and the kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter richard leakey has died at the age of 77 hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. as schools prepare to re open for the new year across europe, governments are bringing in new coronavirus measures, in an effort to control the spread of the omicron variant of the virus. in england, the government says all secondary pupils will be tested before they return to school and will also be required to wear masks in class. from today, children aged six and over in france will be required to wear facemasks on public transport, shops and other venues. and in the netherlands, prime minister mark rutte and his government are meeting today with health advisers,
working from home where possible, and covid passes for some venues will stay the same for now. the prime minister said that pressure on nhs hospitals is going to be considerable in the coming weeks as omicron continues to surge through the country but he says omicron is plainly milder than other variants. meanwhile, the education secretary nadhim zahawi has defended the requirement for secondary school pupils to wear masks during lessons to tackle omicron. he also confirmed that all secondary pupils in england will be tested before returning this week. elsewhere, in france from today children aged six and over will be required to wear facemasks on public transport, shops and other venues. and in the netherlands, prime minister mark rutte and his government are meeting today with health advisers, to discuss whether schools should re open this week. let s start in the uk. here s our political
happy new year, thank you very much for all you re doing. the prime minister in aylesbury in buckinghamshire this morning at a vaccination centre, as secondary schools in england are told to do what s already been happening in wales, northern ireland and scotland. pupils wearing masks in class. there is an increasing body of scientific support for the idea that facemasks can contain transmission. we don t want to keep them on, i don t like the idea of having facemasks in the classroom any more than anybody else does. we won t keep them on a day more than is necessary. this is what the start of term looked like in secondary schools in england in september, and it ll look pretty similar in the next few days, too, as pupils are tested at school before heading to lessons. this head teacher in solihull in the west midlands is a senior figure in the naht teachers union. it s going to be challenging. we are yet again going to slightly an unknown of knowing what the impact is, not only on stu
in retford, in nottinghamshire, here in england. it s a school with children aged from three up to 18, who have special education needs and disabilities. we are very grateful for you joining us. good to have you with us here on bbc news. what is your main concern going into the new term? the bbc news. what is your main concern going into the new term? going into the new term? the main concern is around going into the new term? the main concern is around community - concern is around community transmission and lots of the measures that have been suggested in the last couple of days are really difficult to apply in lots of cases to children with special educational needs and disabilities. wearing facemasks or face coverings, children with additional needs are exempt from that, vaccination testing, the tests are really invasive. have the capacity or physical
the government insists it s determined to keep schools open. speaking at a vaccination centre, mrjohnson said current measures, including mask wearing in secondary schools, working from home where possible, and covid passes for some venues, are enough for now. scotland has hit a record number of new cases. a further 20,217 people tested positive for covid 19 there, the highest daily figure of the pandemic. in france, children aged six and over are required to wear facemasks on public transport, shops and in other venues. and in the netherlands, the government are considering whether schools should re open this week. let s start in the uk, and our political correspondent chris mason. happy new year, thank you very much for all you re doing. the prime minister in aylesbury in buckinghamshire this morning at a vaccination centre, as secondary schools in england are told to do what s already been happening in wales,