Covid information reside: Concern over Omicron unfold amongst over-50s, as Zahawi says precedence is preserving faculties open

A Covid check centre was set on fireplace simply minutes into New Yr’s Day in what police imagine to be a deliberate act.

Investigators say an merchandise was thrown on the cover of the ability in Dumbarton on Saturday morning, inflicting it to catch fireplace, studies my colleague Chiara Giordano. Nobody was injured within the incident and the fireplace was extinguished quickly after.

Pictures of the scene present a big gap burned into the facet of a gazebo on the check centre in Threat Road.

Over to Portugal. Passengers who had been caught on a cruise ship moored in Lisbon’s port for 5 days as a consequence of a Covid outbreak started disembarking at this time.

These on board had been informed they needed to check unfavorable earlier than being allowed to fly again to their respective properties.

The AIDAnova, carrying 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew, had docked in Portugal’s capital on Wednesday. The ship was on its technique to the island of Madeira for New Yr’s Eve celebrations, however its operator determined to chop the cruise quick after the virus was detected amongst what it mentioned was a totally vaccinated crew.

By Monday, 68 optimistic circumstances, together with amongst passengers, had been detected, port captain Diogo Vieira Branco informed the Lusa information company.

“We’re residing on this state of affairs and it may at all times occur. After all it’s not good, we imagined one thing else,” one passenger mentioned as he left the boat. One other added: “All of us need this to finish. We’re going residence.”

After having the Omicron variant herself, Rachel Johnson has recommended it may be “good that everyone has it [so] we construct up immunity”.

Talking on LBC Radio, the prime minister’s well-known sister was explaining her personal expertise having “examined optimistic” earlier than Christmas on 23 December and unfavorable once more 4 days later.

“Trustworthy to goodness, if I hadn’t caught a swab up my nostril I don’t assume I’d have recognized. I wouldn’t have even informed a physician I had a gentle chilly,” she mentioned.

“However my expertise of the Omicron variant is that… if that’s what [it is] like, then I feel it’s actually good that everyone has it and we construct up immunity.”

It comes after Nadhim Zahawi introduced this morning that Omicron had begun infecting individuals aged 50 and above.

Our voices editor Victoria Richards writes about who actually has a difficulty with youngsters sporting face masks in class. (Trace: it’s not the youngsters.)

On Christmas Eve, I went to the pantomime in London’s West Finish with a good friend and our three youngsters. Whereas we had been getting ready to depart the home, my son – who’s 5 – jogged my memory of one thing very important.

“Don’t overlook your masks, Mummy! I’ve received mine!” I checked out him and needed to stifle amusing, as a result of he was sporting a vibrant inexperienced “Hulk” costume, the masks overlaying his whole face – not simply his nostril and mouth. If solely all of us took to mask-wearing so simply.

Seeing how effectively and the way naturally my youngsters have tailored to mask-wearing solely makes the riotous clamour in opposition to them appear extra ridiculous. And it’s all coming from adults: a straw man argument if ever there was one. Persons are arguing on behalf of kids, with out – seemingly – really asking youngsters what they give thought to the federal government asking all secondary school-aged pupils to put on masks, and for normal testing (each at college on web site and at residence).

Israel will enable vacationers with “presumed Covid-19 immunity” to enter from medium-risk nations from 9 January, the well being ministry mentioned on Monday, in a reversal of a ban on entry by foreigners imposed in late November in response to the Omicron variant.

Individuals searching for to journey from nations on Israel’s “orange” listing must show prematurely that they’re both vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 and can be topic to PCR testing earlier than and after their arrival, Reuters studies.

It comes after the Center Japanese nation turned the primary on the earth to start administering a fourth Covid vaccine, the so-called second booster.

As Dr Amil Mehta, a GP based mostly in Redbridge, explains:

Concern is rising in regards to the “leakage” of Omicron infections from youthful to older individuals, at the same time as total case numbers flatten within the hotspot of London.

The schooling secretary mentioned ministers are watching intently rising case charges in over-50s – the extra weak age group – forward of a choice this week on whether or not to introduce harder restrictions, writes our deputy political editor Rob Merrick.

“They’re those who, when you recall within the earlier waves, ended up in hospital with extreme an infection and hospitalisation and sadly loss of life charges went up,” Nadhim Zahawi mentioned of the age group.

Bin collections have been cancelled throughout the nation as Covid infections proceed to drive workers shortages, writes Thomas Kingsley.

Native authorities in Manchester, Essex, Somerset and Buckinghamshire have introduced diminished companies or an entire suspension of waste collections as a result of workers numbers have been diminished as a result of self-isolation interval.

Chelmsford Metropolis Council was pressured to cancel three days value of meals waste collections as a result of 23 members of workers had been off sick and conceded that it doesn’t know when the workers scarcity will finish. Elsewhere, North Somerset Council mentioned it was unable to gather round 1,000 recycling bins over the weekend as a consequence of workers shortages, insisting that further crews can be out to cope with the problem within the hardest-hit areas.