Enjoy New Year ... but stay cautious
PEOPLE should enjoy themselves but be cautious when celebrating new year, UK care minister Gillian Keegan has said.
Revellers should take a lateral flow test before going out and celebrate in well-ventilated areas, she advised.
The Government is not imposing further Covid restrictions in England, but there are limits on socialising in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The hospitality sector described the decision not to add further measures as a “lifeline” for pubs, bars and clubs.
Ms Keegan said that while people should try to enjoy themselves, the Omicron variant of coronavirus was “highly infectious” and they needed to exercise caution.
The Government was watching the data “all the time”, she added.
NHS England figures show there were 1,281 Covid hospital admissions on Christmas Day – the highest number for any day since 16 February. And a further 16,133 Omicron cases have been confirmed in England, taking the total to 159,204. Some 49 people with a confirmed case of Omicron have now died, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency.
On Monday, the health secretary said 90% of cases in England were now the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa just one month ago.
Ms Keegan also said 214,000 people had received their booster jab over the Christmas weekend and a total of 32.4 million had now received a third dose.
Earlier, environment Secretary George Eustice said the evidence on Covid cases and admissions did not support more interventions at the moment but the government would keep its decision not to impose further curbs in England under review.
Record levels of demand for Covid PCR tests have left some people waiting for up to five days to receive their results over Christmas – meaning they have had to self-isolate until they receive their negative result.
The UKHSA apologised and said action had been taken to add extra capacity to its laboratory network.
The UKHSA also said there had been 17,269 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 reported across the UK.
This brings the total confirmed cases of the variant in the UK to 177,201 although no case numbers have been reported in Scotland or Wales since December 23.
The number of deaths in England of people with the Omicron variant has risen to 49, according to the UKHSA.
Hospital admissions in England for people with confirmed or suspected Omicron rose to 668. A total of 9,546 people were in hospital in England with Covid-19 as of 8am on December 28, according to new figures from NHS England.
This is up 38% from a week earlier and is the highest number since March 3.
During the second wave of coronavirus, the number peaked at 34,336 on January 18.
In London, 3,024 people were in hospital with Covid-19 on December 28, up 59% week-onweek and the highest number since February 19.