to help consumers cope with sharp rises in gas and electricity prices. good afternoon. the bbc understands no further covid restrictions in england are set to be announced today. borisjohnson is meeting with his scientific advisers as he considers whether further measures might be needed to slow the spread of the omicron variant. it's expected he'll hear about the impact on hospital admissions and nhs staff sickness over recent days. further controls have come into effect today in northern ireland and scotland. the new measures there affect the hospitality and leisure industries. in scotland, nightclubs have to close for at least three weeks, and one metre social distancing and table service has been reinstated in hospitality settings where alcohol is served. table service has also resumed in hospitality venues across northern ireland. a record number of daily cases have been recorded in scotland, we will look at that data later in the hour. table service has also resumed in hospitality venues across northern ireland. no more than six people will be allowed to sit together. dancing is also prohibited, except at weddings. yesterday in wales, the rule of six was reinstated for people meeting in pubs, cinemas and restaurants. then, outside of the uk, new york city has become the first us city to require vaccines against covid for private—sector workers. it's also compulsory for everyone aged 12 and above to be fully vaccinated in order to access indoor entertainment and sports activities. indian authorities are imposing a night—time curfew in delhi to try to contain a growing number of cases. the restriction will last for six hours each night. we'll visit all of those stories in a moment. first, let's start with the latest in the uk. here's our correspondent simonjones. after the christmas festivities, tough decisions. borisjohnson will be poring over the latest covid data to see if he thinks new measures are needed in england. though no new restrictions are expected to be announced today. at this bar in bristol, they say they need clarity as they look ahead to the new year. he needs to get on with it, he needs to get on with it now, and he needs to help people now. people need to know now. they have got staff that they need to put in place, they have security that they need to book, they have stock that they need to order. he needs to tell people now, right now, so they know what they are doing. a key consideration is going to be hospital admissions, whether omicron infections could lead to the nhs being overwhelmed. downing street said before christmas that it would not hesitate to act if necessary. but borisjohnson will face a battle to convince some of his mps that changes are needed. my view is that the government is going to sit tight and wait for more information, wait for a signal that omicron, if it indeed is, is more severe in older people. whereas the devolved governments have decided to act sooner. yesterday in wales, social distancing measures were reintroduced. from today in northern ireland, there are new restrictions for pubs and restaurants. it will be table service only and a maximum of six people will be allowed to sit together. we try to be sensible and both protect ourselves and each other. i am slightly bewildered. i don't understand them. i have come over from scotland, so everything is different. table service too has come in in scotland where alcohol is served. nightclubs will have to close for a period of at least three weeks. the scottish health secretary this morning visited a vaccination centre in perth. this is still going to be very difficult for businesses, but of course if we let this virus run out of control or get ahead of us, that would be even worse for the economy. as people wait to hear what further new restrictions might be needed for the new year, the government has insisted that no decisions have yet been taken for england. today's briefing by scientists is one of a series of regular updates given to the prime minister. borisjohnson has not yet called a cabinet meeting or announced a recall of parliament. simon jones, bbc news. andrew bridgen is the conservative member of parliament for north west leicestershire, he says the prime minister will act on the evidence. prime minister will act on the evidence-— evidence. well, clearly, the data being _ evidence. well, clearly, the data being fed _ evidence. well, clearly, the data being fed to _ evidence. well, clearly, the data being fed to the - evidence. well, clearly, the data being fed to the prime | data being fed to the prime minister, they were not sufficient for him to be able to justify any further regulations, and bearing in mind that we've got a lot of information from very senior positions in south africa, where the omicron variant originated, they have added for four weeks already, and what we should be expecting is what we are finding — fewer hospitalisations, more transmissibility, people going to hospital, staying in hospitalfar to hospital, staying in hospital far less than under the delta variant, and thankfully far fewer deaths. andrew bridgen conservative mp. we can take you through the figures we have for scotland, because we do have the latest covid infection figures for scotland, a record number of cases recorded over the christmas break. on christmas day, 8252 cases were reported, 11,030 confirmed yesterday, thatis 11,030 confirmed yesterday, that is boxing day, sunday. that is the highest ever number of covid cases recorded in scotland, and the figure for today, as you can see there, just over 10,500. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, saying that these figures show the expected steep increase in cases because of the omicron variant. also, there is a longer turnaround time for test results at the moment, because of all the public holidays, christmas and so on, so the first minister was making the point that the actual number may in fact be much higher, but there will be considerable time lags and confusion with all these figures in the next day or two, these figures in the next day ortwo, because these figures in the next day or two, because everything is different with public holidays, isn't it? so there are going to be some difficulties with the latest figures. there havejust come through from scotland in the last hour, and we are expecting those from england at some point, perhaps in the next hour as well. so we are very much keeping an eye on all of that, and we will try to put some of that in context of course, once we get the england figures as well. but those are the latest figures through from scotland. new york city has made it compulsory for everyone aged 12 and above to be fully vaccinated against covid in order to access indoor entertainment and sports activities. it has also become the first us city to require vaccines for all private—sector workers. jabs are already mandatory for state employees. cbs correspondent courtney kealy is in new york and gave us the reaction to the new mandate. well, here in new york, people are adhering to that, but with this quadruple rate of children in hospital since the omicron variant came here, a lot of those children are not fully vaccinated. in fact, between the ages of five and 11, none were vaccinated. so the department of health right now in new york city is really warning parents to make sure that their children are getting vaccinations. children over 12 have to have both vaccinations to enter public areas like restaurants. so each state and each city does do things differently. new york state has definitely been in the forefront. bill de blasio, the current mayor, has said he doesn't want to see new york go back to the dark days of the early pandemic when the city essentially shut down. so there is a definite surge, but there are all sorts of mandates and rules in place here in new york city. more now from india, where a new night—time curfew is being imposed in delhi from tonight to try to contain a growing number of coronavirus cases. the restriction will last for six hours each night. our south east asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, has the latest from delhi. this is one of the first steps being announced by not only the government here in delhi, but also in several other states, that is a night—time curfew to restrict people gathering, especially the youth gathering in the night. and there are new year celebrations coming, and they don't want people to congregate in any one particular place. and if you look at delhi, it is now having the highest number of omicron cases within india, it has surpassed maharashtra state. even though the numbers are only around 580 cases of omicron, the authorities are worried, given the way it spreads, the numbers could go up very quickly, and what they are worried about especially in delhi is the number of positive tests, and that is why they are imposing these restrictions. but there are health experts who have questioned this move on social media, because many people in the city are not wearing masks, and people are still in the markets. i saw the market yesterday, it was busy with activity. so only a night—time curfew will not really bring the situation under control if the omicron starts spreading. an israeli hospital has begun giving a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine in a clinical trial to find out if it is safe and effective in containing the spread of covid. the trial in tel aviv includes about 150 health—care workers who received their third shot no later than august this year. israel is considering approving a fourth dose, or second booster, for vulnerable people as omicron infections surge despite a comprehensive vaccination programme. let's try and assess the latest covid figures. we were reflecting on the situation in scotland, and i think we can bring you the latest on the figures from england. apologies, because i am looking at a very small screen, and i can't actually read all of that! i can tell that the latest data is... so this is a daily figure, i think i need to stress this is england only, again, with all the caveats about this being christmas and the time lag involved and possibly fewer test results coming through as well, but more than 98,500 is the daily figure for england. let's try to analyse the figures that we've got thus far, this is not uk wide, i should stress. dr sarah pitt is a virologist at the university of brighton, thank you so much for being with us, particularly at this time of year, there are a lot of caveats around this, i don't have all the figures in front of me, you may know rather more than i do, but certainly those figures from scotland in the last hour, we are just starting to get the figures from england. high figures, to get the figures from england. highfigures, your assessment of what we are learning so far?— assessment of what we are learning so far? the data that has 'ust learning so far? the data that has just been _ learning so far? the data that hasjust been published - learning so far? the data that hasjust been published from| has just been published from the uk health security agency, which is about england, it's in from the last three days, it is around about 100,000 new cases per day across those three days of christmas day, boxing day and today. and of course they are likely to be an underestimate for all sorts of reasons, including people not coming forward for a test because it was christmas day and of course the processing of the data and producing the results. at a weekend, normally we wait to see what is happening by wednesday or so, so those numbers, over 100,000 new cases a day on average, thatis new cases a day on average, that is quite high numbers, and we have seen in countries all over the world over the weekend, posting record numbers of new cases. so this is mostly because of the omicron, but also last week, again, the uk health security agency sort of gave an analysis from the samples where they had actually done the detailed sequencing to see, was it omicron, was it delta and so on, and found out that probably 70% of the cases at the moment are omicron, which means about 30% of them are delta, so that 100,000, there are still a considerable number of delta cases, and we know that the delta variant of the virus is very infectious, but also very dangerous. so although people are looking at and thinking, well, most of those cases will be omicron, they are not all omicron. a, those cases will be omicron, they are not all omicron. a lot to unpack _ they are not all omicron. a lot to unpack there, _ they are not all omicron. a lot to unpack there, so _ they are not all omicron. a lot to unpack there, so i- they are not all omicron. a lot to unpack there, so i take - they are not all omicron. a lot| to unpack there, so i take your point about the two variants, but in terms of the actual figures, you are making the point that lots of countries around the world are suffering similarly, but if we see 100,000 or so cases a day, and i think your phrase was, that is really quite high, we know that omicron, with your caveats about the two variants, omicron is a lot more transmissible. so is a lot more transmissible. so is that going to keep climbing, in your estimation? it is that going to keep climbing, in your estimation?— in your estimation? it doesn't look as though _ in your estimation? it doesn't look as though that _ in your estimation? it doesn't look as though that is - in your estimation? it doesn't look as though that is what i in your estimation? it doesn't. look as though that is what has been happening, and i would expect it to keep climbing, and although everybody is sort of assuming that the omicron is less likely to give you a very severe disease and put you into hospital, my reading of the situation is that it is not really the virus, it is the way the virus interacts with your body — if you have had a vaccination. we know that sort of about 60% of the people who are in hospital are people who have not had any vaccine at all, so it isn't really the virus, it is the protection that your body has from having the two doses of the vaccine, potentially the boost it now, and a little bit of immunity from previous infection. not that any of that is going to last for a very long time, but it is going to give protection in the short term from very serious illness. but i would like to stress that 100,000 new cases a day is a lot of virus, a lot of cases, and even if a smaller proportion of those people will end up in hospital, that still could be a lot of people in absolute numbers who are in hospital and potentially very seriously ill in hospital, and also, you know, the number of deaths is still running at 120-150 of deaths is still running at 120—150 cases per day of people who are dying from whichever variant they are dying from. it is still a lot of infection and a lot of very serious illness. and that is sobering, because the politicians who have to look at these figures, and we know there are meetings going on, certainly in westminster today, about all of this. they have to make decisions about restricting or not restricting people's movements, and that is a key factor, isn't it? whether the health service can cope, and when you are talking about those figures, everything you have outlined there, that is what has to be protected, the nhs needs to be able to cope, and this is a health service where its own staff are going off sick as well because they are affected like everybody else. , ., ., , else. yes, and that is the thing about _ else. yes, and that is the thing about it, _ else. yes, and that is the thing about it, although l else. yes, and that is the i thing about it, although the omicron variant may be less likely to give you a very serious disease, it is super, super, super infectious. the time between getting infected and developing symptoms seems to be much shorter than it was, even for the delta variant, so it is around about five days, and what that means is you get infected, you can be infectious, and there is that maybe 12 hours or so, or a day, where your lateral flow test might be negative, even though you are just cooking the virus and you are about to become infectious, you are going out and about, you perhaps do not have any symptoms or very mild symptoms, you pass it on to somebody else. by the time you have found out you are positive and you potentially tell your contacts, or you tell the contacts, or you tell the contact tracing nhs app, those people who you have infected have already infected other people. so i personally know more people who have tested positive for covid in the last month that the whole of the pandemic put together, and i think probably a lot of your viewers will have a similar experience. and that means, if you test positive, obviously you test positive, obviously you have to steal at home, even if you do not feel ill, but a lot of people have been quite ill. 0k, lot of people have been quite ill. ok, may be similar to a bad head cold, but ill enough to put you out of action, being in bed, feeling a bit miserable. and if a lot of people in the health service or the train service or even shops, pubs and restaurants are getting sick from omicron, even if they recover quickly and don't end up in hospital, it still has a knock—on effect on the rest of our lives. so that is potentially what we are going to be seeing in the next couple of weeks. it is going to be seeing in the next couple of weeks.— couple of weeks. it is really interesting _ couple of weeks. it is really interesting to _ couple of weeks. it is really interesting to hear- couple of weeks. it is really interesting to hear that - interesting to hear that perspective, and i think a lot of what you say will resonate with people watching, actually. thank you so much for your time, really appreciate that. i am concerned i have your title run, professor or dr? not a professor yet! a matter of time, i'm sure! dr sarah pitt isa time, i'm sure! dr sarah pitt is a virologist at the university of brighton, some very sobering statistics, and we will have more analysis of that to come, but those statistics just coming through for the christmas period. there have been more covid—related flight cancellations today with more than 1,400 flights cancelled around the world. destinations in the united states and china have been the worst hit, with us airlines saying the disruption is due to crews testing positive or isolating. in all, since christmas eve, more than 8,000 flights have been grounded, a week of events are starting in south africa to commemorate the life of the anti—apartheid leader archbishop desmond tutu. he died on sunday, aged 90. bells toll the bells of cape town's st george's cathedral will toll for ten minutes a day every day at noon until friday. people have also been gathering outside the city's st george's cathedral and also outside his home, ahead of his funeral on the first of january. others laid wreaths and lit candles in soweto. and these pictures are from the last hour. south african president cyril ramaphosa arriving at the archbishop's residence to to offer condolences to his widow leah and otherfamily members. peter storey was president of the south african council of churches at the time when desmond tutu was the general secretary. he shared some of his recollections of theirfriendship. my first experience of him was, if you like, characteristic of his whole life. i was in nairobi for a conference and sharing a room with some delegates. and when i woke up at four in the morning, somebody else had joined the room. and i saw an apparition, a sort of white apparition in the corner. it was somebody that had covered himself with a sheet and who was praying in the muslim way, with his face right down on the floor. and the next morning, i discovered that it was desmond tutu. i said to him, "you gave me one heck of a fright last night." and he cackled the tutu cackle. and he said, "i'm desmond tutu." that first moment of seeing him at prayer was characteristic of his whole life and our relationship together. whether we were travelling in dangerous places, on aircraft, in airports, when the time came for him to follow his discipline of prayer, he simply opened his prayer book. remembrances of archbishop desmond tutu. climate fuelled—disasters which have devastated lives have also cost the world tens of billions of dollars this past year. that's according to christian aid, which tallied up the damages based on insured losses. let's take a look at some of the most costly events. hurricane ida struck the united states in august and is at the very top of the list at $65 billion. it was the fifth—strongest hurricane to make landfall in the country and killed dozens of people. deadly floods that swept across western and central europe in the summer came in second, causing $113 billion in damages. more than 200 people died. torrential rains in china's central henan province caused huge floods injuly, leading to $17.6 billion in damages and leaving more than 300 dead. cyclone yaas lashed coastal areas in india and bangladesh in may and cost $3 billion in just a few days. it also forced more than a million people to evacuate. most of the countries on this list are richer nations, where it's easier to measure financial losses, because people are more likely to have insurance. dr kat kramer is the report's author. she explained more about what she found. we looked at the top ten most expensive extreme weather events and occurances that were climate—related this year, and i think it's important to say that they can't be directly ascribed to climate change, perhaps, buta number of them have been studied by attribution scientists, and this is a new area of science that is looking at seeing how much more likely an extreme weather event is, or how much more powerful an extreme weather event is because of human—caused climate change. so we looked at the top ten in terms of the economic costs, because, as you say, there is the data to do that, but we also looked at five additional devastating events which occurred, which maybe didn't have necessarily the same financial impact, but also were important for the numbers of deaths of a number of people displaced that they caused. also trying to put that focus on the losses and damages being suffered by developing countries. the number of shoppers in the uk looking for a boxing day high—street bargain plummeted compared to pre—lockdown levels. footfall for the full day was 45% lower than in 2019 as many people shunned shops, according to retail experts springboard. the british retail consortium said many retailers would continue to see a boost in online trade amid fears of the spread of the omicron variant. one of the world's most prominent naturalists and conservationists, eo wilson, has died at the age of 92. the american biologist specialised in the study of ants and was described as darwin's natural heir. he conducted pioneering work into the biological underpinnings of social behaviour. hello there, through the rest of the day today, many of us will keep a lot of low cloud and because of that feeling quite dark at times, even some outbreaks of rain, than earlier in the whole area with some increasingly mild air pushing in with the red of these colours on the chart, the more extremely weather and four december, we are forecasting temperatures in norwich on thursday to reach 17 celsius, should be eight celsius, so this is extreme for december with the national record temperature for december standing at 18.7 so not too far off that over the next few days. today, rain firmly in charge with wet weather pushing across much of wales, much of england with mist and fog patches loitering across parts of east anglia, running into yorkshire of the pennines and some bright weather around, particularly for northern ireland, west of scotland with some showers coming and going and temperatures close to normal in the north, miles and the south of around 11 13 celsius was the oceans. overnight tonight, staying rather cloudy for many of us with some mist and fog patches reforming and further bands of rain moving in across the atlantic later in the night with temperatures not too low, 7—9 c for most and called for a nip frost into sheltered northern areas of scotland and tomorrow, low pressure rings outbreaks of rain which will be very slow to ease away from the eastern area so even into the afternoon and probably saying quite dull and damp with the best chance of some brighter weather again, scotland and northern ireland which means it is here where temperatures are a little... and that is very sad to see a surge of south—westerly winds dragging that mild air and it's not going to be a dry day to start off with. the rain will tend to become more confined to western areas. temperatures across the board coming up, 13 celsius for belfast, ten for glasgow and 16 in london, and those temperature is get even higher on thursday with it again not a dry day but some heavy rain, persistent rain affecting parts of wales and also western hills in england and turning wet later any day for northern ireland, looking at those temperatures, reaching a of 17 celsius in a pretty crazy for december. this is bbc news, the headlines: the bbc understands no further covid restrictions in england are set to be announced today. prime minister borisjohnson is being briefed by his scientific advisors on the spread of the omicron variant. in new york, fresh vaccine rules have come into force. children aged 12 and over now need to be fully vaccinated for indoor restaurants and leisure facilities as infections surge, fuelled by the omicron variant. tributes have been paid from across the globe to the anti—apartheid hero archbishop desmond tutu, who's died at the age of 90. an official state funeral will take place on the 1st of january in cape town. and there are calls for the british government to do more to help consumers deal with sharp increases in the price of gas and electricity, amid warnings energy bills could soar by another 50% next year.