has stayed relatively unchanged throughout december. scotland s first minister, nicola sturgeon, has called on people to exercise caution after the nation reported another about 15,850 new infections were registered in the past 2a hours, but she said this had not yet resulted in an increase in the number of people being admitted to hospital. however, no changes are to be made to restrictions in scotland. ms sturgeon said curbs are expected to remain until 17 january. at this stage, our expectation is that they will be in force until the 17th of january. that means, for now, limits on the size of live public events, though private life events such as weddings are exempt. for indoor standing events, the limit is 100, for indoor seated events 200, and for outdoor events 500 seated or standing. i know some question the rationale for this,
because others have also been questioning restrictions around the christmas period and how that will impact daily life. we heard from the prime minister now, announcing that actually people won t have the strict restrictions that we saw last year during the christmas period. take a listen. people can go ahead with their christmas plans. but the situation remains finally balanced, and i would urge everyone to exercise caution, to keep protecting yourselves and your loved ones, especially the vulnerable, and remember to keep following the guidance. reporter: and really, following the guidance here is key. we ve seen a number of concerns being expressed by health officials from the government s own scientific advisers, warning that if urgent action isn t taken before christmas, that we could see a surge in hospital admissions in the new year. the head of the n.h.s. himself warning the health service is on a war footing.
in the past seven days, bringing the booster total tojust under 30 million, that s 52% of the population aged over 12. live to westminster and our political correspondent ben wright. this announcement by borisjohnson today, ben, a big debate about whether it is science or politics thatis whether it is science or politics that is driving the decision, how do you read it? that is driving the decision, how do ou read it? , , you read it? huw, the prime minister is havin: you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to wake you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to wake up you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to wake up both. you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to wake up both. in - you read it? huw, the prime minister is having to wake up both. in his - is having to wake up both. in his video message this evening boris johnson said the evidence at the moment did notjustify tougher restrictions in eng
and a half hours in a queue, which is painful because i have pelvic pain which makes it hard to stand or to walk. in addition, i was very nervous, as was everyone there in the queue. everyone is nervous because they thought the boosters might run out because it was a walk in clinic. the prime minister was again banging the booster drum at a vaccination centre in kent. he urged the public to be careful when mixing with others this christmas. we do not want to make your choices for you about your social life, we are not closing things, but what we are saying people will understandably not want people will understandably not want to people will understandably not want to catch covid now or even want to catch covid now or even the want to catch covid now or ever. the best thing to do is exercise ever. the best thing to do is exercise caution, that s what we are exercise caution, that s what we are saying. and the queen is leading by example, cancelling a pre christmas lunch
the prime minister denied there was any confusion between the message from health experts and ministers. there s a lot of omicron around be careful, exercise caution if you want to avoid isolation, getting unwell over christmas. implement plan b but get boosted now is the fastest route back to normality because the booster does give you an excellent level of protection. in scotland, it s expected that omicron will be the dominant strain of coronavirus by tomorrow. nicola sturgeon has confirmed that restrictions designed to curb the spread of coronavirus, which will affect shops and hospitality venues in scotland, will come into force tomorrow. rules on physical distancing and the management of queueing in shops will be reintroduced. infections climbing fast, warnings that too much socialising now could ruin the festive break. it s beginning to feel a lot like last christmas. dominic hughes, bbc news.