labour says the prime minister still has serious questions to answer over the refurbishment of his downing street flat. england battle back on the third day of the fourth ashes test asjonny bairstow hits an unbeaten century in sydney. a letter has made its way to a care worker in northern ireland without having his actual address on it itjust contained his life story instead. we ll hear more from the letter s recipient. hello and welcome to bbc news. new figures reveal a sharp leap in covid related absences in the nhs in england. according to the latest data, on average over 35,000 staff at acute nhs trusts in england were off due to covid during the week ending two january. this is an increase of al% on the previous week, but some regional authorities showed
services are coping using the bbc nhs tracker for emergency treatment. it allows you to find out how your local services are coping this winter, and how that compares to the situation before the pandemic. a teachers union is warning that schools are teetering on the edge , with significant staff absences recorded in english primary schools on the first day of term. the department for education says it s supporting schools to keep pupils in the classroom by encouraging former teachers to step in, along with extending the covid workforce fund for those facing the greatest staffing pressures. some older pupils in england are refusing to take lateral flow tests and wear face coverings in classrooms as they head back to school according to both parents and children. charities say they are worried about the effects on vulnerable students of this advice being ignored. however, other parents say masks impact on their children s learning. let s talk to becky arnold. she s the head of framin
this is bbc news. the headlines nhs hospital staff covid related absences in england are up by more than 40% in the space of a week according to the latest figures. meanwhile the armed forces have sent personnel into hospitals across london and the north west to help with staff shortages. the australian government deny claims they re holding tennis star novak djokovic captive, after he failed to meet vaccine entry requirements: they say he can leave whenever he wants. dementia cases are expected to almost triple across the world by 2050. experts say it s down to ageing and growing populations. the president of kazakhstan addresses the nation after days of unrest saying protesters who don t give themselves up will be destroyed and thanks the russian president for sending troops.
much higher absences than the national average. north west england reported an 85% week on week increase in absences in the last few minutes it has been announced the army will help the ambulance service in the north west. cases are rising everywhere but london. in the capital, where cases are slowing down, staff absences are less severe, with 4% of staff absent. the armed forces have sent 200 personnel into nhs hospitals across london to plug staff shortages. 16 hospital trusts in england are reported to be in critical incident status meaning they face concerns over providing core care. more from our health correspondent, katharine da costa. the nhs is on a warfooting, and it s calling out for reinforcements. london s hospitals have been hit hardest by covid related absences more than 5,000 staff in acute trusts were absent in the week up to boxing day.
to the latest figures. meanwhile the armed forces have sent 200 personnel into hospitals across london to help with staff shortages. dementia cases are expected to almost triple across the world by 2050. experts say it s down to ageing and growing populations. injune, zolgensma, a highly effective treatment for the rare genetic disorder spinal muscular atrophy, was approved for use on the nhs. it s the world s most expensive drug and has the potential to save the lives of babies with the condition. one year old edward was given the drug in august, and it s changed his life. zoe conway has been to meet him and his mum, megan. he s just my little boy, just completely in awe of him, he s like the strongest little baby i know. i m just so proud of him. he s just doing so well. edward was born with the genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy. it causes progressive