and he s checked his list, and now santa claus is coming to town! we ll have an update on his progress a little later. he is currently just he is currentlyjust leaving iceland. hello and thanks forjoining us. merry christmas from the uk. the united kingdom has again recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than 120,000. it s the third day in a row that cases have topped 100,000 with 122,186 cases recorded on friday. a separate survey from the office for national statistics found that on december 19th, an estimated 1 in 35 people in the uk, had covid 19 the equivalent of 1.74 million. in london, the ratio is much higher one in 20 people were likely to have tested positive for covid. but despite soaring cases, early findings suggest that the 0micron variant is milder than delta, and leads to less hospitalisation the head of the uk health health security agency, drjenny harries, called it a glimmer of christmas hope . europe
hello and welcome to bbc news. the uk has again recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began with more than 120,000 new infections. european countries have also reported record numbers of cases with italy, greece and spain introducing mandatory face coverings outdoors. 0fficial findings that 0micron may be less likely to result in serious illness than delta offer a glimmer of christmas hope , according to the head of britain s health security agency, but there are warnings that much is still unknown about 0micron. here s our health editor hugh pym. london is the epicentre of the surge, and new figures suggest that one in 20 people in the city now have the virus either the 0micron or delta variants. the data comes from the office for national statistics, which tests people from tens of thousands of households, picking up those who don t have symptoms. its latest survey points to a faster spread around the uk. well, we are seeing a really q
there s a few hours left but is any festive cheer for retailers this year? after covid, brexit and chain disruptions, have shoppers got what they need? disruptions, have shoppers got what the need? ., talk of a player strike in the premier league. manager pep guardiola says the threat might make football authorities listen to players over their welfare. ready for launch the space telescope that could change our understanding of the universe. good morning. if you re heading out early, watch out for fog. there good morning. if you re heading out early, watch out forfog. there is some dense patches around. today s forecast is cloudy with patchy light rain. with snow flurries mostly on higher ground and heavier rain coming in from the south west through the day. i will have all the details later on in the programme. good morning. it s christmas eve, friday 24th december. our main story. covid vaccination clinics will remain open tomorrow and throughout the holiday weekend, as t
but dr harries cautions that more information is needed, particularly about the impact on elderly and more vulnerable patients. 200,000 first, second or booster appointments are being made available over the festive period across england as people are urged to getjabbed, as omicron continues to spread rapidly across the country. earlier i spoke to the university of cambridge s professor ravi gupta about the latest covid data. he told me what he believes is behind the high infections. i think that of course the number of infections is remarkably high and it is probably due to the virus being highly infectious and replicating really well in the upper airways and the nose and that is why it is spreading so quickly. we think it has taken a potential hit in other parts of its profile and it may be less prone to infecting the lower airways and causing severe lung disease so although the numbers of cases is incredibly high it may not translate into more severe disease, as we were di
hello and welcome. 1.74 million people in the uk had coronavirus on december 19, according to survey by the office for national statistics that s up by more than 400,000 people on the figure three days earlier. this equates to 1 in 35 people, or 2.7% of the population of the united kingdom. and in london this rises to around 1 in 20 people likely to test positive for covid 19, the highest proportion for any region in england. elswhere, thailand has reported its first 0micron cluster 21 infections have stemmed from a belgium couple who had travelled to the country earlier this month. in europe, italy has reintroduced mandatory face coverings outdoors, and greece is ordering people to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors. here s our health correspondent, dominic hughes. that s it done. a christmas eve booster in basingstoke. here, they are getting jabs in arms up until christmas. it was good, it made sense to do it, doing my bit for the community and everybody else. in