wide set of contacts across all parties here at westminster. it is noticeable that even though mi5 felt they had to act, she is not being prosecuted. it is not about spying in the traditional sense, about someone stealing secrets. it is about influence and the view was, the best way to disrupt those alleged activities was by issuing this very unusual warning. the health secretary, sajid javid, has announced that he s cutting the isolation period for people testing positive for covid in england from seven to five full days. from monday people who ve tested positive for covid can leave isolation at the start of day six as long as they have a negative test on days five and six. it s hoped it will ease pressure on employers hit by staff absences. here s our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. this restaurant in manchester, one of six in a group employing around 500 people. today, senior managers were raising a glass to government plans to lower the number of days
show there were 109,133 new infections in the latest 2a hour period. 19,721 people are in hospital with covid. another 335 were reported of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on average in the past week, there were 261 deaths per day. 0n vaccinations, 36,079,875 people have had a boosterjab, that s more than 62.7% of those aged 12 and over. in france, where daily new infections hit more than 360,000 yesterday, the government has announced it is now reopening its borders to british travellers and holidaymakers. before christmas, france imposed a blanket ban on most people entering the country from the uk to try to slow the spread of 0micron. but from tomorrow, all vaccinated travellers willjust have to show a negative pcr or lateral flow taken
isolation period, just i% of people remain infectious. at seven days, that figure increases to i6%. and i5 days, the new minimum isolation period from next week, that figure increases again to around a third of people who are still infectious. that s why people will be required to have two negative lateral flow results before being released from self isolation. the first test can be taken on day five, but some are urging caution. if be taken on day five, but some are urging caution- urging caution. if you do test neaative urging caution. if you do test negative and urging caution. if you do test negative and you urging caution. if you do test negative and you are - urging caution. if you do test negative and you are going i urging caution. if you do test| negative and you are going to urging caution. if you do test - negative and you are going to come out of isolation on day six, you should still be cautious, particularly about interacting with vulnerable people. you still should
highness. and still to come. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel: the fifth ashes test gets under way in hobart overnight. we hearfrom the england camp on salvaging pride and managing injuries. shoppers splashed out at christmas last year, despite the arrival of the 0micron variant. retail christmas sales soared, according to the latest figures. tesco and marks and spencer had a particularly good christmas, compared to two years ago, with m&s s overall sales up around 9% and tesco s up by 7.5%. 0ther other brands including sainsbury s, nxt and b and m have also reported strong christmas sales. but retailers are now wondering what will happen to consumer spending, given the looming squeeze on living standards from rising bills. our business correspondent emma simpson reports from colchester. carol singing