good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. early studies suggest the omicron variant of coronavirus may cause milder illness than the delta variant. scientists say the findings are good news, but warn that the sheer number of cases could still overwhelm the nhs. ministers are monitoring the figures, though the health secretary, sajid javid, has said there will be no further restrictions announced in england before christmas. meanwhile new figures show a growing number of health staff in england are having to stay away from work because of covid. here s our health correspondent dominic hughes. the last few days before christmas have brought better news. early studies of the omicron cove invariant suggest it may lead to fewer hospitalisations than the
whether they have symptoms or not. epidemiologists are warning that the speed omicron is spreading out could lead to hospitalisations which could lead to hospitalisations which could lead to hospitalisations which could lead to real issues for the health service. . ~ lead to real issues for the health service. ., ~ , ., and the bbc has launched an nhs tracker so you can find out how your local services are coping in england, wales and scotland. it ll run throughout the winter. you can find out more at bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. well, other european countries are bringing in additional measures to counter the omicron variant, amongst them spain. our correspondent, guy hedgecoe, is in madrid. explain what measures are coming in there. in explain what measures are coming in there. ,, ., ., ., , there. in spain to date, the cabinet is approving there. in spain to date, the cabinet is approving a there. in spain to date, the cabinet is approving a government - there. in spain to date, the ca
no more announcements of covid restrictions in england before christmas says the government, as early studies suggest omicron may be milder than delta. but the rising number of cases could still put pressure on the nhs staff absences in england were up 50% on the week before. the nhs is coping with the impact of omicron alongside emergency pressures, trying to recover the backlog and of course delivering the vaccination booster programme as well. we ll be discussing the latest findings and what it means for the nhs. also in the programme. a stark warning from the energy industry household bills could rise by up to 50% next year unless the government intervenes. waiting for a parcel delivery? beware of scam texts
looking to fill the gaps through bank and agency staff. that is getting harder to do. the latest data from nhs getting harder to do. the latest data from nhs england - getting harder to do. the latest data from nhs england shows | getting harder to do. the latest - data from nhs england shows what a dramatic impact the rising infections is having on staff absence. on one day, the 19th of december, nearlyi9,000 nhs absence. on one day, the 19th of december, nearly 19,000 nhs staff in england were off work due to covid, up england were off work due to covid, up 54% compared to the week before. the biggest increase was in london, where covid related absence, sickness or isolation almost doubled to 3900. the sickness or isolation almost doubled to 3900. ,, ., ~ ., . to 3900. the nhs workforce was already under to 3900. the nhs workforce was already under pressure to 3900. the nhs workforce was already under pressure before i already under pressure before omicron came along, we are see
for nhs services. the number of occupied beds were around 91%, the target is 85, and while there have been some improvements with ambulance handovers, delays have continued with around one in five patients waiting at least half an hour. the pressures facing the nhs go way beyond covid. they are boosting hundreds of thousands of people every day, delivering urgent care and now preparing for the potential impact of high covid numbers in the coming weeks. even though early studies suggest omicron may cause mild symptoms, the pressure s hospital phrase this winter will be a mix of its severity and also how many people are infected. a survey by the office for national statistics suggests over 1.3 million people in the uk would have tested positive in the week ending december the 16th. the highest level since the survey started. whilst it has a timeline, it tests people regardless of