they can defer some of the services they provide to patients so they can concentrate on delivering covid boosterjabs instead. routine health checks for the over 75s and minor surgery could be affected. 75 new cases of the omicron variant have been identified in england, bringing the total number in the uk to 134. ministers have also launched a new campaign urging all unvaccinated pregnant women to come forward and receive their jab. lebo diseko reports. a new life amid the heartache of covid. this little boy born with the illness, and rushed to icu. his mother had to be intubated. now she s part of a government campaign encouraging pregnant women to getjabbed. i was about 32 to 33 weeks pregnant at that stage, when we both got covid. i had a conversation with one of the consultants in icu that it would be best to ventilate me just to give my lungs a rest. but, you know, my family lived through every day. they lived through the phone calls, of being told that excuse me, sorry
day. overnight, rain returns to east anglia in south east england. clear skies for scotland and northern england, allows a touch of frost and the risk of some icy stretches to take us into sunday. sunday stays quite cloudy for east scotland with outbreaks of rain on and off. the best of the weather will be further west although they could be some scattered showers here and there. generally pretty chilly for most pertaining a tad milderfor southern wales and south west england. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the parents of a us teenager accused of killing four students, have been arrested after going on the run. south african scientists say the new coronavirus variant omicron appears to be spreading more than twice as fast as the delta variant.
charged with being involved in the killings. this is highly unusual and many lawyers would argue that maybe this is not the right way to go and it is the start of a slippery slope, but all be decided in court and we will see what happens. ethan denies the charges and we are yet to see what the parents will say. there is a press conference apparently which will take place later today and we will take place later today and we will see what happens then. thank ou so will see what happens then. thank you so much- scientists in south africa say the new omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to spread more than twice as fast as delta, which has so far been the most contagious variant. the analysis has not been peer reviewed and the researchers say there s a lot of uncertainty. cases are being reported all over the world, including among fully vaccinated people. the imf is warning that the variant s emergence is likely to hinder the global economic recovery. mark lobel has the latest.
i think it s a strong incentive for innovation for the next pandemic, that people will see if they step up to the game to bring something that saves lives and saves money, there is also financial reward meanwhile the uk has approved a new antibody drug which dramatically cuts the risk of severe illness. initial tests suggest it will work against omicron. it s notjust vaccines but treatments which will end this pandemic. fergus walsh, bbc news. meanwhile in south africa the new coronavirus variant omicron has now become dominant and is driving a sharp increase in new infections. over the last week the daily number of new covid cases has increased fourfold, from less than 3,000 to more than 11,500 three quarters of which are omicron. still deaths and hospitalisations are rising at a lower rate.
lives and saves money, there is also financial reward meanwhile the uk has approved a new antibody drug which dramatically cuts the risk of severe illness. initial tests suggest it will work against omicron. it s notjust vaccines but treatments which will end this pandemic. fergus walsh, bbc news. meanwhile in south africa, the new coronavirus variant omicron has now become dominant and is driving a sharp increase in new infections. over the last week the daily number of new covid cases has increased fourfold, from less than 3,000 to more than 11,500 three quarters of which are omicron. still deaths and hospitalisations are rising at a lower rate. our africa correspondent andrew harding has more. it s summer time here in south africa, but a shadow looms over the beaches and holiday season.