advisers recommend that children aged five to 11 who are clinically vulnerable should be offered a low dose of covid vaccine. nearly a week after super typhoon rai struck the philippines, we report from a popular tourist island that's been left devastated. and scientists in china reveal a dinosaur embryo from at least 66 million years ago — we'll hear from the lead researcher. hello and welcome. in the last hour, the world health organization has warned world leaders that no country can boost its way out of the pandemic. the head of the who says they should concentrate on diverting supply to countries, where there are vaccine shortages — so the virus cannot mutate and prolonge the disease worldwide. it comes as countries around the world are weighing up whether to impose further restrictions because of the omicron variant, as well as accelerating their vaccination plans. israel has become the first country in the world, to make a fourth dose, of the coronavirus vaccine widely available. it'll be offered first to people over the age of 60 and medical workers. in the uk, the government has recommended that vaccines should be given, to all vulnerable children aged 5-11. in terms of new restrictions — the welsh government has announced groups of no more than six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants from the 26th of december. ina in a moment or two we will get the latest from the world health organization. butjust to the uk figures that have just been announced. let mejust figures that have just been announced. let me just bring you the latest. it has gone over the 100,000 mark for new cases, 106,000 new cases in the last 26 hours. there you see that figure right in the middle of your screen. 106,122 positive cases. it passes that psychological barrier of 100,000, an important moment from the uk authorities. obviously we will have more on that within the next couple of minutes. we have the numbers of deaths also being reported, 140 deaths also being reported, 140 deaths within 28 days of a positive diagnosis. record numbers. we were told a couple of weeks ago that records would be regularly broken in the coming weeks, and that is what we have seen. it goes past 100,000. we will have more on that div element in a moment or two. i mentioned the world health organization because they have been talking about the whole strategy that we were seeing in capitals across the world, as they look to vaccinate more people and give out more booster vaccinations. let's hear from the head more booster vaccinations. let's hearfrom the head of more booster vaccinations. let's hear from the head of the who. about 2096 of all vaccine _ hear from the head of the who. about 2096 of all vaccine doses _ 20% of all vaccine doses administered every day are currently being given as boosters or additional doses. blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the pandemic, ratherthan programmes are likely to prolong the pandemic, rather than ending it, programmes are likely to prolong the pandemic, ratherthan ending it, by diverging supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate. it is important to remember that the vast majority of hospitalisations and deaths are in unvaccinated people. not unboosted people. and we must be very clear that the vaccines we have remain effective against both the delta and omicron variants. the global priority must be to support all countries to reach the 40% target as quickly as possible, and the 70% target by the middle of this year. no country can boost its way out of the pandemic. and boosters cannot be seen as a ticket to go ahead with the planned celebrations without the need for other precautions. the head of the who, speaking without warning as the strategy has been developed around the world. i want to go back to the breaking news on the screen, we have had the latest uk figures, just over 90,000 yesterday. you can see on the screen, 100 and cases reported. —— 106,122. we have also had a further report of 140 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test. let's get the latest thoughts with stuart mcdonald, a fellow of the institute and faculty of actuaries. your reaction to those numbers? thanks, matthew. so. _ reaction to those numbers? thanks, matthew. so, obviously— reaction to those numbers? thanks, matthew. so, obviously 100,000 i reaction to those numbers? thanks, i matthew. so, obviously 100,000 cases matthew. so, obviously100,000 cases reported is a psychological barrier, and it really does reinforce the way that cases have been going up in recent days and weeks. of course, when we look at the dates that tests were actually taken, that 100,000 barrier was actually passed a week ago, on the 15th of december, it just takes some time for those cases to be reported. we are into that territory. to be reported. we are into that territo . ~ ., ., , to be reported. we are into that territo .~ ., ., , ., ., ., territory. what does that mean? you indicate and — territory. what does that mean? you indicate and highlight _ territory. what does that mean? you indicate and highlight a _ territory. what does that mean? you indicate and highlight a lag, - territory. what does that mean? you indicate and highlight a lag, what- indicate and highlight a lag, what do you think that means in the coming days for these figures? i think it is likely we will see continued high cases reported of the order that we have been seeing now. of order that we have been seeing now. of course, as we order that we have been seeing now. of course, as we see order that we have been seeing now. of course, as we see those continued cases, and continued growth and cases, and continued growth and cases, we will see that translate into hospital admissions, as we already have seen in london. i want to ut already have seen in london. i want to put onto — already have seen in london. i want to put onto the _ already have seen in london. i want to put onto the screen _ already have seen in london. i want to put onto the screen a _ already have seen in london. i want to put onto the screen a couple - already have seen in london. i want to put onto the screen a couple of l to put onto the screen a couple of graphs. i am going to start by doing a country analysis. it's very interesting, you can see very clearly the jump in cases here interesting, you can see very clearly thejump in cases here in the uk, the sharp rise in the average daily cases per 100,000. that is over a seven day spread. france, i was mentioning that earlier, they are predicting going over the 100,000 mark in the coming days as well. you can see that sharp rise, the surge in uk cases that we have been talking about in the last week, or ten days, anticipated. but you can just see that graph. i want to go from the graph that shows you countries do what is going on in london, because london is a particularly bad hotspot. there you can see the hospital admissions. you can see the hospital admissions. you can see the graph, the line, doing a similarthing, can see the graph, the line, doing a similar thing, with a sharp rise there. stewart, let me bring you back in. because in terms of doubling time, and what we are seeing in hospitals, what is your analysis of that? the seeing in hospitals, what is your analysis of that?— seeing in hospitals, what is your analysis of that? the doubling time is rather slower _ analysis of that? the doubling time is rather slower than _ analysis of that? the doubling time is rather slower than the _ analysis of that? the doubling time is rather slower than the sort - analysis of that? the doubling time is rather slower than the sort of. is rather slower than the sort of doubling times that we have heard bandied around in terms of the virus growth. essentially, the hospital admissions lag sometime behind cases of infections. we already had a considerable number of delta driven hospital admissions, which are not growing. we have seen rapid growth in admissions and we are over 300 hospital admissions in london reported today, injust hospital admissions in london reported today, in just the last few minutes. that brings the growth up to 46% over the last seven days. in terms of doubling, it went up from about 100 hospital admissions in london a day to 200, through the first 80 days or so of december. but that doubling is accelerating now, as omicron variants and the admissions driven by that become more dominant. the admissions driven by that become more dominant.— more dominant. the world health organization _ more dominant. the world health organization was _ more dominant. the world health organization was saying _ more dominant. the world health organization was saying earlier, i organization was saying earlier, talking about the pressure on health systems right across europe, triggered by what we are seeing with omicron. you talked about the number of admissions in hospital. at what stage do we get to a critical level in the uk?— in the uk? well, the occupancy numbers are — in the uk? well, the occupancy numbers are starting _ in the uk? well, the occupancy numbers are starting to - in the uk? well, the occupancy numbers are starting to rise . in the uk? well, the occupancy numbers are starting to rise as| numbers are starting to rise as well. obviously while admissions are balanced by people leaving hospital, the pressure doesn't rise. but occupancy really is rising. we see that going up to 7000 beds in england. stilla that going up to 7000 beds in england. still a long way short of where we were after the previous peaks. but we are only really a couple of doubling is away in terms of admissions from where we were after the worst of the peak. so, the concern is obviously that we see that continued growth in occupancy and admission numbers over the days and admission numbers over the days and weeks ahead. that and admission numbers over the days and weeks ahead.— and weeks ahead. that sounds alarming- _ and weeks ahead. that sounds alarming- i _ and weeks ahead. that sounds alarming. i suppose _ and weeks ahead. that sounds alarming. i suppose the - and weeks ahead. that soundsj alarming. i suppose the caveat and weeks ahead. that sounds i alarming. i suppose the caveat is what chris whitty said last week, that we could see record numbers in hospital, but we could also see shorter stays and perhaps fewer people in intensive care, because all of those issues around severity, which we still need to actually pin down. that is potentially possible, isn't it? record numbers, perhaps stays? isn't it? record numbers, perhaps sta s? ~ , ., stays? absolutely right, we are seeinu stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very _ stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high _ stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high numbers - stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high numbers of i seeing very high numbers of infections. the likelihood is we will see more infections and cases than ever before. we know there are far fewer hospital admissions and hopefully deaths are rising per infection. so, from out of each case that arises. mostly, that is probably because the vaccines give greater protection against the more severe outcomes from covid. that seems to give greater protection against hospital admissions and deaths. whether omicron is intrinsically less severe, it is hard tojudge. almost intrinsically less severe, it is hard to judge. almost everybody now has either had a vaccine or previous infection. it's hard to know how omicron would have compared to the original strain. at what we can say with certainty now, increasing certainty from evidence here and around the world, is that we are seeing fewer severe outcomes, hospitalisations and deaths, per infection. ., ., ~ ., . infection. you talk about evidence from around _ infection. you talk about evidence from around the _ infection. you talk about evidence from around the world, _ infection. you talk about evidence from around the world, i - infection. you talk about evidence from around the world, i know i infection. you talk about evidence | from around the world, i know you have been looking at data from south africa, especially around the peak. and we are seeing now much more rapid peak in south africa, compared to what we are seeing in the uk and across the world? in to what we are seeing in the uk and across the world?— across the world? in south africa, the need to _ across the world? in south africa, the need to be _ across the world? in south africa, the need to be interpreted - across the world? in south africa, the need to be interpreted with i across the world? in south africa, i the need to be interpreted with some care. we need to allow for averaging and the patterns that we see there in reporting. but it does look like cases peak around a week ago, and admissions have also been flatter in recent days. it is to be hoped that we see a shorter peak here too. share we see a shorter peak here too. are we see a shorter peak here too. are we any clearer in terms of knowing where derek look back on that peak might be? i know we can't be specific, but generally do we have any idea, whether we are talking about the first week of january, the end ofjanuary, when is that likely to be? i end ofjanuary, when is that likely to be? ~ ., , , to be? i think that is very difficult _ to be? i think that is very difficult to _ to be? i think that is very difficult to say _ to be? i think that is very difficult to say at - to be? i think that is very difficult to say at the i to be? i think that is very i difficult to say at the moment. to be? i think that is very - difficult to say at the moment. of course, the real peaks, the ones that matter to us, it is when there is a crunch on hospitals which happens, which would be some time after the cases. what we are seeing at the moment, cases are rising sharply. we know that hospital admissions and deaths, the indicators that lag, can't possibly peak until after the cases have. so, it would be all eyes on case numbers over the weeks ahead, and, of course, we have to hope that those case numbers can remain reliable and that we don't run into the uk testing capacity. because if we start to hit the point where there are more cases than we can test for, then we have to rely on things like then we have to rely on things like the ons infection survey, which comes out with a bit more of a time lag. comes out with a bit more of a time la, . , . comes out with a bit more of a time lag. that is an interesting point about whether _ lag. that is an interesting point about whether we _ lag. that is an interesting point about whether we reach - lag. that is an interesting point | about whether we reach capacity lag. that is an interesting point i about whether we reach capacity to terms of testing. a final thought, in london, a lot of people are unvaccinated. so we are seeing real world data. i know you have been looking at that, and come in a sense, that gives an indication for the rest of the uk, which perhaps lags a little behind london. this dough we know in terms of a basic answer to the fundamental question about how far we are away from knowing, answers on the seriousness of the omicron variant? i knowing, answers on the seriousness of the omicron variant?— of the omicron variant? i suppose the answer _ of the omicron variant? i suppose the answer that _ of the omicron variant? i suppose the answer that really _ of the omicron variant? i suppose the answer that really matters i of the omicron variant? i suppose the answer that really matters is i the answer that really matters is how severe is it in practice. so, when we are dealing with a population which is mostly vaccinated or has had some prior exposure to the virus. so, i would say we have the answer we need now. we are beginning to have a lot more certainty, that, in practice, given levels of prior immunity, it is resulting in less hospitalisations and deaths. so i think we do have that answer now. we are further away from being able to explain exactly why that is, but that is probably the crucial one.— why that is, but that is probably the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank ou the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank you for— the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank you for being _ the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank you for being with - the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank you for being with us i the crucial one. stuart mcdonald, thank you for being with us and l thank you for being with us and giving us those answers. i want to return to the uk figures. that is an important element, it was just over 90,000 new cases yesterday. the new figure, 106,122 new cases, with another 140 deaths being reported within 28 days of a positive result. those are the uk numbers. also coming in, the reuters news agency is reporting the latest from the health ministry in italy, let me bring you up—to—date with the situation there. they are reporting 36,293 new coronavirus cases. that is coming from the health ministry, which brings us to what is happening in the rest of europe. spain has reported its highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic. the french health minister has said that daily cases in france are set to exceed 100,000 by the end of december, due to the faster—spreading omicron variant. the country saw almost 73,000 new infections on tuesday — with an average of over 54,000 over the last seven days. but officials fear that the emergence of omicron has changed the nature of the pandemic. translation: it is estimated that. 2096 of the cases detected in france are linked to the omicron variant. just this weekend, it was 10%, and therefore probably, as we are seeing everywhere, it is a share that will double in the next two or three days. it is spreading at a very fast pace. it is gradually becoming the dominant strain in several regions of our country. notably in indo france, and especially in paris, and it will probably become the main strain at national level between christmas and the new year. the northern chinese city of xi'an has ordered all 13 million residents to stay at home, in a strict lockdown — as concern grows over a fresh outbreak of covid—19. all households may only send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities, with all others ordered to remain indoors except for emergencies, the city government said in a statement. this the national hockey league has announced it will not be sending any players to the winter olympics which get under way in beijing in february. the decision comes after the regular season schedule was disrupted due to a surge in covid—19 cases. 50 games have already been postponed in the regular season that the nhl now plans to play at the same time as the olympics. the decision by the nhl means some of the world's top ice hockey players won't be competing at the games. amazon, facebook and twitter are among firms to announce that they will not send teams to the consumer electronics show, due to take place in las vegas injanuary over fears about rising covid—19 cases. the organisers have said the conference will be going ahead, with health precautions. otherfirms, including google, still plan to attend the event. ces is one of the technology calendar�*s busiest weeks, where firms show off new gadgets and talk through trends and regularly attracted almost 200,000 people before covid forced the event online last year. let's recap on our top stories. daily covid—19 cases in the uk have exceeded 100,000 for the first time. it's the highest daily reported number since mass testing began in may and june last year. the world health organization has warned world leaders that no country can boost its way out of the pandemic. more on all of those developments in the next little while. for the next few minutes, let's turn away from things related to covid—19. it's nearly a week since a super typhoon hit the philippines — killing at least 375 people, and leaving hundreds of thousands without shelter. one of the worst affected areas was the popular tourist island of shargo. from there, our correspondent howard johnson sent this report. devastation as far as the eye can see. voted best island in asia this year by conde nast, siargao now resembles an apocalyptic mess. super typhoon rai first made landfall here last thursday, packing winds in excess of 150 miles an hour and dumping huge quantities of rainfall. this scene is repeated many times across the island. a tree felled by the super typhoon across the road blocking the passage of motorcycles and it has caused all this debris to block the road. we can see corrugated iron ripped from the roof and electricity cables which have come down from the pylon and that is affecting things gravely because there is no electricity and that means no internet signal, no cellular network and no pumping of water. prices for filtered bottled water have doubled in the last week forcing the poor to find other sources. this family are drawing water from an old well, but it isn't clean. diarrhoea cases are on the rise here. it is bad for the stomach but we have no choice, we need to drink. we do not have safe water to drink. this is general luna, a popular surf spot for international tourists and young nomadic workers. but as our drone footage reveals, the area is now totally inhospitable. this man shows me to where his home and convenience store once stood. i'm scared because no more food and then my house is broken from the typhoon. i don't know what happened and what i'm going to do to start again with my store in my home. at the island's badly damaged airport, aid is getting through, but in limited quantities. we are an island community geographically isolated in this area so transport of goods is very difficult. construction materials for repair and especially for evacuation centres to move people especially when the rain will come, many people are living on the streets in makeshift houses and this is just the start of the typhoon season which normally ends in mid—march. outside the airport, residents have been waiting for up to three days for a flight off the island. it is leading to a sense of panic. there is nothing. there is no system, we have to figure it out ourselves. the real pandemic is not having a system. as night falls, and newly arrived philippine red cross team helped islanders to speak with loved ones using their satellite phone. help is on hand here, but there needs to be a lot, lot more. howard johnson, bbc news, siargao island. the uk figures going over 100,000 for the first time, a new record, psychological barrier, let's head straight to westminster and straight to your political correspondent ben wright. confirms that the omicron variant is sweeping through populations, is incredibly transmissible, very contagious, and the numbers are doing exactly what we expected them to do. there are now more than 100,000 confirmed cases. what we are seeing in the uk in the last couple of days is a factoring of how the different nations of the uk are responding to the fact this is sweeping through that have a look back a population full stop governments in scotland, wales, northern ireland, announcing slightly tougher restrictions, measures to try to curb the spread of omicron in the days and weeks that will follow. you asked about borisjohnson, he is leading the westminster governorate in charge of restrictions for england. at the moment, there remains a very active debate within the uk government about whether or not to tighten restrictions further, to try to slow the spread of omicron. i don't think these figures themselves are going to change anything at all. they expected this tsunami of cases. what the politicians are looking at is the politicians are looking at is the extent to which these cases translate into hospitalisations, which translate into mortality. at the moment, the uk government does not have that data, it says, to change its plans for now. you bring me on to what _ change its plans for now. you bring me on to what i _ change its plans for now. you bring me on to what i wanted _ change its plans for now. you bring me on to what i wanted to - change its plans for now. you bring me on to what i wanted to ask i change its plans for now. you bringj me on to what i wanted to ask you. on monday, the prime minister said the data was being analysed on an hourly basis, and then on tuesday he said there would be no change in restrictions before christmas. does that really tally, those two things? yes, i think it does. there was a cabinet meeting of top ministers a couple of days ago. the consensus among the majority of ministers at that meeting was that they want more data before they pull the lever. the last time parliament introduced plan b, half of his parliamentary party voted against new measures. increasing resistance from boris johnson's own party, for any further restrictions in response to what will be a virus that will be around, it seems, for a long, long time, and more and more waves that politicians have to respond to. a chunk of his party, and it seems some of his cabinet, are using this moment to put a line in the sand and say that we have to take a stand against this now. but it is fluid, matthew. at the moment, the policy of the uk government is to have no more restrictions until christmas day. what happens after that remains hugely uncertain, and it is dependent on data, particularly around whether this surge of infections is translated into hospitalisations. zf} infections is translated into hospitalisations. infections is translated into hositalisations. :: , , hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would, we hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would. we are _ hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would, we are in _ hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would, we are in a _ hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would, we are in a situation i hospitalisations. 20 seconds if you would, we are in a situation wherej would, we are in a situation where we have new restrictions in scotland yesterday, new restrictions in wales and northern ireland today, but no change in england.— change in england. there is a deafening — change in england. there is a deafening silence, _ change in england. there is a deafening silence, that i change in england. there is a deafening silence, that is i change in england. there is a i deafening silence, that is right. borisjohnson is telling people to stick with the guidance for now. the mood music, ithink, within westminster, has been that further restrictions seem more likely than not. but right now, nothing is confirmed. not. but right now, nothing is confirmed-— not. but right now, nothing is confirmed. . , . ., confirmed. thanks very much. you can see those new — confirmed. thanks very much. you can see those new figures _ confirmed. thanks very much. you can see those new figures there _ confirmed. thanks very much. you can see those new figures there on - confirmed. thanks very much. you can see those new figures there on the i see those new figures there on the screen. we will have more reaction to that end all of the rest of the headline stories. stay with us. as we head towards the christmas weekend, the whether theme is on the change, and we can see that with the feel of the weather. first thing on wednesday morning was our coldest out of the winter so far with temperatures down as low as —10. quite widespread cold. and it was frosty. let's fast forward to thursday morning, what a difference. in some places, a good 10 degrees milder stop that is because of a southerly wind that is associated with this weather front that is going to drive some milder air across the country. for a time, the bumps into the colder air during the early hours we could have some icy stretches across eastern scotland and north—east england. heavy rain pushing into northern ireland as well. it's going to be a chilly start for some, but nowhere near as cold. 11 or 12 degrees. on thursday, we will see some rain, some of it heavy through northern ireland, northern england, moving into the scottish border, to the south of that we keep the milder air. temperatures 509 degrees, further south, double digits quite widely expected, perhaps picking up 13 degrees in the far south—west. slightly above where they should be for this time of year. snow in the far north of scotland for a time before the weather front eases away. christmas eve on the whole, it will start with light patchy rain, snow into higher ground in scotland. south of that, dry up at cloudy conditions and a weather front starting to show its hand into south—west england. also into wales. in terms of the feel of the weather, we are still keeping double figures down to the south—west, and still on the chilly side into the far north—east with a maximum of four 5 degrees. it is where these two air masses metre that could potentially cause a bit of a headache for christmas day, because that is the dividing line between the mixture of rain, sleet and snow. there could be a little bit of a wintry mix into northern ireland, northern england, north wales, may be the north midlands for a time. the best of the sunshine on christmas day is likely to be across the far north—east of scotland, wetter but milder conditions continuing into northern ireland, wales and south—west england. that weatherford will continue to push its way steadily north and east, a little bit of winteriness, perhaps, in scotland through the night. but that eases away and on the whole, boxing day is quieter. this is bbc news, the headlines: daily covid—19 cases in the uk have exceeded 100,000 for the first time, as the omicron variant continues to spread. it's the highest daily reported number since mass testing began in may and june last year. the head of the world health organisation has warned world leaders that no country can boost its way out of the pandemic — and they should divert supply to countries where there are vaccine shortages. meanwhile, israel looks set to be the first country to give the over 60s and medical staff would be the first in line. rescuers in myanmar have called off the search for dozens of people missing after a landslide at a jade mine because of poor light. they say they'll resume thursday morning when the fog and mist clears. now on bbc news, overfour days in may the footballing world,