavirus cases surge. President trump and the election now 11 republican senators say they will support him and object to the official results. India begins a nation wide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid 19. A number of hospitals across the uk are now facing a worse situation than at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic last year thats according to the president of the Royal College of physicians. Professor Andrew Goddard says hospital staff are braced for a difficult few months as a result of the new variant of the virus. Christmas is going to have a big impact. The new variant is also going to have a big impact. We know thatis going to have a big impact. We know that is more infectious, more transmissible, so i can see the large numbers we are seeing in the south east, in london, in south wales is now going to be reflected over the next month, two months even, over the rest of the country, so even, over the rest of the country, soi even, over the rest of the country, so i think most Health Care Professionals, doctors, nurses, and oui professionals, doctors, nurses, and our Health Care Professionals are all very worried about what the next couple of months means. Everybody is tired. Were really, really tired from the first and second waves on there is still a long to go. This doctor is an intensive care consultant at the royal london hosptal, but is speaking on behalf of the intensive care society. Thank you very much forjoining us here in bbc news. We are seeing numbers rise. To what extent is that because of peoples behaviour and the decisions that they made over
christmas and new years eve . So i think we had onlyjust beginning to see the consequences of peoples behaviour over christmas, because that was only seven days ago. We are still waiting to see the christmas peak which we will expect to see an intensive care in the next week or so, so it is very much the christmas build up still that we are dealing with. Peoples behaviour over new year, the consequences of this will stretch the peak further out in towards the end of january. Stretch the peak further out in towards the end ofjanuary. How high do you think the peak is going to be, say, compared with what we saw last spring . So, we are living ina saw last spring . So, we are living in a very, very uncertain world. I would say that will be, as what god ijust said, it really defines all of this. I dont know. I know it is going to be worse. This is the only thing we know. I know we are massively stretched at the moment. Our nursing numbers are diluted, the staff are
our nursing numbers are diluted, the staff a re exhausted our nursing numbers are diluted, the staff are exhausted in intensive care, and we have a solemn way more to go before we hit the peach. I think it will be much higher than last time. Hits the peak. Think it will be much higher than last time. Hits the peak. Tells about the sort of patients that are coming in, the kind of profile that you are noticing. That is a great question. I think there is a story out there that hospitals are full of old people with lots and lots of diseases. I am 46. I see many, many patients on our intensive care unit who are my age or younger. 90 of patients on intensive care units with coronavirus are completely independent, we are talking about, i wouldnt say young, because they are like me, young people withjobs and families and lives. That is the profile of people are saying. How will add a . Because we get told that this new variant is more infectious but not as deadly, if that is the right word to use . They are really sick. Really, really sick. So 30 of
patients who come into intensive care, three out of ten people in the first wave died. I think were seeing the same thing likely to happen. But that is not all of it. So seven out of ten people are going to survive this but they are going to survive this but they are going to spend a long time in intensive ca re to spend a long time in intensive care and every day you spend on intensive care you will lose two to 396 intensive care you will lose two to 3 of your muscle mass. People with coronavirus and spending ten days, 20 days on the icy. This means when they survive, if they survive, they are they survive, if they survive, they a re really, really they survive, if they survive, they are really, really weak and disabled. They cant go to the toilet by themselves, they can get just by themselves. That is the severity of what were dealing with and it will take years to recover from this. You have said that the itu staff are exhausted. How well prepared, then, is the nhs to cope with what you believe is coming down the track . Are we going to need the Nightingale Hospital is . Of the gossamer staff . Notjust doctors, nurses, but support staff to . Have we got enough staff . So, the
Nightingale Hospitals dont bring in mostar. The nightingale isjust buildings. They were really useful in the first wave, right decision in the first wave, but i know what we need to staff and we dont know what we need to staff and we dont have the staff and i dont know what we need but i do know that moving stuff into the Nightingale Hospitals as pa rt into the Nightingale Hospitals as part of the plan and will not be useful to our patients. Depending on the newspapers you read, depending on the news programmes that you watch, the social media that you follow, you will get a very different pictures of how worried we should be. Some people saying look, there is scaremongering going on. It is not that bad. And yet you are here telling us that you were very worried about what is into context fathers. Tell us what we should be looking out for. How can we reduce the risk if it is not too late . |j dont the risk if it is not too late . dont know if it is not too late, i really dont, but what we can do to reduce the risk is to follow the
rules. Social distancing, keep people safe, self isolate if you have got illnesses, and stop going out in groups. Stay home. That is what we really, really need to do. Yes, there are many, many stories but i put you one thing that goes across all the social media and all the newspapers. You have never heard in intensive care doctor, nurse, or allied Health Professional saying its ok, its scaremongering. All the scaremongering, all the hype, comes from people who are not working on the front line. How do you convince people, then, because you convince people, then, because you can go to a park, you feel relatively safe, it is not as severe as the first lockdown that we had last spring, even if you are in tier 4at last spring, even if you are in tier 4 at the moment. What would convince people, do you think . If we could show them what you are dealing with . Well, i think that is incredibly difficult because i think more and
more you need to have the front line staff co m e more you need to have the front line staff come out and say what it is like, but i also think, perhaps, we need to see more from our patients who survive. We cant. We need to talk to family members at home his patients are, his family members and loved ones are in hospital, that might help people convince them. People may need to talk and see the histories and lived experiences of surviving being critically ill with covid. Perhaps that will work. But the most important thing i can say is we need to listen to people who are actually dealing with patients. People who dont follow the rules, who do not wear masks, who dont stick to their household bubbles, what is your message to them . How responsible should they feel . Well, one of my colleague said these people had blood on their hands. I find it hard to disagree with him. If you infect somebody, i could infect you, and you could go away
and infect someone else, and that person will end up being critically ill and die. Where did that come from . That came from you and me breaking the rules. We are responsible for that death. So, yes, thats whats happening right now. I would say to people, follow the rules of people will die. It is very plain, your message. We appreciate you talking to was in behalf of the intensive care society. Doctor, thank you very much your time tonight. A further ten sites across the uk are to attempt to offer covid testing for lorry drivers attempting to cross into france. The swabs will be available at service stations including watford gap southbound and donington park. The transport secretary grant shapps has paid tribute to what he called the heroic efforts of military and civilian personnel whove helped out with testing hauliers over the past 10 days in kent. Norwegian police say a third body has been found in one of the houses sucked into a landslip near oslo on wednesday. The discovery came within hours of finding the second body. Seven people remain missing, including children. Police had earlier said there was a chance of finding survivors. Officials in snowdonia say the regions beauty spots have been disappointingly busy over the last few days despite restrictions meaning all but essential travel should be avoided. On saturday, Police Stopped people from Milton Keynes attempting to walk up snowdon in breach of covid rules. National park wardens have blamed a perfect storm of good weather and people being off work for the number of visitors in the area. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the ibrox disaster, when 66 people were crushed to death leaving a football match between rangers and celtic in glasgow. It was one of scotlands worst peacetime tragedies as Andrew Picken reports. 1971 was only two days old when rangers met celtic at ibrox. The game was dull and many fans started leaving before late goals for either side during the last five minutes. Commentator thats as near as well get today the day became infamous for the deadly crush which developed on a stairway at the rangers end of the stadium. Among the victims were five teenagers from markinch in fife, who never came home. We were all together, just joking, having a wee bit of banter. There was no animosity because they were Rangers Supporters and we were celtic supporters, there was nothing like that. We were pals. Celtic fans peter leigh and shane fenton were among those who left early that day. It wasnt until we got back to kincardine, where the supporters used to stop on the way back and the older boys would go into the pub for a pint or whatever, they came back out of the pub and onto the bus, telling us what theyd seen on the television, there had been an incident at ibrox, there had been fatalities at the rangers end of the ground. That was the first of us knowing about anything happening at all. The boys were among the 66 dead and 145 injured. 50 years on, modern crowd science has given us a better understanding of what went wrong. In a crowd thats packed to the levels of density that eyewitnesses were commenting on at ibrox, and on a slope, then you get the Gravitational Force added to the fall, and as each person falls onto others then you get a cascade dynamic. In the wake of the disaster, rangers rebuilt the stadium, making it one of the safest in europe. Across scotland on january 2nd, people will mark the 50th anniversary of the ibrox disaster. Andrew picken, bbc news. The impact of coronavirus on the economy has been enormous an estimated 1. 7 million
people are out of work. Our Business Correspondent sarah corker caught up with three women who lost theirjobs earlier in the pandemic to hear their experiences of looking forjobs. Three people who all lost theirjobs because of the pandemic. Olympia, rebecca and heather were facing the toughestjobs market for a generation. Weve got no money coming in. I first met olympia and herfamily back in may. She was touring as part of a circus troupe when the first lockdown restrictions came in and they were stranded on morecambe seafront for months. Its fear. Fear that. That i might not ever be able to do what i love again, which is perform, in the circus, because we might not recover. Since then, things have got better. Olympias moved in with her mum in rotherham to save money, and wait until theyre allowed to perform again. Financially its been a big strain. Its been massive. Like i say, we normally work from february to november, so about 85 90 of our shows were just cancelled or stopped or postponed until next year. Five months on morecambe prom, relying on the food bank to feed you guys what was that experience like . It was really hard. Coming to terms with the fact that i had to rely on other people to eat and to live. In west yorkshire, rebecca was finding competition for jobs fierce. I dont think i could possibly tell you. Shed worked in communications at a high street bank for a decade when she was made redundant in the summer. With every application that goes out the door, it does kind of chip away at your confidence and how you feel. Its already dog eat dog. Its only going to get worse. Three months on, shes now working for a shed company. And its been really busy, hasnt it . Its completely booming at the minute, is the shed industry, yeah, believe it or not. Its a completely new world for me. Its a million miles away from banking. Whats it like after, you know, so many months not working, finally having a regular wage again . It was a massive confidence boost. Theres no shame in saying that, although, yes, youve got your friends and family and things, when youve got a job, you feel like youve got purpose, so it felt like i had purpose again. Some of those in their 50s and 60s, like heatherfrom prestwich near manchester, felt they were being overlooked. The best one is youre overqualified , which doesnt make any sense to me, because, you know, if youre qualified to this level, then you can do anyjob up until that level. Heather is still on the job hunt but is enjoying having more time exercising in the local park. Did you think it would take this long and that it would be this hard . Um, yeah, basically. You know, ive been here before, in much better times, so. There are obviously a lot more people unemployed, and because theres more people unemployed, but then theres fewer jobs at the moment because a lot of people are on furlough still. But she is determined to get back into work. I dont relax. Im not a relaxed sort of person, i cant do nothing. So for some, the search for work continues, but the arrival of an effective vaccine has brought renewed optimism for 2021. Sarah corker, bbc news. Its taken 36 years. But finally, whams festive hit,
last christmas, has made it
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