Covid news live: US shatters own record with over 600,000 daily cases as NHS warned to prepare for worst – The Independent

Related video: WHO warns world faces tsunami of Covid-19 infections

NHS bosses are warning that the number of Covid patients in hospitals is expected to keep rising for 10 days before admissions hit their peak, telling health leaders to prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

With the latest data showing there were 11,452 people with coronavirus in hospitals in England this morning up 61 per cent from last week and the highest number since 26 February fears around new year celebrations on Friday continue to mount, made worse by a shortage of rapid tests.

Earlier, health secretary Sajid Javid admitted in a letter to MPs that lateral flow supplies would continue to be constrained for two weeks to deal with huge demand. He also announced the government was upping a pre-Omicron order of 100 million rapid tests for January and February to 300 million per month.

His warning came hours before the UK Health Security Agency announced there had been another record-breaking number of daily Covid cases reported in Britain, with todays 189,213 topping Wednesdays 183,037.

The US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has warned people of onboard infections and not attend cruises as the Covid-19 infections triggered by the Omicron variant reached record high in the country.

The virus that causes Covid-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting Covid-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if people are fully vaccinated and have received a booster, the CDC said.

The US saw more than 600,000 new cases a world record high of daily infections on Thursday.

More than 90 cruise ships have come under scanner due to ongoing Covid-19 infections, and the total number of cases was not clear immediately.

This comes at the time Covid has wreaked havoc globally with a dominant variant which is highly transmissible as the pandemic clocks two years and hundreds of economies are entering 2022 in a battered condition.

Arpan Rai31 December 2021 04:07

The government has been criticised for failing to respond to a damning report by MPs that accused ministers of mishandling the early stages of the pandemic.

The report, compiled by the Health and Science and Technology Committees, found the governments initial response to Covid-19 amounted in practice to the pursuit of herd immunity, with the delayed decision to lock down ranking as one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced.

More than 50 witnesses contributed to the cross-party report, including ministers, NHS officials, government advisers and leading scientists, with the authors saying it was was vital that lessons were learnt from the failings of the past 18 months.

Our science correspondent Samuel Lovett has the full report:

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 23:58

UK international flights drop 71% from pre-pandemic levels

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 22:42

The number of Covid patients in hospitals is expected to keep rising for 10 days before admissions hit their peak, NHS bosses have warned as they told health leaders to prepare for the worst.

With the latest data showing 2,082 hospital admissions on 28 December, the highest since February, and another record rise in infections on Thursday, NHS chiefs and clinicians are concerned the spread on wards could lead to mass outbreaks among patients and staff.

Meanwhile, there are fears that added to the lateral flow test shortage in England new year celebrations on Friday night could also see a further spike in the number of cases.

Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas and science correspondent Samuel Lovett report:

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 22:11

The government is facing calls to give NHS staff priority for lateral flow tests amid the ongoing shortage.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) bosses, and the British Medical Association (BMA), said health workers should come first when trying to access the rapid Coronavirus tests in a bid to ease staffing issues.

The BMA said there are more than 18,000 staff absent from acute hospital trusts in England, either with Covid-19 or because they are self-isolating, adding it expected that figure to be much higher when the most recent data is published later this week.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA chair of council, said: Being unable to get the tests means staff may not be legally allowed to work, and at a time of acute workforce shortages and winter pressures this could be devastating for the care that can be given right across the NHS.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said he had written to Mr Javid urging him to make sure NHS staff were at the front of the queue.

It follows the Welsh governments decision to lend England 4 million lateral flow tests as ministers scramble to stock up. The full story on that is here.

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 21:59

An international conference offering advice on the importance of biosafety measures, including how to avoid lab leaks during research and experiments involving animals, was held this month at an institute of virology in Wuhan.

The event, advertised on the Chinese government-owned labs website, did not get much international publicity. It was, however, a success, according to the Institute, with more than 200 people mostly students signing up from a number of countries.

There is, of course, a strong element of irony in the lab accused of being the source of Covid-19, allegedly from manipulation of bat coronavirus, offering guidance on safety just as another virulent strain of the pandemic spreads across the world. But then again, it may, for that very reason, be the ideal place to do so.

Read our defence and security editor Kim Senguptas thinking in full:

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 21:25

WHO warns world faces 'tsunami' of Covid-19 infections

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 21:00

The UK reported a record-breaking 189,213 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data.

It follows Wednesdays similarly record-breaking 183,037 positive tests.

A further 332 people died from Covid-related causes on Thursday, up from 57 the day before.

The news comes amid a shortage of Covid tests in the UK, which has sparked concerns over New Years Eve celebrations.

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 20:56

A construction worker builds a temporary field hospital in the grounds of St Georges Hospital in Tooting, south London

(AFP via Getty Images)

People wear face masks as they shop in the rain in Preston

(Getty)

A nurse puts on PPE in a ward for Covid patients at Kings College Hospital, in southeast London

(PA Wire)

A man walks past NHS signage near a Covid vaccine centre in Preston on Thursday

(Getty)

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 20:40

Anti-vaxx protesters who stormed a Covid-19 testing centre have been condemned by ministers, with health secretary Sajid Javid branding their behaviour vile.

Both Javid and home secretary Priti Patel piled criticism on the mob that marched on the Milton Keynes NHS facility shouting abuse - one of whom stole testing equipment before binning it, report Simon Murphy and our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden.

Javid said he was appalled by the vile behaviour of the dozens of demonstrators who were filmed entering the site on Wednesday, with footage showing staff at the Milton Keynes site sheltering in cabins.

Sam Hancock30 December 2021 20:14

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Covid news live: US shatters own record with over 600,000 daily cases as NHS warned to prepare for worst - The Independent