and different ways of seeing in the new year in different parts of the world. hello and welcome to bbc news. face masks are to be worn in secondary school classrooms in england, to reduce the spread of the omicron variant. until now, england was the only one of the four uk nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in class. six teaching unions have demanded urgent action to limit the spread of the virus. the government has also announced that 7000 air cleaning units are to be made available to early years setting, schools and colleges to improve ventilation in classrooms. there s concern that rising cases will continue to impact staffing across vital services. public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates.
Transcripts for BBCNEWS BBC News 20220102 09:01:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates. in europe, france has cut its self isolation period. fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they are infected with, and can leave quarantine after five days if they show a negative pcr test. across europe, police have broken up small anti lockdown protests as well as illegal gatherings. in stuttgart in germany, about 100 activists attempted to stage an unauthorised protest against covid vaccines and restrictions. james reynolds reports now on the measures to prevent the virus spreading in england s schools. since march 2020, getting an education has become an obstacle course of home learning, missed exams and regular covid tests. 0lder pupils have now got used to wearing masks in communal areas in schools. now the government s recommending that pupils in years seven
Transcripts for BBCNEWS BBC News 20220102 11:01:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ways, proven false with regards to kind of this major potentially. this is still too early to say, but with this major military offensive, but in terms of hybrid warfare, cyberattacks, maybe limited military aims with just small acquisitions of territory, those things are still on the table and it s the responsibility of good government and a good management to conduct all these contingency plans. this is something that i think a lot of people have written about. i certainly have been deeply concerned about displaced persons and refugees and cyberattacks, and it s very good sign that these activities are going on and that they re being thought through in detail, covering the worst case scenarios, covering the range of possibilities to help the government respond when things start to infold. julia, i want to read to you something senator chris murphy tweeted and it sort of gets at how these conversations take place, as though putin holds all the cards. he tweeted this.