Transcripts For BBCNEWS Coronavirus Update 20201223

One man has been arrested. I want to take this opportunity to say how sorry i am for my breach of rules that i ask all of us to follow every single day. Good afternoon and welcome to this bbc news special, where were expecting at around 3 oclock a Coronavirus Briefing from downing street with the possibility that more parts of england could come under the toughest coronavirus restrictions in tier 4, and any changes could be as soon as boxing day this weekend. It is of course because of the new rapidly spreading variant of covid 19 thats already affecting large parts of the london, the southeast and east of england. The communities secretary Robert Jenrick says the strain is now prevalent outside these areas, and so more action may be needed. It comes as britains covid 19 r number the rate at which the virus is reproducing has increased again, to between 1. 1 and 1. 3. Meanwhile, borders have reopened in dover, but 5,000 lorry drivers in kent are facing more delays as they have to wait for covid tests. Rail, air and sea services have resumed after the french government eased its ban on people entering from the uk. But lorry drivers say the situation in kent remains chaotic and there were scuffles with police as some protested about the delays, one man was arrested. And the rapid spread of the virus has led to questions about how the uk carries out its Vaccination Programme. The Pfizer Biontech vaccine requires two doses to be fully effective, but a former head of immunisation at the department of health suggests the initial dose should now be given to as many people as possible rather than preserving stocks so that theres enough for the second jab for a smaller number of people. More on all this throughout the next hour and live coverage of that news briefing from downing street when it happens. But first, this report from our politicial correspondent, iain watson. Have yourself a merry little christmas, says the Prime Minister. That is, if you dont live in a tier 4 area in england where households arent allowed to mix indoors, even on december 25th. The government is unlikely to impose new restrictions before christmas for areas in tiers one to three. But any festive fun could be short lived, as there could be changes as soon as boxing day. On monday the chief scientific adviser warned that more areas could face tougher restrictions in due course. Just 48 hours later, ministers have been meeting to discuss the next move. We will be looking at the number of cases in all parts of the country and in particular what the variant is doing. We know it is very concentrated in london and the south east but it is also now prevalent to a lesser extent in other parts of the country as well. And so a judgment needs to be made as to whether the tiered system is Strong Enough. London and much of the south east is already in tier 4, with the highest level of restrictions, and now the neighbouring areas are at risk of moving up the tiers in coming days. This could potentially include parts of east anglia as well as hampshire and west sussex and other areas where the new variant of the virus has been identified could face more restrictions, too. Government ministers have been keen to avoid or at least delay another National Lockdown across england. But there have been discussions about whether even the toughest set of restrictions in tier 4 will be enough to get on top of the virus. And with hospital admissions heading towards their previous peak, if you think things are grim now, think again. The whole of wales has already entered another lockdown and if you live in mainland scotland or northern ireland, you will face tougher restrictions from boxing day. Labour is urging the Prime Minister to act swiftly on scientific advice. If his judgment is that we need a lockdown, he should outline it. If his judgement, or the scientific judgment, is that its not necessary but we need tougher restrictions in part of the country, he needs to outline it. We just need to know where we stand as a country. The Festive Season in most parts of the country has already been reduced to a single day. And, as it will take time to roll out the vaccines, resilience is likely to be required well into the new year. Iain watson, bbc news. 0ur Political Correspondent Jonathan Blakejoins me now. The governments Covert Operations Committee has met, what news . We are expecting more parts of england to be moved into the new tier 4 level of restrictions when the Health Secretary matt hancock speaks at that News Conference in downing street this afternoon. As you head on that report, there has been concerned for some days now after london and other parts of the south east were put into that new category that other areas would likely follow. There was originally a scheduled review for december the 30th for new parts of england to move up 30th for new parts of england to move up 01 30th for new parts of england to move up or down the tiers of restrictions but as we have heard in recent days, the new variant of coronavirus thought to be responsible for the much wider and faster spread of the virus has meant that things have had to be moved forward and we are now expecting significant numbers of areas to get into that new tier 4 category. Whether they will be largely confined to the south east of england, and you heard about a particular concern about norfolk and suffolk, and areas of east anglia, 01 more suffolk, and areas of east anglia, or more widely in england, we will have to see. But there has been concern about parts of the West Midlands and stoke on trent as well. We will get the details in the coming hours. It is also possible that there will be areas of england currently in tiers one and two which could go up one level and move up the existing tiers, notjust some areas being moved into the new tier 1l areas being moved into the new tier 4. Jonathan blake in areas being moved into the new tier 4. Jonathan blake in westminster. Phil mackie is in birmingham for us. We just heard that there is concern about parts of the midlands and stoke on trent. Are the folk in birmingham worried . Can you hear me . Clearly not, we will try and get back to phil later. Liz kendal, labour mp and shadow minister for social care, joins us now. There seem to be concerns about other parts of the country, where perhaps this new variant of covid 19 is spreading. Are you expecting a widening of the tier 4 restrictions to other areas in england . That is what we are expecting, and it is essential that the government moves swiftly on this. If the independent scientific advisers sage recommend that more areas going to tier 4 or that more areas going to tier 4 or that we have to go further, the government must act swiftly. We have seen extremely worrying rises in the number of people infected ring admitted into hospital, being on ventilators, and tragically dying. The government needs to move much more swiftly than it has in the past to save lives and make sure pressure doesnt overwhelm the nhs. Given that this new variant, it is estimated, can spread anything from 50 to 60 more quickly than the original form 50 to 60 more quickly than the originalform of 50 to 60 more quickly than the original form of covid 19, 50 to 60 more quickly than the originalform of covid 19, some people were suggesting that perhaps the whole country should have gone under tier 4 restrictions a few days ago rather thanjust under tier 4 restrictions a few days ago rather than just london and the south east. Is that your belief . Well, im afraid we have seen throughout this pandemic the government moving too slowly. In september, sage advised that there should be a National Lockdown and the government was far too slow to act. I urge them to act swiftly now. Asi act. I urge them to act swiftly now. As i said, we are seeing pressures on the nhs. I have seen that in my own constituency in leicester and across the country. And the number of deaths is really worrying. The government must match any further restrictions with extra help for our struggling businesses, hospitality in particular is really suffering. I would also like to see more support so people can actually self isolate. 0ne so people can actually self isolate. One problem throughout this pandemic is that many people have not been able to afford to self isolate and we will never get on top of the virus unless they do. So you believe that if all of this comes before mps to vote on tougher restrictions, labour will not simply sit on the fence and vote positively for them . Absolutely, if the scientific advisers recommend further restrictions, we will back that. And if Parliament Needs to be recalled to do that, it must happen. We have to do that, it must happen. We have to act quickly. This virus is brutal in the speed with which it is spreading and we have seen the consequences of delays in the past. People have had a terrible year and with all of the confusion around christmas and worries about what will happen in the new year, we need to see clearer and firmer leadership from the Prime Minister, putting the Health Measures but also economic measures in place so that we could save lives and protectjobs. Measures in place so that we could save lives and protect jobs. Liz kendall, labour mp and shadow minister for social care, thanks for joining us. Lets try and re establish the line with phil mackie, who is in birmingham. Can you hear me . Yes, i can. Jolly good. We were discussing the possibility that there is the likelihood that perhaps parts of the midlands and stoke on trent could be moving into the higher tier, tier 4, for whatever coronavirus restrictions. There is a concern that this new variant of cover and is spreading in the midlands. Is there a fear in birmingham that that is in the offing . That is what the talk is today. It was in the papers this morning. Apparently, a leakfrom yesterdays government meeting ahead of the decisions being made today, but the facts are that across the midlands, although for the last two weeks, incidents have been increasing and infection rates have gone up increasing and infection rates have gone up a increasing and infection rates have gone up a bit, they are not going up exponentially like they have in the south east. If you look at the seven authorities that make up the West Midlands combined authority, they have a rate below the national average. It is tier 3 in birmingham and look at how quiet it is. This is new street the day before christmas eve. This would be heaving ordinarily. There would have been a Christmas Market here and thousands of people. It is deserted. Possibly partly due to the weather, but equally, people are staying away from big city centres at the moment. But they fear that if it does go into tier 4 but they fear that if it does go into tier4 in but they fear that if it does go into tier 4 in birmingham, the shop only opened three weeks ago and they will then be back needing to furlough staff. They have lots of stock that will not get sold in the sales after boxing day, so they are dreading a tier 4 announcement. If it does come and it affects birmingham and the Black Country and stoke on trent, it might even affect poor old leicester, which has been in some form of lockdown for nine months now, and even parts of nottingham. But it may be that they look at proximity to tier 4 areas, fearing that this new variant may spread into them more quickly. So some areas closer to the south east which may be in tier 2 could go up two to three. The statistics show that the last time we got the data, only 5 of the new infections in this part of the world where that new variant. It hasnt got here yet, but may be pre emptive action is needed to stop it spreading. Phil mackie in birmingham, thanks. We are hopefully going to get, at the top of the hour, that Coronavirus Briefing from downing street. It will be led by the Health Secretary matt hancock and beside him will be drjenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer for england, and Susan Hopkins, from Public Health england. We will bring that to you live at the top of the hour. Theres been disruption in dover this morning borders have reopened, but thousands of drivers are facing more delays as they have to wait for covid tests. Rail, air and sea services have resumed, after the french government eased its ban on people entering from the uk. But lorry drivers say the situation in kent remains chaotic there were scuffles with police as some protested about the delays, and one man was arrested. Some of the 3,000 hauliers who are stuck say theyre simply not getting enough information. Simonjones reports. The border to france may have finally reopened, but this morning angry drivers left the manston lorry park where theyd been sleeping in their cabs to vent their anger. Theyd been stuck in the uk for days. Theyd been promised a coronavirus tests. But they say they still dont know when they will get out of here. The police are here now in numbers on the outskirts of manston airport, but what they cant do is answer the one question that hauliers desperately want to know, and that is when theyre going to get out of here and go home. Police . Police from three days told us that testing will be started soon but they dont know why. When. They dont know when and thats the point why the people are protesting because wejust want to make the test and go straight to home. In one day, its christmas. We are here three day, we are very tired, we stay in the cars, we dont have a lot of food, no money. Its not very good. Some may now face a longer wait to get home. This shows the scale of the problem thousands of lorries parked up on a former runway half an hour from the port of dover. Dover itself has reopened to traffic to france, but only for travellers who can prove they are covid free. Last night the uk and france reached an agreement which allows travel for urgent reasons, including hauliers, french citizens and british people who live in france. But in order to get across, they will have to have a negative test result within the past 72 hours before departure. Rapid lateral flow tests will be given to drivers which can give results in 30 minutes. If it is positive, they will be asked to isolate in local hotels. The government is warning itll take several days before everyone is able to return home. Groups representing drivers say its no wonder anger is growing. Around about 4,000 trucks parked at manston airport, it is certainly full, and we can imagine that with that number of lorry drivers, toilet facilities, washing facilities, wherever they are, will be pretty overstretched and, frankly, inadequate. The government insists there are adequate toilets and catering facilities being provided to hauliers. We are providing hot meals for the drivers. Sikh groups, including khalsaaid, with an escort from kent police, have arrived in dover to help deliver food and water to stranded drivers. One thing that lifts people all over the world is a warm meal, so that was the aim, to see if we can reach out, provide a hot meal, to lift the spirits of these guys. They are prisoners in their cabs on the m20 without no services, no shops, no access to anything. The least we can give is a bit of human warmth and love. Although the uk is no longer cut off from the continent, the queues continue to stack up. Its clear that the logistical scale of getting everyone tested means some are going to be cut off from their families this christmas. Simon jones, bbc news. Part of the problem today in dover were protesters and lorries blocking a roundabout at the entrance to the port. Theyve now moved away, but police are still stopping traffic from entering the port. 0ur reporter amanda akass is there she sent us this report a little while ago. I am standing on the roundabout right outside the port itself. As you can see behind me, the police are still blocking the road with hundreds of cars, vans and lorries backing up throughout central dover. That is the port itself. There is another line of police in front of that. No one has been going in or that for several hours. That is causing huge frustrations. Ive been speaking to people who have been here since sunday night. One man told me, i am out of food, drink, and money. There is no where to go to the toilet here. Ive had people crying to me saying they were hoping to get back to see their children in time for christmas. They dont know whats going on. Thats quite difficult for the people here at dover. Unlike the drivers at manston, they are not in touch with what has been going on. They havent been receiving access to testing or hot meals, which we are told is now beginning to start here. People here say they dont know what theyre going to do. They say they dont know how to get past to get onto the ferries because they cant go back. Both sides of the road here are completely blocked. It is a difficult situation. We have heard from the leader of dover council. He said he doesnt see how everyone here will be able to get across the channel to get there in time for christmas even when the port is open again. Very difficult times. People in dover are volunteering. There are stands of people offering food, drinks and refreshments to the drivers, and its sorely needed. The first trucks are now leaving the lorry park at manston airport. 0ur correspondent simonjones is there. Vehicles beginning to move, easing the area behind you, simon. Finally a sign of movement and in the last hour or so we have definitely seen activity increasing, and if you take activity increasing, and if you take a look behind me, a lot of people in high vizjackets, a look behind me, a lot of people in high viz jackets, and a look behind me, a lot of people in high vizjackets, and we believe they are involved in the testing operation. Military personnel also involved. 170 of them are drafted into kent to try to get this operation running smoothly, and it isa operation running smoothly, and it is a huge operation. There are currently 3800 lorries parked up here, a former airfield, currently 3800 lorries parked up here, a formerairfield, it currently 3800 lorries parked up here, a former airfield, it is com pletely here, a former airfield, it is completely full, and if you look down there, there are lorries as far as the eye can see. It is going to bea as the eye can see. It is going to be a big operation to shift those, on top of the 3800 lorries here, another 1200 parked up on the m20, and we have lorries in lay buys and other parts of the road, anywhere they can find a parking space, and there are lorries down here not officially on the site, as well. The government is warning this would ta ke government is warning this would take several days to clear because although the tests are pretty rapid, they get them within around 30 40 minutes, there are a lot of drivers to be tested and it is going to take a lot of time to do that completely. 0verall a lot of time to do that completely. Overall we are hearing from lorry drivers, they simply want to get out of this situation, theyve had enough, but those drivers beginning to leave here heading down this road towards the port of dover, but as we have just heard, chaos towards the port of dover, but as we havejust heard, chaos in dover, so quite what is going to greet them there, well, it could be their Worst Nightmare there, as well. Simon jones, thanks forjoining us. The rapid spread of a new strain of coronavirus has led to questions about how the uk carries out its Vaccination Programme. The Pfizer Biontech vaccine requires two doses to be fully effective but a former head of immunisation at the department of health suggests the initial dose should now be given to as many people as possible, rather than preserving stocks so that theres enough for the second jab for a smaller number of people. Katharine da costa reports. Sharp scratch. More than half a Million People have so far received their first dose of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine. But with concern about a new variant of coronavirus spreading 50 to 70 more quickly, there have been calls to speed up the roll out of vaccines by giving more people one dose rather than two. Given the circumstances that we are facing with a rapidly expanding number of cases spreading through the country, we have to do what we can to save as many lives as we possibly can as quickly as we can. And therefore giving second doses only gives a marginal benefit compared with the benefit you get from giving more people first doses. Trials found the vaccine gave 52 protection after the first jab. That rises to 91 after the second dose and reaches 95 efficacy a week later. Professor salisburys argument is most of the protection comes from the first dose. The uk regulators approved the Pfizer Vaccine based on two doses, so any changes would need to be reviewed. In the meantime a decision on the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine is expected very soon. The uk has pre ordered 100 million doses. If approved, around 4 million doses could be available straightaway. And given it is easier to store and distribute, Vaccination Centres like this one in epsom could begin operation. Questions have been raised over whether the new variant in the uk will impact the effectiveness of vaccines. Those behind the pfizerjab are confident it will work but a few tweaks could be made if necessary. We can directly start to engineer a vaccine which completely mimics this new mutation. And we could be able to provide a new vaccine technically within six weeks. Further research into the new variant is still ongoing. Some experts advising the government think it could be much more widespread than first thought after ten cases were picked up in denmark. In a country as small as denmark with a relatively low infection rate, it would suggest in my view that this virus has been introduced into the great majority if not all of European Countries at the current time. While we wait for the Vaccination Programme to be ramped up, we are likely to see a greater use of Community Mass testing to help control the virus. The uk regulators have just approved rapid tests that provide results in 30 minutes and can now be used by people at home, too. Katharine da costa, bbc news. Not long until the Coronavirus Briefing. 0ur Political Correspondent Jonathan Blake is with me again. We are expecting a significant number of areas of england to be moved into the new tier 4 category of even tighter restrictions, but they will be largely confined to the south east. At this point in time. These areas arejudged south east. At this point in time. These areas are judged to be the most urgent, where cases of coronavirus are rising sharply, although it doesnt seem that christmas will be cancelled or restricted even further for those areas as the expectation is at this point that the changes will begin on boxing day, so those areas in tiers one, two and three allowed a limited number to one, two and three allowed a limited numberto mix on one, two and three allowed a limited number to mix on christmas day, will still be able to do that, but after that it could be very different for large areas of england which are expected to move into tier 4 on boxing day and there will be other parts of england as well moving up the pre existing tiered system of 13, the pre existing tiered system of 1 3, so areas moving up a step in line with that original system. As i say these areas judged to be the most urgent and the changes expected to ta ke most urgent and the changes expected to take effect on boxing day. Any suggestion that the government might be considering rolling out the vaccination of more people more quickly with just one jab rather than two in order to speed up the delivery of this . There have been calls for them to do that but at the moment the government is sticking to its original plan and that is to vaccinate people individually with one jab vaccinate people individually with onejab and vaccinate people individually with one jab and then two weeks later follow u p one jab and then two weeks later follow up with another, but the roll of the vaccine and the Successful Administration of the vaccine is of course crucial and a key part of making sure that these restrictions that we are seeing coming in more areas at a tighter level dont have to stay in place any longer than they have to, so for the moment no change but im sure that will be one of the questions put to the Health Secretary matt hancock when the News Conference begins shortly. Thanks for joining Conference Begins shortly. Thanks forjoining us. Our Health Correspondent katharine da costa is here. A lot of debate about whether they should be one jab initially to get as many people with that initial level of protection but today we have also got news of an increase in the crucial r number which perhaps is not surprising considering the new variant is spreading more quickly. 1. 1 new variant is spreading more quickly. 1. 11. 3, and new variant is spreading more quickly. 1. 1 1. 3, and last week new variant is spreading more quickly. 1. 1 1. 3, and last week it was1. 1 1. 2, and it quickly. 1. 1 1. 3, and last week it was 1. 1 1. 2, and it shows anything over one, that shows the epidemic is growing, and it was a mixed picture within england itself, at a lower level in the north west where it is no point 9 1. 1 about much higher in london and the south east where we have been talking about the spread of the new variant, so now one point so that is now 1. 2 1. 5, so if one person had it they are likely to pass it on 212 15 people in and the south east, for example, and ministers will be looking at this as well as the spread of the growth of cases. The variant seems to be more prevalent in the south east, london and the east, but it has been detected in all parts of the uk we are starting to see case numbers rising, especially in the tier 2 areas that border the tier four zone, places like cambridgeshire, 0xfordshire, although they are in tier 2, there are pockets where it is going up quite quickly and ministers will be looking at what restrictions are going to be needed to bring that down to stop the virus spiralling. That might explain the suggestion that more areas of england could well move into the tougher set of restrictions under tier 4, but what is the overall effect of this on the rate of hospitalisation . That must have gone 7 hospitalisation . That must have gone up . Hospitals are incredibly busy, so we note there is nearly 19,000 patients with coronavirus in hospitals across the uk, up to the 18th of december, and if you compare that to the peak in april when there we re that to the peak in april when there were 21,000, we are not that far off, and the concern is we are seeing more patients going into hospital, it has touched 2000 per day in the recent days, and the worry is, the hospitals are filling up worry is, the hospitals are filling up quickly, and they are notjust treating Covid Patients, but trying to reduce a backlog of operations, cancelled operations that happened early in the year, and they also trying to treat other patients, especially coming into the winter months, where you might see people with flu and other respiratory illnesses, slips and trips, so they are very worried that going into january and february when they traditionally at their busiest, hospitals are already filling up just with covid itself, so that is the concern about getting on top of it now, and experts have always advised that with a pandemic it is better to go in quickly and act fast and be proactive rather than reactive, and that has been a criticism of the government, that it was too slow to go into lockdown in the spring, and then again into the autumn, and that is why the pressure was ramping up about restrictions over christmas, that they felt that originally it would be five days of mixing with household bubbles but that has now been reduced to one day for lower level tiers and that was the idea, and even now some experts say, dont wait until boxing day to bring in tighter restrictions, it is going up too quickly, to get it under control, you need to do something sooner rather than later. Some would argue that there is surge capacity. The nightingale hospitals are ready. The problem is finding the staff to fill them. Thats right. It was always an insurance policy. It is only Exeter Nightingale that was being used Covid Patients. One in manchester was being used for non Covid Patients. And although they are on standby, but we are hearing from Health Officials is that it is down to staffing, as you say. The Trained Medical professionals are better off in hospital where they have all the equipment and staff around them. And there are a number of Staff Shortages because they are either off sick or isolating. I have to interrupt you there. Lets go to downing street, where the Health Secretary matt hancock isjoined by drjenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer and suan hopkins from Public Health england. Good afternoon and welcome to downing street for todays Coronavirus Briefing. Ijoined by deputy chief medical officer Coronavirus Briefing. Ijoined by deputy chief medical 0fficerjenny harries and doctors Susan Hopkins, the chief advisor to republic of england and nhs test and trace. We all know the 2020 has been a hard year, and is ending in this festive period which is going to be very different. After all the efforts we have gone through to control this virus, and in many parts of the country, this virus is under control, just as we have a tiered system in place that was able to control this virus, we have discovered a new, more contagious variant that is spreading at a dangerous rate. I know that the vast majority of people watching today and across the country understand what we need to do together to get through this. So today, we are announcing further action within the tiering system and also further progress on vaccines tiering system and also further progress on vaccines and testing. I just wanted to say this before i set out the details of what we have to put in place. I know that these actions have consequences. I know how difficult it is, but i also know that it how difficult it is, but i also know thatitis how difficult it is, but i also know that it is right to take the action that it is right to take the action thatis that it is right to take the action that is necessary to control this virus. Across the country, cases have risen 57 in the last week. The average covid hospital admissions are 1909 a day. That is the highest figure since mid april. There are 18,943 people in hospital with coronavirus right now. That is almost as many as there were at the peak. And yesterday, there were 691 deaths reported. That is 691 people who have died just before christmas, and our hearts go out to their families and loved ones, as with all who have died from this horrible disease. I know the pain that this causes. So against this backdrop of rising infections summarising hospitalisations and rising numbers of people dying from coronavirus, it is vital that we act. We simply cannot have the kind of christmas that we all yearn for. Of course, its the social contact that makes christmas so special, but its that social contact that the virus thrives on, and that is how the virus is spread from one person to another. So its important that we all minimise our social contact as much as possible this christmas. That will help protect ourselves, our loved ones and the whole country. We have got to keep our resolve, we have got to keep going through this. There are four areas i wa nt to through this. There are four areas i want to update you on specifically. The first are those tiering decisions i mentioned. We know that the three tiered system works to control the old variant, and is working now in large parts of the country, especially in northern england. But we also know that tier 3is england. But we also know that tier 3 is not enough to control the new variant. This is not a hypothesis, it isa variant. This is not a hypothesis, it is a fact, and we have seen it on the ground. We have seen case rates rise in some of the places close to where the current tier 4 restrictions are in places like east anglia, where we have seen a significant number of the new variant, and we have seen case rates rise sharply. It is therefore necessary to put more of the east and south east of england into tier 4. We are also taking action in parts of the south west where there are parts of the south west where there a re early parts of the south west where there are early signs of the new variant and where cases are rising. Even though case rates in some of these areas are not as high as in the areas are not as high as in the areas that democrat badly affected by london, the direction is clear and stuck. The doubling times are short, and we have learned that when it comes to being a matter of when, not if we take action, it is better to act sooner. So from one minute past midnight on boxing day, sussex, 0xfordshire, suffolk, norfolk and cambridgeshire, there is parts of essex not yet in tier 4, waverly in surrey and hampshire, including portsmouth and southampton, but with the exception of the new forest, will all be escalated to tier 4. Bristol, gloucestershire, somerset, including the North Somerset council area, swindon, the isle of wight, the new forest and northamptonshire, as well as cheshire and warrington, will all be escalated to tier 3. And im afraid that cornwall and herefordshire have seen sharply rising rates and need to be escalated to tier 2. This is not news that anybody wants to deliver andi news that anybody wants to deliver and i am truly sorry for the disruption it causes. But i think people know how important it is that we ta ke people know how important it is that we take decisions like this to keep people safe and protect the nhs. The second piece of news i want to tell you about is some development about another new strain of this virus. Of course, the fight against the virus isa course, the fight against the virus is a global effort and we are co nsta ntly vig ila nt is a global effort and we are constantly vigilant and looking around the world. As part of our surveillance and thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the south africans, we have detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the uk. Both are contacts coronavirus here in the uk. Both are co nta cts of coronavirus here in the uk. Both are contacts of cases who had travelled from south africa over the past few weeks. The chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer and others met their south african cou nterpa rts others met their south african counterparts over the last day, and we are incredibly grateful to the south african government for the rigour of their science and the openness and transparency with which they have rightly acted, as we did when we discovered a new variant here. This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant discovered in the uk. We have taken the following action. First, we are quarantining cases the following action. First, we are quara ntining cases and the following action. First, we are quarantining cases and close contacts quarantining cases and close co nta cts of quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found in the uk. Second, we are placing immediate restrictions on travel from south africa. Finally and most importantly, anyone in the uk who has been in south africa in the past fortnight and anyone who is a close contact fortnight and anyone who is a close co nta ct of fortnight and anyone who is a close contact of someone who has been in south africa in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately. By quarantine, i mean they must restrict all contact with any other person whatsoever. We will be changing the law to give this legal effect imminently. These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain, which is shortly to be analysed at porton down. I want to thank everyone involved for the seriousness with which i know they will take these new instructions. I would like now to move on to more positive developments. The third thing i wa nted developments. The third thing i wanted to talk about is an update on testing. As you know, we continue rapidly to expand the testing capability in the uk. We are expanding Community Testing further in areas where the rate of infection is highest so we can identify people and especially identify the around one in three people who carry the virus without displaying any symptoms. 116 local areas have signed up for this Community Testing and we are in discussion with more. These rapid turnaround tests are proving to be extremely effective at finding cases where we otherwise wouldnt, and i am today publishing an assessment of the liverpool Community Testing project, which shows how effective this can be. I would urge anyone who has the opportunity to take part to protect their local area. At the same time, we are boosting Rapid Testing in ca re we are boosting Rapid Testing in care homes with a further £149 million to support that effort. So all those who work in care homes in england will receive two rapid tests a week in addition to their weekly pcr tests. Finally, amid all this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is of course the vaccine. The vaccine is our route out of all this. However tough this christmas and this winter is going to be, we know that the transforming force of science is helping find a way through. I am delighted to tell you that the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine developed here in the uk has submitted its full data package to the mhra for approval. This is the next step towards a decision on the deployment of the vaccine, which is already being manufactured, including in the uk. We are of course continuing to deploy the Pfizer Biontech vaccine, which is being delivered now from over 500 sites across the uk, and we are adding more all the time and accelerating the roll out. I am also delighted to announce that we have begun vaccination in care homes. We know that people who live in care homes are amongst the most vulnerable to this disease, and im delighted that we are able to do this. Again, its another enormous logistical challenge and i am very grateful to colleagues in the nhs and in the social care sector who have worked together so hard to make this happen. This afternoon, it gives me greatjoy to tell you that the Chelsea Pensioners will be vaccinated, along with care home residents across the country. I think we all need a bit of good news, and the reality is that this Vaccine Programme is the way we are going to get through this. Every time somebody is vaccinated, our country becomes a bit safer, they become a bit safer and we get a bit closer to the life we all want to get back to. I sincerely hope that this is my last press conference before christmas, and i want to take a moment firstly to thank you and everybody watching for all that you have done and the sacrifices you have done and the sacrifices you have made. I also want to thank my whole team, who have done so much, including those here, susan and jenny, but including the huge team in the nhs and the department across the board. As a country, we have been faced with enormous challenges, and its been very tough. But i especially want to thank those who helped this country to become the first in the world to roll out a clinically approved vaccine. I want to thank all those who have helped us to thank all those who have helped us build a bigger capacity in Genomic Testing than anywhere else in the world, and of course the biggest overall Testing Capacity in europe. I want to thank our scientists who have discovered the first proven treatment for coronavirus, and i want to thank everybody working in the nhs and in social care for the work they have done this year and also for the work thatis done this year and also for the work that is going to carry on this winter. And especially to colleagues who are working over christmas, which of course is so important in the nhs and in social care. I know how hard 2020 has been for everybody, and after delivering some really difficult news, if i may, i wa nt to really difficult news, if i may, i want to end on a reflection of where we are as a country. This christmas and the start of 2021 is going to be tough. The new variant makes everything much harder, because it spread so much faster. But we mustnt give up now. We know we can control this virus. We know we can get through this together. We are going to get through it by suppressing the virus and a vaccine can make us safe. That has been our strategy, and thats what we must do. We are not going to give up now, especially after so much sacrifice. I know that some of these decisions are tough, but i believe that everybody making the right decisions, and i believe everybody will do what is needed to keep themselves and others safe, especially this christmas. And i know from the bottom of my heart that there are brighter skies ahead. Iam now that there are brighter skies ahead. I am now going to hand over tojenny to give us an update on the data, especially on the impact of this new variant. First slide, please. Im going to talk through half a dozen slides which highlight the comments which the secretary of state has just outlined, and the darker colours on the maps indicate higher rates of change. We can see on the left hand side that in the last seven days, the last full week of case rates, until the 17th, they have continued to rise at a rapid pace, especially in london, the south east, the east of england and in wales, and you can see that with the dark colours which equate to more than 400 cases per 100,000 resident population. 0ne equate to more than 400 cases per 100,000 resident population. One of the most important thing is, not just how many cases there are but the rate of change and if we look to the rate of change and if we look to the right hand side you can see that the right hand side you can see that the darker pink and the purple is where those changes are really starting to move more rapidly, so as expected it perhaps doesnt show it quite as well on the slide but as expected especially in london, the south east and east of england and wales, but you can also see that the colour is starting to change through the bordering areas especially in suffolk, cambridgeshire and norfolk and trending down to the south west. Next slide, please. What we can see here, three lines which are representing those areas which are currently tier 4 areas, places like london, and that is the dark black line, and you can see that since september there has been a rise and then in november when the restrictions came in and we had the original covid, if you like, you can see that start to decline but fairly soon afterwards and especially at the start of this month you can see an extraordinarily rapid rise in cases moving upwards. The dotted line, the purple dotted line, that is the areas which are now moving into tier 4 and you can see the same shape of curve, and what we are trying to do is identify where the rapid increase is coming which is most likely because of the new variant, and you can see it is a parallel line to the areas where we currently know have very high proportions of new variant in the cases detected. What is equally important is to look at the green dotted line, these are areas in the rest of england, a month previously we have seen very dark colours at the north and north west and north east, and what you can see is the rise during september and 0ctober, the rise during september and october, the november restrictions coming in and a significant drop in that dotted green line, so against the old version of covid if you like, the restrictions had effect on what we are dealing with now is almost two different patterns, one for the new variant and one for the old. Next slide, please. This is clearer in this one, so these are cases identified, proportion of cases identified, proportion of cases which are positive for covid 19, from november and then running through to the middle of december, and the dark purple line is cases which are due variant compatible and the green line are the cases, and in some ways this is reflecting the green and purple lines on the original map, and what you can see again is the original version of covid is being brought down from november and you can see a sharp decline in cases and a levelling off, a very rapid rise in new variant of cases which are moving forward at pace. Next slide, please. If we look at the three most affected areas you can see this very starkly, the green line again is other cases and you can see they have dipped from november, the National Restrictions at that time brought them down, and there is a rise now but the sharp increase which is what we are dealing with is the new variant compatible cases, and these in the most infected areas, in other parts of england we areas, in other parts of england we are now starting to see a mixed picture where the other cases, the original covid cases have come down, flattened, but we are starting to see rises and what we are looking out for is the sharp incline in the rate of change. Next slide, please. Of course, unfortunately, this tra nslates of course, unfortunately, this translates through to occupied beds with patients who are covid positive and you can see that the number of patients in hospital came right down over the summer period. It was rising steadily, november again, the restrictions. That, but now it is starting to rise sharply almost predominantly with the new variant cases, and so we are now very close to the spring peak in terms of the numbers of in hospital. Next slide. This is just looking numbers of in hospital. Next slide. This isjust looking in london and looking at covid positive occupied beds, heading very much towards the spring peak, you can see the flattening off in the middle of november, but now steadily increasing upwards, and causing a lot of pressure, mostly we are trying to treat Covid Patients but every time a bed is occupied by one of those patients we have to think through of the impact on others seeking hospital treatment. Thank you. Thank you very much. We are now going to question is, firstly from the public and then the media. The first question is a video. Im one of the uk residents that find themselves trapped abroad after being given little to no notice to return home. I now find myself stuck in germany until next year. What is being done to help uk residents like myself . Thank you. I can understand the frustration that you feel and others who are caught abroad by the measures that have been brought in to restrict travel from the uk. 0bviously, to restrict travel from the uk. Obviously, as the uk government we wa nt to obviously, as the uk government we want to see you able to come home and were discussions with other governments right around the world to make sure that that travel can safely happen. So, for instance, you will have seen that there was an agreement reached with the french government and also the European Union said that travel should continue but they want it to continue but they want it to continue understandably in a safe way. The problem with the new variant is we are trying to restrict it from moving outside the areas where it is now at large, which as you can see from the maps is broadly the south east and the east of england, including london. The short a nswer england, including london. The short answer is we are working with our International Colleagues to try to get you home, you and others, who are caught abroad by this, and it is difficult. We will do everything we can to get you back. The next question is from south west london also through video. Good afternoon. Givena also through video. Good afternoon. Given a new variation of covid 19 consider a move to Online Learning for schools for schools for a longer period than the five days currently planned at the beginning of the january term . Will you planned at the beginning of the january term . Will you consider rolling up the vaccine for vulnerable teachers who are putting their lives on the line to keep schools open during the pandemic . Thank you. Happy christmas to you. As you know we have put in place a new plan for the new year to make sure that there is testing in secondary schools, to keep students safe but also to keep teachers safe, and when it comes to the vaccine, just before i hand over tojenny harries to comment, what i would say is that we follow strict clinical advice in terms of the order in which people get vaccinated so if people are clinically vulnerable, whether they are teachers or not, they will get early access to the vaccine, and i think following that clinical order of priority is very important because that is the best way to protect life. It is also the best way for everyone to get through to the other side of this because once those who are clinically vulnerable are better protected it will get easierfor vulnerable are better protected it will get easier for everyone. Im sensing from the question that you might bea sensing from the question that you might be a teacher so it is opportunity to say thank you to the teachers who i know who have been working very hard because the Public Health implications of children being out of school are notjust now but for their lives so it is a really important environment. In terms of clinical vulnerability, we are looking at the evidence, we have been looking at this in the large week or so, it doesnt suggest teachers are at a greater risk but clearly teachers who are clinically vulnerable will be anxious and the different groups, they clinically extremely vulnerable have a recognised or are already in the High Risk Group alongside those who are 70 and over and those who clinically vulnerable, who have more general conditions, but nevertheless increasingly vulnerable in the face ofa increasingly vulnerable in the face of a new virus, they are included in group six so i hope that gives teachers assurance that those vulnerabilities have been recognised and we have looked at that independently but we have been able to feed in much of the information and Scientific Evidence that we have had around different risk ratios. Thank you very much. Next question is from the bbc. You have just said when it comes to coronavirus it is better to act sooner and the Prime Minister said on saturday that the new strain was present across the country and your chief scientific adviser said on monday that it wasnt possible to stop it from spreading beyond the south east and you are only announcing today the widening of tier 4 within the south east and east of england and only from boxing day, havent you wasted valuable time in trying to get ahead of the new strain of the virus . And jenny harries, you have talked about yet another more transmissible strain being identified from south africa, how confident are you that the new tiered system is Strong Enough to tackle that . As you know, when we got the information on friday afternoon about the impact of the new variant on transmission, that it is that much more contagious, we acted incredibly fast to put the fourth tier in place and to date we have broadened that today. There are have broadened that today. There a re parts of have broadened that today. There are parts of the country where the case rates thankfully have been coming down as you saw, and the whole basis of the tiered system is to ta ke whole basis of the tiered system is to take a proportionate approach to the areas where we need very firm action and other areas where we clearly need restrictions but they dont have to be as drastic. Added to that, of course, everybodys personal responsibility, and that is the critical thing this christmas, and through until the new year, it is really important that people make sure that they minimise the chances of them passing on the disease because it is by all of our actions collectively that we get this under control. On the new variant and the south african variant i will pass you to Susan Hopkins who is the expert on the genomics and then asked jenny to comment on the epidemiology. The new variant in the uk which we have identified is very different to the variant in south africa with different mutations but both of them look like they are more transmissible. We have more evidence on the transmission for the uk variant because we have been studying it in great detail with academic partners but we are still learning about the south african variant and you have heard the measures we are introducing to make sure that we quarantine people who are coming in from south africa. Therefore we are pretty confident that this system we have in place will help control the spread. Clearly this needs to be monitored and we have a genomic system in place to do that. We are looking at it constantly, to enhance the detection of cases in travellers. Jenny. Going back to the tiered system, obviously as you could see from the slide, against the old version of covid, the original one we we re version of covid, the original one we were dealing with, the tiered systems has been successful, but the problem now is that we have very high rising rates of the new variant in the uk, and i thinkjust generally we expect viruses to mutate so this should not come as a surprise, but what is very clear is that the uk has a huge capacity to look at these different variants and advise at an early stage so that is positive. In terms of the tiered system, effectively it is encouraging and tightening our own behaviours and helping us to keep those behaviours within the areas we are living and working, and that actually is the most important thing, because although the virus in both these cases appears to be more transmissible, at the moment on Current Evidence the actual disease that you get is no different, and so all of the basic measures which we are continually trying to do and which the tiers help us to do should actually prevent it, so normal things, wearing face coverings if we are with people or in crowded places, keeping distance generally, keeping rooms ventilated, not going out when we dont need to, keep contacts down, so exactly the same interventions are the right ones and they will work against all of the variance, and what the tiered system is doing is helping us with that behaviour and then limiting us when we wa nt behaviour and then limiting us when we want to stray off piste a bit. The next question is from itv. Isnt it now inevitable that the majority of the country if not all of england will end up in tier 4 at some point in the next few weeks . If so, why wait for that time, why not do that more decisively now . On the new strain of the virus, i know its early, but is there any evidence to suggest that the new vaccine would work against the new strain . And could we have the latest number of people who have received their first dose of the pfizer vaccination, please . I will answer the first and third and then pass over to dr hopkins for the second question. The a nswer to hopkins for the second question. The answer to the third is that we will be publishing tomorrow the full data on the Vaccination Programme so far and we will publish those as formal government statistics for the first time. Then we will expand the statistics available around this programme on a weekly basis as we publish the data weekly from now on. 0n the first question, we absolutely act fast. You will have seen from the action we took on saturday that we are prepared to act incredibly fast and to take further action as we did this morning. We also want that action to be proportionate and in the parts of the country where the number of the new variant is very low, of course we want to keep it that way. The current tiers are working. As dr harries hasjust set out, we all have to take responsibility for our own actions as well and reduce the amount that anybody might be spreading it because of this critical fact one in three people who have coronavirus dont know they have it, but can still spread it. If we all act like we might have it, that is the best way to reduce the transmission. We might have it, that is the best way to reduce the transmissionlj would way to reduce the transmission. would just reiterate that. Treat eve ryo ne would just reiterate that. Treat everyone like they have it, and we will get to a better place. From the point of view of the vaccine, we have no evidence at the moment that the vaccine will not work. That means there is strong evidence that it will work because the vaccine produces a strong immune response and it acts a against a lot of variation in the virus. We are doing Laboratory Studies with people who have had the previous infection and who have had the vaccine, to see how their blood kills the virus. Those ta ke their blood kills the virus. Those take a numberof their blood kills the virus. Those take a number of weeks as we do those studies. As soon as they are available, we will of course release them. We will also be monitoring the people who have had the vaccine carefully, as we would anyway, in the coming weeks to determine whether they have less risk of infection, both of clinical infection, both of clinical infection, but also of subclinical infection, but also of subclinical infection, particularly in health ca re infection, particularly in Health Care Workers who are getting regular screening. So we will have both laboratory and Clinical Data in the weeks ahead to help us. At the moment, we have faith in the vaccines we have. They produce a broad response and i would recommend that everyone who is offered one extra vaccine. Studio coming we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc one but continuing coverage is on the bbc news channel. Is enough to bear down on this new variant, and if it is not, what other leavers do you have to try and bear down on the new variants, and to dr harrys as well. Some pretty stark increases in infection recently, do you expect those increasing infections to be mirrored in hospitalisations and ultimately deaths, as we go further down the line, and if you do, what impact will that have on the nhs . In answer to your first will that have on the nhs . In answer to yourfirst question. Will that have on the nhs . In answer to your first question. It took us some time to work out the three tiered system, which was calibrated to keep the old variant, the original variants, under control. And we got to a point that the tiered system, the three tiered system, was effective against the old variants. In fact, there is an interesting study being published today in the lancet, that the old variant, tests against those three tiers, the critical question is tier for working against the new variant, and just as you asked in your question, we have made sure that the tier 4 measures do as much as is reasonably possible. But it all depends on how people actually behave. You know, this is a partnership. There are so much that we can do, in terms of setting the rules and legislating from government, with all of the consequences that those actions have. But there is something that every Single Person can and should do, especially with the vaccine. Actually i was about to say on the horizon, it is not on the horizon, it is here, it is being injected into peoples arms right now, and