in the first election since china tightened its control, people in hong kong are voting in a poll where every candidate has been vetted for their loyalty to beijing. hello and welcome to bbc news. the uk health secretary sajid javid has said that ministers are discussing the latest coronavirus data almost hourly with scientific advisers, and said the government will do what is necessary when asked about possible further measures. omicron continues to spread across the uk and is thought to now be the dominant variant in england and scotland, replacing delta. government advisers have been calling for further restrictions to be brought in to help restrict the spread. sajid javid said that it is time to be cautious about social interactions and was asked on the andrew marr show if he could rule out further coronavirus restrictions in the coming days. it isa it is a very sobering analysis, we take it very seriously. there are gaps in the data and our scientists, they recognise