i m scott mclean in london where british health authorities are bracing for a tidal wave of omicron infections. the head of the health service in england expects one in five health staff in london could be out sick with covid on christmas day because of the surge. government advisers say that without further restrictions new hospital admissions will peek at near record levels, and so to deal with the huge influx of patients and short staffing the health service is already planning to send about 15% of patients home with a monitor so that their oxyge can be checked remotely by hospital staff to free up bed safe. so far boris johnson s government is in weight and see mode waiting to see more data on omicron, particularly howie is veer an illness it really causes before deciding how and if they will and. good news is that booster shots have been going into arms with record pace but are omicron infections growing exponentially it will be impossible to keep
in five staff in london to be out sick with covid on christmas day thanks to an omicron-fueled surge in new infections. government scientists say a new set of restrictions is needed fewer rather than later to avoid near peak levels of hospital admissions. but the government is still in wait and see mode because there are still question marks about the severity of illness omicron actually causes. the cautious british approach is in stark contrast to many mainland european governments which are facing protests over severe or new restrictions. friday night france closed its borders to british tourists even if they re vaccinated, and now germany has officially followed suit. we re here in europe. the covid situation is not making holiday celebrations easy for a second year in a row. the netherlands are locking down thanks to a spike in cases and hospitalizations. ireland just instituted another curfew on pubs and restaurants, and the u.k. is grab ppling wita