Tonight at six. The Prime Minister says he hopes to avoid a Third National lockdown in england but doesnt rule it out. The virus is spreading faster again across the united kingdom, with the crucial r number now back above 1. Hospitals are very active at the moment, a lot of them are operating at capacity, as weve said, and to add a third spike on to that, a post christmas surge i think potentially is extremely serious. Also on tonights programme. Mass testing for more than five Million School pupils in england at the start of next term is undeliverable say head teachers and unions. A cyclist and runner how so called long covid has proved debilitating for this 38 year old. Now there are calls for more research into the emerging condition. And how many will be around your christmas table next week . We ask if people are changing their plans. Coming up on bbc news. We hearfrom lucy bronze after last nights success, as shes named best womens player at fifas 2020 awards. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. Roughly one in every 100 people in england, scotland and wales had coronvirus last week with the number of cases now rising significantly every week. Thats the warning from the office for National Statistics as the virus begins to spread faster again. The Prime Minister says hes hoping to avoid a Third National
lockdown in england. But borisjohnson said rates of infection had increased very much over recent weeks. The labour leader, sir keir starmer, has called for the government to change the arrangements over christmas amid concerns about the effect of relaxing restrictions for the festive period. The uks r number, or reproduction rate of coronavirus, is on the rise again. Last week, it was thought to be between 0. 9 and 1. 1. It is now estimated to be between 1. 1 and 1. 2 anything above one means the virus is growing. Heres our Health Editor, hugh pym. Routine operations were going ahead at this hospital in the south today but increasingly nhs managers across the system are having to consider postponements. Morocco individual patients are coming in and it is more of a challenge to find enough beds. Medical leaders say a serious problem could be looming. We are now ata problem could be looming. We are now at a really dangerous point, where we could tip into finding it
incredibly difficult to manage. Now we have got crowded departments with covid as the additional burden, which is a really scary and challenging place to be. And you can see this, as we are increasingly getting ambulances queueing. And the Prime Minister on a visit to the north west didnt rule out the possibility of england following Northern Ireland and wales into a post christmas lockdown. Obviously, we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is, that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks, here where i am in the north west, in bolton, they have done a fantastic job in bringing it down. And the data shows that case numbers are rising in most but not all parts of the uk. The latest survey of Community Infections by the office for National Statistics suggests that in england one in 95 people have the virus last week, with an increase in
case rates. Notably in london, the south east, the east and the east midlands, there were declines in other areas, in wales, with one in 90 and scotland with one in 100 there were also increase, in Northern Ireland, one in 215 had the virus. With case rates no longer decreasing. Some of those infected will become seriously ill and need hospital treatment, and that is what is putting pressure on the nhs front line. There have been warnings today about the impact of stan. Staff. They are traumatised and fatigued. Not only from physical tiredness but the psychological impact of covid. Now we are looking down the barrel of what looks like a third wave, so, you know, we are very concerned, the impact of five days over christmas is something we are very concerned about as well. Most hospitals across london and the south east are under increasing strain. There are reports
that some are cancelling all non urgent work into the new year as they wait in anticipation of another surge in covid patient numbers. The latest government figures on coronavirus show there were 28,507 in the latest 24 hour period. The average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 23,959. The number of people being admitted to hospital is rising too 1,707 on average each day between now and last sunday. 489 deaths were reported for the last 2a hours thats people who died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test. On average in the past week, there were 434 deaths per day. The total number of uk deaths is now 66,541. Our Health Editor hugh pym is here. A big rise in cases today, more and more people going into hospital. How
different is the picture compared to a normal december, this time last yearfor a normal december, this time last year for example . Well, sophie normally the busiest time for the nhs is injanuary and february when you have winter pressure, cold weather and flu. What hospitals are finding is they have that level of pressure 110w, finding is they have that level of pressure now, they are already having to consider cancelling routine operation, or actually doing so, which normally might happen only injanuary, and so, which normally might happen only in january, and they so, which normally might happen only injanuary, and they have all the Covid Patients coming in to put them under that pressure. The real worry is, what happens after the christmas celebrations, with more and more people mixing, more cases, and that adding to the pressures they can expect in january, adding to the pressures they can expect injanuary, the adding to the pressures they can expect in january, the flu adding to the pressures they can expect injanuary, the flu and the cold weather and so on. That is the warning they are putting through to nhs leaders and then through to administration in different parts of the uk as they consider what policies to implement. Hugh pm, thank you. Northern ireland will begin a strict six week lockdown from boxing day. Similar measures will come into force in wales on the 28th december. Coronavirus cases per head in northeren ireland are lower than in the rest of the uk but scientific advisers fear the hospitals will be overwhelmed if drastic action isnt taken now. From belfast, heres our ireland correspondent emma vardy. As the end of 2020 beckons, the new year will see Northern Ireland under its tightest regulations yet. In the first of six weeks of lockdown, a curfew people wont be allowed to leave their homes between eight oclock at night and six in the morning. This time, there will be tighter rules on exactly which shops are deemed essential and no click and collect services from others, which has disappointed some Small Businesses whove been managing to sustain themselves this way. From my perspective, if youre going to click and collect for me, its far safer and far less contact than what it is in the likes of a lot of supermarkets in a lot of ways. To me, thats common sense. Restaurants had only opened back up a week ago. The first lockdown, we just took it on the chin. The second lockdown, i would say ten times more than the first one. I dread thinking of what a third one is going to do. The ministers admit the measures are draconian, but its come about after unprecedented scenes in health service. Seven of Northern Irelands 12 hospitals are operating beyond capacity, and this week, saw queues of ambulances and patients treated car parks. Today, Northern Irelands Health Minister warned the new lockdown will be strictly enforced. There will be a greater presence, i think, of police on the roads to make sure that everybody is observing that requirement that we try to get as many people as possible to stay at home over this so that we can break those chains of infection, so we can get on top of this virus. Belfasts colourful Festive Season was already cut short, but now its been curtailed further. The decision was made in the face of mounting evidence of allowing households to mix over the holidays
would lead to a spiral cases of the virus injanuary. Those bubbling arrangements will still go ahead for families to enjoy a merry christmas. But it will be followed by a much quieter new year. Emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. Meanwhile in scotland, another three areas have just moved up a level of restrictions in the last few minutes, whilst in wales, a fresh lockdown will come into force after christmas day. Well talk to our scotland correspondent Alexandra Mackenzie in glasgow in a moment, but first, to sian lloyd in cardiff. Sian, people facing big changes in a less than a weeks time . Absolutely sophie, the first of the new measures come into force on Christmas Eve where nonessential businesses have to close and then full wales lockdown from december 28th. Now the number of cases are continuing to rise here, and today, the Welsh Government urged people to follow these new measures when hay come in, to behave sensibly over the
christmas period or they said there would be hard times to come in january. It did acknowledge with new restrictions comes again impact on peoples lives and livelihoods and it announced a package of measures of extra funding to support businesses who are going to be hit during this lockdown. Now, opponents have said they must go and be targeted to the right businesses, and also, the ministerfor Mental Health did acknowledge that of course, there is a huge impact on people feeling longly, that levels of anxiety here in wales have really increased. While she was urging people not to mix really over the christmas window unless they really had to she did say that people should reach out for support. They should reach out for support. They should not struggle and seek that help which is available online. Is help which is available online. Is and alexandra, whats the situation there . Well 80 of scotlands population is now in level three. No one is in level four at the moment, which is
the highest level, but east lothian and aberdeen, and aberdeenshire, they all moved from level two to level three at 6pm tonight. Edinburgh and glasgow were already in level three. Pubs and restaurants have to shut at 6. 00 in level three and cant serve alcohol. This would have been one of the busiest nights of the year. The Scottish Government is going to review the levels on tuesday, and they havent ruled out tightening restrictions after christmas. Thank you both the governments plans to test more than five Million School pupils in england when they return injanuary is undeliverable thats according to teaching unions, school governors, the church of england and colleges. Ministers announced the plans yesterday along with a staggered return to the classroom. But schools says it will be impossible to recruit and train the thousands of people needed to carry out tests in the next two weeks. Our education editor bra nwen jefferys reports. Think about what has gone well, first of all, this term. The last lessons before christmas, but not all pupils will be back at the start of term. Well, we made it. Can you believe where we started back in september . Doing his best to be cheerful in assembly, but the head expects to work through christmas and testing. I feel absolutely physically and emotionally exhausted after what has definitely been the toughest term ever in 20 years in teaching. When i heard this news two days ago, i actually felt rather broken, because i just thought, how are we going to get all of this done in the timeframes that we have been given . It just feels overwhelming. To set up School Testing means finding a large, well ventilated room. Separate swabbing and processing areas. Staff to test, process, record and clean. These could be volunteers or agency staff. Online training before
testing starts. And getting consent from parents. Its a massive logistical exercise. We are testing, as i said, 5. 5 Million Secondary School students. This is a very good news story. Its all about making sure we can keep the school open. This afternoon, the government was warned it might not be possible. School governors, teaching unions, the church of england and colleges, all saying this is rushed and chaotic, and telling schools that if they cant manage it, they dont have to have testing in place for the beginning of term. Parents now face some teenagers being at home, not in school, when term starts. It was sprung on us yesterday, so it is childcare in the new year if both of them go back, or if only one of them goes back. We dont know yet. Goodbye, chaps. Happy christmas. Term is over, but not for all teachers. Government advice on testing is due
to arrive just before christmas. Branwen jeffreys, bbc news. The governments furlough scheme has kept millions of people in work. But there are concerns the system could be open to fraud. The government has received almost 20,000 reports from the public about abuse of the system and says it has prevented thousands of cases from happening. But there are fears that billions of pounds of taxpayers money has already been lost because of fraud and errors, as Angus Crawford reports. As the country shut down, furlough came to the rescue. The scheme has now paid the wages of 9. 9 million workers at a cost of £46 billion. It is hideous, and i think about it now, and i still get upset. But some companies claimed the money and then forced staff, who were meant to be at home, back to work, meaning the firms were committing fraud. Workers like john, sacked when he complained. Were all in this together,
everyones suffering. But it was the Companies Taking large sums of money out there were the winners, you know. The losers are all of us that are having to pay the tax back, and they have just lost theirjobs. Butjohns is not an isolated case. Leicester, home to the uks clothing industry. Behind these windows, scores of small manufacturers. It was an open secret here during the first National Lockdown that many factories were still turning out clothes, but what we now know is that some of them were also claiming money from the government furlough scheme. In fact, an audit of 44 manufacturers found that 37 were breaking the furlough scheme rules. But not this company. It follows the rules, pays workers fairly, but its owner knows many of his rivals have been using furlough money to undercut him and boost their profits. Id say its a bombshell,
at the end of the day. Its something big. It needs to be looked at. The bottom line is from the taxpayer, and youre taking money away from people that really need it. Its there for a purpose. Its not there to be. Its not an atm machine so the doors came down . Yeah, yeah, yeah. One former worker at a different factory stops us to talk, but doesnt want to be identified. They stayed and worked . And the money from the government . That went into the boss pocket . This isnt just a problem in leicester. The Government Spending watchdog says furlough fraud and mistakes could cost the taxpayer more than £4 billion. John, now back at work, warns about the true cost of furlough. Its billions of pounds. Thats going to have to come back from somewhere, and its coming back from taxes. Its ugly. Its an ugly part of our history. Angus crawford, bbc news. Borisjohnson has said that things are looking difficult in the talks the time is 18. 17. Our top story this evening the Prime Minister says he hopes to avoid a third lockdown in england, but he doesnt rule it out. And an appeal for volunteers to take pa rt and an appeal for volunteers to take part ina and an appeal for volunteers to take part in a drugs trial for an advanced form of multiple sclerosis. Coming up on sportsday on bbc news englands world cup winning captain katy daley mclean, who won the trophy in 2014, announces her retirement from international rugby. Around 200,000 people in the uk are thought to be suffering from so called long covid Persistent Health problems up to three months after they were infected with the virus. For some, like 38 year old natalie, the effects of long covid
on her body have been devastating. Today there were calls from more research into this emerging problem as new guidelines were published for doctors on how to diagnose and treat long covid. Our medical editor fergus walsh reports. Natalie has worked as a front line doctor during several deadly epidemics, including ebola in africa. But its covid which has left its mark on her. Just over a year ago i biked up the hill, and now, now i cant even get on a bike. The 38 year old was never admitted to hospital, but now has long covid, and is so physically weak she cant go to work. I was fit, i was active, i could run, i could walk any distance i wanted to really, and now, i can walk 200 metres. Ive asked my contractor to put a bannister on my stairs because i cant get up to the top of my stairs sometimes. So youre fitting out your home for someone with disabilities . At my age, yes. I thought this is what i would be doing, when i was, you know, in my 70s or 805. Mri scans have revealed damage to nathalies spinal cord. You ok, nathalie . Butjust how a Covid Infection has done this is not fully understood. Uclh trust in london has opened a long covid clinic for patients with neurological problems. They come from all over the uk, with a wide variety of symptoms. They may complain of fatigue or dizziness, light headedness, palpitations or a fast heart rate. Sometimes patients complain of pins and needles or numbness. They often describe memory problems, so they may have difficulty focussing or concentrating. They may have difficulty remembering words, or getting words out. There i was, ten weeks ago, i couldnt get out of bed. Eli, who is 54, has lost nearly all his strength. Covid has affected his memory,
brain function, even his vision. But after enduring five months in hospital, and being so close to death, he feels fortunate. I call myself the miracle boy. Ive been through something which ive survived. I survived by a very thin line. God flicked the switch and decided, 0k, give him another chance, hes got something do in this world, come back. What about those legs . How fatigued do they feel . One in ten people with covid still has lingering symptoms after 12 weeks. Most make a gradual recovery. Nathalie says the disease wont hold her back and she is determined to see patients face to face once more. Fergus walsh, bbc news. The chief constable of Greater Manchester police has resigned after the force was placed into special measures. Ian hopkins, who is on sick leave, said he would step down with immediate effect. The force, the second largest in england, was found to have failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year by inspectors, who said its service to victims was a serious cause of concern. Borisjohnson has said that things are looking difficult in the talks about a trade deal to take effect once the brexit transition period ends. The eus chief negotiator, michel barnier, has said both sides are at a moment of truth, with just a few hours left. The uk and eu are trying to resolve a few remaining issues, including around fishing rights. Heres our political correspondent, iain watson. A clause in any brexit deal in fishing is yet to be written. As the latest catch is landed in hull, uk fishing fleets are hoping life outside the eu will be more prosperous, yet the fishing industry accounts for a little more than 0. 1 of the uk economy. So can a row over access
to our waters really be such a pinch point in a wider trade deal . In bolton, the Prime Minister is meeting apprentices in the communications industry. Hello, how are you doing . Nice to see you. But also indulging in some megaphone diplomacy, calling on the eu to compromise. Things are looking difficult, and there is a gap that needs to be bridged. The uks done, weve done a lot, i think, to try and help, and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves. Also ramping up the rhetoric, the eus chief negotiator emphasised to the European Parliament that time was running out. Translation we are at the moment of truth. There is very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st ofjanuary. The chance of an agreement is there, but i believe the path is very narrow. The question of fishing rights goes to the heart of the brexit promise to take back control in this case of our territorial waters. But there is also haggling over exactly when that control would be exercised. The eu wants to see any changes phased in over an eight year period. The uk is offering three. So, the two sides are still oceans apart. The ratcheting up of the rhetoric affects more than just the fishing industry. This companys three uk factories supply car and van manufacturers in the eu, and uncertainty over trade is already exacting a price. Weve already noticed customers who have not asked us to quote for new work. What i fear is a very quietjanuary, as people either will still wait for an agreement or try to work out what the agreement actually means. And with suppliers trying to stock up before trade rules change, lorries have been stacking up at channel ports. But so far, eu and uk negotiators havent broken the logjam in brussels. Iain watson, bbc news. An appeal for 200 volunteers to take part in a drugs trial for an advanced form of multiple sclerosis has been launched by the National Hospital for neurology. 130,000 people live with ms in the uk and researchers hope the use of an existing statin drug may help slow disability. The bbcs caroline wyatt, who has ms and is taking part in the trial, looks at how research is progressing despite setbacks from coronavirus. Its a disease that affects the brain and the Central Nervous system, the hunt is on for drugs that can help once the damages is done in more advanced ms. That was another explosion. Gunfire. As defence correspondent for the bbc, i reported on many wars. But the most frightening thing wasnt bullets or bombs, but the invisible damage being done
by ms, a slow insidious shredding of my nerves. I first came to this hospital almost 20 years ago when they told me that i might have ms, but it wasnt finally diagnosed until 2015. And now im in the more advanced stages of the disease, im coming back to this hospital to take part in a trial to see whether an old drug can be used for a new purpose in ms. The ms step two trial is testing a high dose simvastatin, an old drug that lowers cholesterol. An earlier stage of the trial showed it may help slow the rate the brain shrinks, and in doing so, perhaps slow the progression of disability. Its not as full as the baseline, but its quite full, isnt it . Professorjeremy chatway is leading the trial and already has 800 volunteers, but theyre looking for more. There is an urgent need to develop medications that can have an effect on progression, and here we have with simvastatin, actually, the simplest of possibilities. We know it very well, its been used in millions of people around the world, it has a very good safety profile, and so we feel that it could have a role in progressive multiple sclerosis, but we have to prove it. Patrick burke is also taking part in the trial. Turn around. Hes a former computer analyst forced into medical retirement, as his ms got worse. Its taken everything away for me. I mean, i cant drive, i cant run. I fall over. I fell over this morning just taking the plug out of a socket. I go up the stairs so slowly, its like walking in golden syrup. Other trials have been delayed by coronavirus, its also led to many fundraising events being cancelled with an impact on the charitys funding future research. We expect to lose about £10 million. This year its about 30 of our income, 5 million next year. This is a huge loss to us, and with the disruption weve seen, this will no doubt slow the development of new treatments that are desperately
needed for people with ms. Those with ms hope that by the end of this trial in three years time, if simvastatin has proved to work, we mightjust be one step closer to stopping at least some of the damage done by the disease. Caroline wyatt, bbc news. Sony has removed one of the most eagerly anticipated video games of the year from its eagerly anticipated video games of the yearfrom its playstation eagerly anticipated video games of the year from its Playstation Store just days after its release. Cyberpunk 2077 had racked up 8 million preorders ahead of its launch a week ago, but users complained the game was riddled with technical glitches. Theres just a week to go until christmas day. Despite the rising number of Covid Infections up to three households are being allowed to mix in england, scotland and Northern Ireland, with slightly tighter rules in wales. Around half the population is planning to form a bubble with friends or relatives for christmas, according to research by the office for National Statistics. Our home editor mark easton has been talking to people from all walks of life about their plans and whether they re now
thinking of changing them. tis the season to be jolly careful, says the Prime Minister. So how will britons celebrate christmas in this strangest of years . And whats peoples reaction to the decision to relax the regulations on festive get togethers just as the pandemic threatens to overwhelm parts of the nhs . With the help of analysts britain thinks, weve assembled a focus group of people across the uk. Well, seasons greetings to you all. Im interested to know how your Christmas Plans have changed, and specifically, how many people will you be sitting down with at christmas dinner . There will be seven. There will be six of us. Six. Five. Four of us. By myself, so one. I work in the nhs, so i dont really want to put anybody at risk, so for that pure reason, ive decided that i want to spend christmas alone. Thats very noble, i have to say. This year, there willjust be the two of us, and theres no point in getting a turkey for two, so well probablyjust have chicken. We are actually planning to have our christmas dinner outside, hoping that it doesnt rain. What, in the garden . yes, so, our plan is to have two little tables outside, distanced, and have lots of blankets and maybe a little fire. What do you all think about the governments plans to relax the restrictions so that family and friends can come together, albeit with this warning to be especially careful . I dont think its a good thing. I think we will pay the price for it come january. Natalie, you are nodding, i can see. I think they should have just left it down on lockdown through the whole of the christmas period, and then start up, like, 2021, a fresh year. If there had been a lockdown christmas, people would have just said, no, to hell with it, its christmas. At least this way, theres guidance. The vast majority of people will be
responsible and mature about it, but youll get that minority who think, well, i can, so im going to. And if there were no rules in place, it would be anarchy. This just seems like another massive super spreader event thats been endorsed by the government. They dont want to be the people who cancel christmas. I think its a big mistake. Part of mes really looking forward to christmas, because im a big kid and i love christmas. Im buzzing for it. Honestly, the one thing that has been getting me through this entire year is, christmas is coming. Well, thank you to all of you for your time and your opinions. However you celebrate, i wish you a peaceful, a merry, and of course, a safe christmas. Mark easton there. Time for a look at the weather. Heres darren bett. Thank you very much, sophie. A mild and windy day today. Some parts of the country, very wet as well. We have seen river levels rising, there has been some flooding, and we still
have an amber rain