Christmas shopping warning for Londoners as capital 'heads for Tier 3 next week': Weekend bargain hunters urged not to break the rules as teenagers and PRISONS are blamed for the city's rising Covid cases
The case rate (rate by borough shown top right) per 100,000 people in the capital stood at 191.8 on December 6, up from 158.1 the previous week. But ahead of what is expected to be a big shopping weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman urged shoppers to be cautious. Asked by MailOnline if shoppers should be careful when out on the high street, he said 'absolutely'. He added: 'We would urge the public to follow the guidelines in relation to their activity to ensure that we are able to continue to drive down the transmission rate and protect communities.' Experts and jail insiders also believe London's coronavirus outbreak could have been partly fuelled by prisons in Kent. Four of the top five areas with the highest infection rates in England - which sits on a commuting corridor to south-east London - are centred around the Kent borough of Swale and the Isle of Sheppey, where there are three prisons. Pictured left: Shoppers on London's Oxford Street on Friday evening. Pictured bottom right: Britain's daily coronavirus cases increased by 33 per cent on Friday compared to seven days ago. A total of 21,672 new cases were announced, up slightly from 20,964 yesterday.
'Bonkers' NHS advert that shows 'Santa being struck down by coronavirus' before medics save him is condemned by critics for 'upsetting children' and 'looking for reasons to make this Christmas worse'
The film, titled The Gift, depicts Santa lying unconcious on a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask as NHS medics in full PPE try to revive him. Parents have branded the advert 'insensitive'
US has the DEADLIEST day of the pandemic: 3,700 people die in 24 hours, a record 113,069 are hospitalized and 230,000 more people are infected as states are warned they may get FEWER vaccine doses and ICUs are pushed to the brink
The US reported a record 3,700 new deaths on Wednesday - marking the fourth time daily deaths have exceeded 3,000 throughout the pandemic, with all four taking place in the last week.
The cost of Britain’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic to date is £284bn — or £283,915,000,000 to be exact — according to the government’s spending review published last week.
The chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme cost about £850m alone.
That bill will rise even further, with at least £55bn more for public services alone earmarked for 2021-22.
To pay for all of this, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that borrowing will rise to £394bn this year, the highest level since the Second World War.
As we're continually being told by the Government that the need for lockdowns,tiers etc are solely to protect the NHS from being overrun and not being able to cope with increased patients numbers.Surely it would've made better sense to not have lockdowns,furlough schemes,mortgage relief,eat out to help out etc but to instead let the country continue operating normally and that the £284bn be spent on the NHS so it could cope with the extra demand when needed.That way everyone is still working,earning money,paying taxes etc and the country continues to operate normally.
The Daily Telegraph reports that ministers will consider implementing a third national coronavirus lockdown after Christmas, if the current surge in cases does not come under control during the festive period.
The Times says the government is considering tightening restrictions further in the south-east of England, with an unnamed Whitehall official telling the paper that non-essential shops could be closed and people ordered to stay at home.
Elsewhere, the Scottish edition of the Daily Mail leads with the headline "Nightmare After Christmas", saying First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to meet her cabinet to discuss whether more areas should be moved into the highest tier of restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror opts for the headline "Tiers Before Bedlam", with the paper's leader commenting that the decision to expand tough restrictions - while persevering with the previously promised relaxation of rules at Christmas - defies logic.
In its lead story, the Guardian claims increasing numbers of hospitals in England are facing shortages of beds.
It says the situation is particularly concerning in London, Leicester and Northampton, with NHS bosses warning that they expect the situation to worsen in the coming weeks.
The report also reveals that hospitals had to turn ambulances away on 44 occasions last week - the most times that has happened for four years.
The front page of the Metro also focuses on the health service, revealing that nearly 40% of nurses have missed meals or used food banks because they could not afford to feed their families.
The paper reports that a third of 3,000 nurses surveyed suggest they are considering quitting the profession next year because of poor pay.
Comments
The case rate (rate by borough shown top right) per 100,000 people in the capital stood at 191.8 on December 6, up from 158.1 the previous week. But ahead of what is expected to be a big shopping weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman urged shoppers to be cautious. Asked by MailOnline if shoppers should be careful when out on the high street, he said 'absolutely'. He added: 'We would urge the public to follow the guidelines in relation to their activity to ensure that we are able to continue to drive down the transmission rate and protect communities.' Experts and jail insiders also believe London's coronavirus outbreak could have been partly fuelled by prisons in Kent. Four of the top five areas with the highest infection rates in England - which sits on a commuting corridor to south-east London - are centred around the Kent borough of Swale and the Isle of Sheppey, where there are three prisons. Pictured left: Shoppers on London's Oxford Street on Friday evening. Pictured bottom right: Britain's daily coronavirus cases increased by 33 per cent on Friday compared to seven days ago. A total of 21,672 new cases were announced, up slightly from 20,964 yesterday.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
The film, titled The Gift, depicts Santa lying unconcious on a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask as NHS medics in full PPE try to revive him. Parents have branded the advert 'insensitive'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
The US reported a record 3,700 new deaths on Wednesday - marking the fourth time daily deaths have exceeded 3,000 throughout the pandemic, with all four taking place in the last week.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
The chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme cost about £850m alone.
That bill will rise even further, with at least £55bn more for public services alone earmarked for 2021-22.
To pay for all of this, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that borrowing will rise to £394bn this year, the highest level since the Second World War.
As we're continually being told by the Government that the need for lockdowns,tiers etc are solely to protect the NHS from being overrun and not being able to cope with increased patients numbers.Surely it would've made better sense to not have lockdowns,furlough schemes,mortgage relief,eat out to help out etc but to instead let the country continue operating normally and that the £284bn be spent on the NHS so it could cope with the extra demand when needed.That way everyone is still working,earning money,paying taxes etc and the country continues to operate normally.
The Times says the government is considering tightening restrictions further in the south-east of England, with an unnamed Whitehall official telling the paper that non-essential shops could be closed and people ordered to stay at home.
Elsewhere, the Scottish edition of the Daily Mail leads with the headline "Nightmare After Christmas", saying First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to meet her cabinet to discuss whether more areas should be moved into the highest tier of restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror opts for the headline "Tiers Before Bedlam", with the paper's leader commenting that the decision to expand tough restrictions - while persevering with the previously promised relaxation of rules at Christmas - defies logic.
In its lead story, the Guardian claims increasing numbers of hospitals in England are facing shortages of beds.
It says the situation is particularly concerning in London, Leicester and Northampton, with NHS bosses warning that they expect the situation to worsen in the coming weeks.
The report also reveals that hospitals had to turn ambulances away on 44 occasions last week - the most times that has happened for four years.
The front page of the Metro also focuses on the health service, revealing that nearly 40% of nurses have missed meals or used food banks because they could not afford to feed their families.
The paper reports that a third of 3,000 nurses surveyed suggest they are considering quitting the profession next year because of poor pay.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55358352