meanwhile, coronavirus surge hubs are being set up at nhs at hospitals in england to deal with a potential increase in admissions, caused by record daily cases of the 0micron coronavirus variant. eight sites will be able to treat around 100 patients each. at the same time, the health secretary, sajid javid, says the supply of lateral flow tests will be tripled injanuary and february, in a bid to combat shortages. here s our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. st george s hospital in south west london, where workers started to build a nightingale hub. it s one of eight hospitals in england which will have these temporary units, aimed at caring for around 100 covid patients. there s great concern within the nhs and within government now that the number of cases is growing so fast that we have to plan for a scenario whereby the nhs cannot, in its current format, cope with those cases. i think the big concern is where do the staff come from to man those beds?
we don t normally. travel at christmas. it s our first time - and may be the last. as cases of 0micron have surged in the us, so to the number of pilots, cabin crew and other airline staff forced to isolate. the boss of the world second biggest airline, delta, saw this coming out last week wrote to the us centres for disease control, urging them to cut the isolation period from ten days to five some staff, as he warned of significant disruption. while the number of flights that have been grounded are a small percentage of the total, it s more than normal, and no less frustrating for passengers. as in parts of the us, the problem injapan has been the weather. scenes like this have stopped many flights taking off. in china, the city of xian is still under lockdown as the authorities try to stop coronavirus spreading. its airport, along with those
this is bbc news broadacsting to viewers in the uk and around the world, i m martine croxall. our top stories. australia has welcomed in 2022 with a firework display in sydney harbour. but around the world many celebrations are cancelled or scaled back due to concerns over covid infections. and celebrations are underway in north korea this is the scene in pyongyang. china is attempting to stick to a zero covid strategy ahead of its lunar new year celebrations and the beijing winter olympics. one in 30 people in the uk were estimated to have tested positive for covid heading into christmas a new record high for infections. new data suggests the risk of hospitalisation with the 0micron coronavirus variant is about one third that
in beijing, shanghai and elsewhere, have seen some of the worst disruption. with the winter olympics just weeks away, travel restrictions are regarded as crucial to keeping his numbers down. in the wake of 0micron, governments across europe are also imposing new restrictions, so airlines there are also reassessing their schedules for the coming weeks. airlines around the world have lost billions through the pandemic, so we ll hope the number of passengers starts to rise again soon. jonathan josephs, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come. we look at the life of the trailblazerjanice long after trailblazer janice long after her death trailblazerjanice long after her death at the age of 66. the world of music s been paying tribute the most ambitious change ever
it clear that there is no change in this policy. the number of flights that have been cancelled worldwide over the christmas weekend because of the 0micron coronavirus variant has risen to more than 7000. flight operators said many pilots and crew were testing positive for the virus. here s our business reporter, jonathanjosephs. department boards full of holiday disappointment. coronavirus means a growing number of flights are not taking off as planned. in the us, many airlines are struggling to find enough proof to staff all the services, leading to frustration among those who want to spend the holiday season with loved ones. i m only travelling because my father is sick and i don t know how much longer he has left, so i wanted to see him for christmas, but other than that, i would stay home. i booked this in february and we had no idea we would still be dealing with covid.