the minimum isolation period for positive covid cases in england has been cut to five full days, as long as people produce a negative lateral flow test on days five and six. i6 and i7 year olds in england can now also book a boosterjab or attend a walk in clinic. our health correspondent nick triggle is here. just talk us through the changes, nick. . , ., ., ., nick. the cut in the isolation eriod nick. the cut in the isolation period is nick. the cut in the isolation period is a nick. the cut in the isolation period is a further nick. the cut in the isolation period is a further reduction | nick. the cut in the isolation i period is a further reduction in that, it was only last month that the government announced the isolation period would be reduced to seven days if you test negatively for two consecutive days without rapid test. from today, you will be able to leave isolation on day six instead of day seven, after five full days of isolation. now, at that point, around a third
people to come forward to still get your first and second doses, and very importantly, to get the boosterjab. campaigners say lessons need to be learned about the handling of the pandemic, and the government has said it is committed to a full public inquiry in the spring. as you say, we are the seventh country to pass this milestone, but if you look at the number of deaths compared to the size of population, we are kind of doing not as well as quite a lot of european countries, aren t we? we ve lost a bigger proportion of people to it, and that is the sort of thing presumably that the inquiry will want to ask, why is that? yeah, the handling of the pandemic, the decisions that were made. you know, the government has always said it s prioritised, you know, it brought in ppe, you know, it fast tracked vaccines, drugs, things like that, it will always say it s done its best, but there are the critics that say more could be done. at the moment, there are those who call for tighter restrict
this is bbc news. our top stories. record numbers of cold infections are recorded in both france and the united states as the omicron variant continues to spread. borisjohnson defends the uk government s decision not to oppose further covered restrictions in england before the new year. he says 90% of those in intensive care have not had a boosterjab. one of the last pro democracy media outlets in hong kong shuts down after the police raid. and praise and thanksgiving in soweto after the death of archbishop desmond tutu.
it is not needed, the evidence shows protection from the boosterjab it is not needed, the evidence shows protection from the booster jab for those over 65 are still very high, 90% protection from hospitalisation. for now, they don t think it is needed. that will be monitored. to see what happens whether vaccines start to wane. for now, does needed. maybe it becomes an annualjab, for example. tt maybe it becomes an annual ab, for examle. ., . ., ~ example. it would nice to think it doesnt example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop us example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop us doing example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop us doing stuff, - example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop us doing stuff, it - example. it would nice to think it doesn t stop us doing stuff, it is. example. it would nice to think it| doesn t stop us doing stuff, it is a risk and we deal with it. thank you very much. france has report
baltimore. it that information back to us in lzraltimore- that information back to us in baltimore. , ., , . baltimore. it is a very exciting day for ou baltimore. it is a very exciting day for you who baltimore. it is a very exciting day for you who have baltimore. it is a very exciting day for you who have been baltimore. it is a very exciting day for you who have been involved i baltimore. it is a very exciting day l for you who have been involved with it and us watching it. we are seeing that countdown. it is just over 12 minutes to launch. doctor, fingers crossed for all of you and thank you so much for talking to us. families and communities have been marking christmas day across the globe despite varying levels of coronavirus related restrictions. in england, thousands of people are expected to get boosterjabs today. the number of coronavirus cases hit a record high across the uk yesterday with more than 122 thousand new infections reported. uk health secretary sajid javi