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
who created one the great formula one teams has died aged 79. the uk vaccination programme should be expanded as a matter of urgency because of the new omicron variant of coronavirus. that s according to the health secretary, sajid javid, as 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. some breaking news. south africa and the president addressing the nation. , , ., ., nation. scientists have also identified nation. scientists have also identified cases nation. scientists have also identified cases in nation. scientists have also identified cases in countries. nation. scientists have also - identified cases in countries
the 2019 monthly average in 60% higher than the 20/20 monthly average. the other thing that the department of transportation has been doing is expanding hours of service exemptions for truck drivers during a pandemic to support the flow of emergency goods and assistance from some further sound supply chains. that s another step. we also the point is we have been working on these pieces. they have been in process and what we announced yesterday was essentially an agreement between the labor unions who are going to fill the hours, right? at these ports and the important bottleneck piece as the suppliers who will be using the expanded hours and the ports themselves which will help move this forward quickly and help reduce some of the delays. as their president made a decision on the commissioner? not yet. neil: we continue to monitor the jen psaki press free prints. it was triggering a lot of controversy right now, a retweet by the chief of staff on some comments made by