hello and welcome to bbc news. 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 settings, 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 days if they show a negative pcr test.
in the south african city of cape town. 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. let s get the latest sport now and join chetan pathak. good morning. we are going to start with football. it could be a big day in the premier league title race. the two sides chasing manchester city at the top of the table they won it in stoppage site admits to some controversy. early kick off on new year s day. tired arsenal and city fans must hope luck improves in 2022. referees of course cannot afford to be bleary eyed. stuart atwell also had a decision to make. no arsenal penalty, he said. on reflection, var confirmed not without question. arsenal didn t dwell on that, though. no time to, no need to. bukayo saka extended new year celebrations. only the manager missed out he s in covid isolation. but in the second half came the hitch. a handful of bern
and different ways of seeing in the new year in different parts of the world. hello and welcome to bbc news. 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 7000 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 w
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
loud and clear covid is serious. some of the shifts that i have had are the toughest i ve ever had. and the race to vaccinate the public. i got the letter yesterday, and i m booked in today. i three, two, one! welcome back, everyone! cheering. lockdown ends. i can literally not stress how much i missed being abel to go out. but there s the threat of a new variant. there is a tidal wave of omicron coming. the year began with intensifying pressure on the nhs. covid infections were rising, and there was a worrying increase in hospital admissions. the second wave of the virus was going to prove more deadly than the first. with covid cases rising, the new school term began with confusion. some teachers and children stayed at home. there s 21 members of staff that have opted not come into school, because they would consider it to be an unsafe environment. in my school, that s led to nursery, year 3 4 not coming to school. the empty classrooms were a warning of what was coming. an