nearly 100,000 homes across the uk remain without power this afternoon after gale force winds created by storm arwen. properties in parts of scotland, wales and northern england are affected. power companies say they hope to restore supplies to the majority of homes later today. european ministers minus the uk home secretary priti patel crossing the channel. and coming up ros atkins and guests discuss the big that s in the media show at 3.30. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the health secretary sajid javid says the government could not have acted more swiftly in its response the the new 0mnicron coronavirus variant. he s called on people to come forward for booster vaccinations and is urgently considering widening the booster programme. two people who tested positive for the new variant remain in isolation as our health correspondent anna collinson reports. the borders have already been breached by 0micron with two cases of the heavily mutated covid variant
and former team principal of the williams racing formula 1 team, has died aged 79. coming up this hour mothers reborn, the story of a group of women in poland, where the fertility rate is low who are taking control and becoming mothers to fake babies. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. case of 0micron has been found in the uk. it case of omicron has been found in the uk. , ., ., ., the uk. it is an individualwho sent the uk. it is an individualwho spent time the uk. it is an individualwho spent time in the uk. it is an individualwho spent time in west the uk. it is an individualwho spent time in west london - the uk. it is an individualwho| spent time in west london but the uk. it is an individual who - spent time in west london but has left the country. but the situation now, anna collinson reports. the threat the variant poses is currently unknown but there are concerns its mutations mean it may spread more quickly. the south african doctor who first spotted 0m
and sir frank williams who created one the great formula one teams has died. good afternoon. the health secretary says he wants to expand the uk vaccination programme as a matter of urgency because of the new omicron variant of coronavirus. a third case has now been identified here and there are expected to be more with concerns that it may spread more easily and potentially evade current vaccines. ministers say they have acted swiftly. in england, mask wearing in shops and on public transport will be a legal requirement once again, a change that will come into force on tuesday. here s our health correspondent, anna collinson. taking upa taking up a booster when eligible was always important but since taking up a booster when eligible was always important but since the emergence of the heavily mutated kogan diddy over the variant is even more important. kogan diddy over the variant is even more important- more important. queues like this in slou:h more important. que
hello this is bbc news. the headlines: a third case of the new omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in the uk the government urges people to get their boosters and to follow new rules from tuesday on mask wearing in england. the government says pupils in year seven and above in england should wear masks in communal areas of schools from tomorrow morning. eve ryo ne everyone wants to protect the progress we have made and that is why we have acted very swiftly and in a proportionate way with news of this new variant. tens of thousands of homes and businesses are still without electricity in the wake of storm arwen. thank you for your company this afternoon. rebecca jones will be with us later with the news, but now it s time for sports day. hello and welcome to sportsday i m holly hamilton. coming up on tongiht s programme. one of formula one s most influentialfigures, sir frank williams dies at the age of 79. we look back at his remarkable life. the battle
the headlines. a third case of the new omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in the uk the government urges people to get their boosters and to follow new rules from tuesday on mask wearing in england. the government says pupils in year seven and above in england should wear masks in communal areas of schools from tomorrow morning. the south african president has criticised the decision to put the country on the international red list. tens of thousands of homes and businesses are still without electricity in the wake of storm arwen. four european countries agree to deploy a plane to patrol the french coast to help prevent migrants crossing the sea to britain. and sir frank williams who created one the great formula one teams has died aged 79. coming up in a moment on bbc news it s sportsday but first, here s click. are you ready for today s teaser? go on, then! right, what does this penguin, this building in iceland, a huge digital artwork and this s