hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. 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 7,000 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. 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 da
And keep pupils in class, but unions warn that if large numbers of teachers get sick or have to quarantine, some classes may have to be sent home for short periods of time. james reynolds, bbc news. robust contingency plans are being developed by government ministers, amid warnings that a quarter of public sector workers could soon be off work because of covid. rising case numbers have led to large numbers of employees self isolating, with absences particularly affecting the nhs and the transport industry. our business correspondent katie prescott has more details. cancelled trains, delayed deliveries, closed restaurants and shut up shops. staff shortages because of the spread of 0micron are a real worry in the new year as people go back to work after the christmas break. i think it makes sense to try to plan for such events. we know we have a very contagious variant in the uk and we know that lots of people are catching
The late american financier jeffrey epstein, between 1994 and 200a. on tuesday, judge kaplan will hear oral arguments to decide whether virginia giuffre s lawsuit against prince andrew will proceed. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the latest headlines on bbc news. secondary school pupils are to be required to wear facemasks in class in england, as coronavirus cases continue to surge across europe. fears a quarter of uk public sector workers could be off due to coronavirus, as firms are warned to make contingency plans. france will cut the covid self isolation period from ten to seven days, in a bid to ease staff pressures. the south korean military says it has carried out a search operation after a south korean man
Over covid, what s the latest on contingency planning? t over covid, what s the latest on contingency planning?- over covid, what s the latest on contingency planning? i think the reall can contingency planning? i think the really can significant contingency planning? i think the really can significant concern - contingency planning? i think the really can significant concern in i really can significant concern in the business community about the number of people off with coronavirus at the moment, and that concern is increasingly being relayed and felt in whitehall. the prime minister has told ministers to go away and come up with contingency plans for some pretty significant absence levels over the next few weeks, as much as 25% is what the government wants a plan for. the criticism as they are drawing up a plan now rather than already having significant plans in place to deal with it. all you need to do is look at things like transport and the health service to see that absences t
This is bbc news these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. secondary school pupils are to be required to wear facemasks in class in england, as coronavirus cases continue to surge across europe. fears a quarter of uk public sector workers could be off due to covid, as firms are warned to make contingency plans. france will cut the coronavirus self isolation period from ten to seven days, in a bid to ease staff pressures. dozens of fire crews are tackling a blaze at the houses of parliament in south africa. president ramaphosa has just visited the scene. a us judge throws out prince andrew s attempt to halt proceedings in a civil lawsuit against him. and different ways of seeing in the new year, in different parts of the world.