[0:00]good morning could we be facing more restrictions this festive season the prime minister has resisted for now but could he change his mind before new year's eve after saying they reserved
[0:12]the right to bring in further measures what impact will that have on our plans for celebrations and holidays the head of the world health organization calling for people to cancel events in order to
[0:23]save lives we were keen to see clarification from the government this morning but there's no minister available to clear up the confusion for you so we'll analyze the data and the latest
[0:34]lines with the world health organization instead first here's laura bondock arcovid kerbs coming wales isn't waiting
[0:43]all sporting events behind closed doors from boxing day no changes yet in england but the uncertainty is crippling christmas business
[0:54]we are down 20 to 25 on a normal week when we should be 25 up on a normal week in the christmas months landlord scott illman is resigned to
[1:06]more restrictions but it's a sobering thought if it's a short and short one we should be okay but it's it's the hardest month of the year and we haven't made the money in
[1:17]december to pay our wages in january the empty tables say it all we've got plans to go and visit family we've got friends coming to stay and it's really difficult to plan any of that when we don't know what's going to
[1:29]happen i've told my parents we're not going to come back if you know things escalate my mum's ill so we don't want to put that like that's a risk i think you know missing a few new years
[1:39]it is worth it to kind of keep you know covered in check and things like that but i i'm also unsure that people even if regulations were set people would follow it especially given the government isn't setting a good example at all
[1:50]covid cases are soaring but for now ministers won't go further with measures we agreed that we should keep the the data from now on under constant a review
[2:02]keep uh following it hour by hour and unfortunately i must say to people we we will have to reserve the the
[2:12]possibility of taking further action to to protect the public what that action means isn't clear but already the mayor of london's cancelled
[2:22]the trafalgar square new year celebrations and the queens called off her christmas at sandringham one in three people who have covert 19 have no symptoms and could be breathing
[2:34]it out without knowing meanwhile the push for care caution and vaccines continues christmas is coming but so too the
[2:44]feeling festivities will be short-lived laura sky news well in a difficult week for the prime minister this was the scene at london's
[2:56]alexandra palace last night [Music] what are they saying well they're saying
[3:07]stand up if you hate boris will dance championships fans are not at all happy others scenes with signs as you can see showing images of cheese and wine in
[3:18]this sign which reads all round to boris is after meanwhile the head of the world health organization has called on people to cancel their holiday plans in order to
[3:27]save lives all of us are sick of this pandemic all of us want to spend time with friends and family
[3:39]all of us want to get back to normal the fastest way to do this is for all of us leaders and individuals
[3:48]to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others in some cases
[3:58]that will mean counseling or delaying events just as we have had to cancel the reception we plan to have with you today
[4:10]but an event cancelled is better than a life cancelled it's better to cancel now and celebrate later
[4:20]than to celebrate now and grieve later margaret harris from the world health organization with us now hello to you doctor good morning does the world
[4:30]health organization really want us to cancel christmas good morning kay no that's not what the director general was saying he was saying large events so he was actually
[4:40]referring to a reception a get-together we'd promised to have with journalists we'd canceled the one the year before uh and we cancelled it this year because it
[4:50]was it's not something that we can do safely right now and that's the point he was making if you have gatherings that are not going to be safe uh change them delay them do them later
[5:02]don't do them now what constitutes them not being safe well if you've got a large number of people or a considerable number of people especially people coming from different places uh you don't know what
[5:14]their exposure has been people coming together in that sort of circumstance is what we call social mixing that's the moment at which you're most likely to spread uh kovid and
[5:25]particularly omicron okay i mean okay so let's let's see what that would mean for christmas lunch then should we i mean i often have 20 people run my christmas um table
[5:35]emergency chairs out the shed and the like is that a bad idea this year so again it's who you're bringing uh what is their status have they all been vaccinated um
[5:45]do you know or are you taking other measures are you opening your windows ventilating your room um can you space things have they worn
[5:56]masks so there are lots of things that you need to do and take into account when you put your party together what about lots of little ones running around because of course they won't have been vaccinated
[6:08]indeed and again one of the things you need to look at is um not so much whether they've been vaccinated but who's coming that is in the
[6:18]vulnerable group like an older person or a person who's got underlying conditions and have they been vaccinated because the vaccines are really protecting this
[6:28]group from getting into hospital and from sadly dying so that's what dr tedros was saying is please don't put people who are most likely to suffer
[6:39]from um the severe form at risk but of course you can still contract omicron even if you've had your booster
[6:48]indeed it is it omicron is very good at spreading so the the problem is people are getting confused between the severe version and the actual just the the virus
[7:00]getting into your body now the vaccines are really pre designed to keep you out of hospital protect from the severe version protect the hospitals from filling up and of course protect us from all dying
[7:12]but they're not so good at stopping it from getting into your nose and staying there for a little while long enough for you to breathe on somebody else and pass it to them
[7:24]so lots of people can contract omicron is what you're saying but not find themselves in hospital we're hoping that that's the case especially in well-vaccinated populations so that's
[7:34]why we're saying getting vaccinated is key but taking all the other measures as well is crucial because that helps bring the transmission down and that reduces
[7:45]the risk so it's like it's the swiss cheese effect you do lots and lots of different things to really bring down the risks really bring down the exposure
[7:55]then we're in a much better position so the world health organization is saying if you're double vaccinated if you've got your booster if you take appropriate precautions there's no reason to lock down
[8:07]so we're saying we prefer not to see lockdowns a big lockdown because they have huge economic implications they have very severe social implications and
[8:17]mental health implications however they do work so governments do get your point when the hospitals are overwhelmed where they run out of options
[8:26]uh minimize um travel um where is one suggestion step two that the prime minister might introduce um as early as the 27th of december finding
[8:38]people if they travel what's the world health organization's view on travel so again we ask people to take all precautions and traveling is a moment where you're very likely to be mixing with a lot of different people from
[8:49]different places whose vaccination status you don't know and you're likely to be in a position where you're in a crowded poorly ventilated spot so your
[8:58]risk dose does go up a lot so again this is something you need to think about why am i traveling do i really need to travel at this moment can i travel later
[9:09]and travel safely and have a really happy and healthy christmas from what you're saying it does sound as though the world health organization
[9:19]feels that the british government is probably in or about the right place at the moment and there's no need for any further restrictions
[9:28]so we don't give marks to any individual country we understand that leadership and health authorities tailor their measures and their
[9:37]decisions according to the epidemiology in their populations but also the cultural and behavioral dynamics that work in their populations but the
[9:47]overall message is limit crowding and take the measures if you take the measures if you're out and about that will protect you like wearing the mask and wearing the mask properly please
[9:58]wear it over your nose everybody at the nose out of the mask that's not working that's not helping anyone and um make sure that you do the hand
[10:08]washing the distancing and really really seriously get vaccinated not just get vaccinated but if you know someone who's still struggling with the idea of being
[10:17]vaccinated help them to get vaccinated um when will we know whether omicron is as big a worry as delta was
[10:28]so we're already getting um a very strong message that it's much more transmissible and that in itself is a very serious threat because
[10:40]um even if most people do not have the severe disease especially because we've got a well vaccinated population if you've got huge numbers of people
[10:50]infected you will have a small percentage who get the severe form of and that translates into big numbers because you know one percent of millions is a
[11:00]lot of people uh so it's already very clear that it's a very serious threat and what's the world health organization
[11:10]on the mental health impact on younger people who say you asked us to have three inoculations to keep the rest of the country um well
[11:21]we've done that we cannot be locked down anymore well certainly that's why we're saying we do we prefer that governments do not get to the point that your epidemiology does not get to the point where
[11:33]governments need to make that feel they need to make that decision because indeed the mental health impacts are very serious and we have seen a big rise in
[11:44]in mental health suffering during this period so peop if you do go into lockdown look at how you can support people what you can do to alleviate the suffering
[11:56]that it does cause uh always informative thank you so much for joining us doctor we much appreciate it thank you it's a pleasure to be with you thank you merry christmas now let's look at some of the tougher
[12:09]measures we could be looking at given what we just heard there from the world health organization in step two there you go it's very different to tier two okay so you need to bear
[12:19]that in mind there was easing of some lockdown restrictions such as the opening of non-essential retail and personal care if you take yourself back to the 12th of april last year this is what was happening but there was no
[12:30]socializing indoors except with the same household or inside a support bubble meetings outdoors were allowed including in gardens for groups of six people or
[12:41]between two households and people who lived in care homes in england were allowed two named regular indoor visitors our political correspondent tomorrow
[12:51]cohen is with us now it is important to make the difference isn't it between tier 2 and step 2 tomorrow first of all that's right if you remember the road map at the beginning of the beginning of
[13:01]this year we were in a very strict lockdown of course in january and boris johnson announced there will be a series of steps of reopening step one being children back to school step two as you
[13:12]say in mid april being you could sit in a hospitality venue but only outside and there was still no indoor mixing now why do we need to think back to those steps
[13:21]because the scientists advising the government on the sage committee published their minutes on saturday pretty gloomy reading saying if the government wants to stem hospital
[13:31]admissions they think are coming down the track we may need to return to step two or even step one in the coming days if they want to make a dent in those now
[13:43]i understand that the possibility of step two no indoor mixing with anyone apart from your household only sitting outside with something that was discussed yesterday at boris johnson's
[13:54]cabinet meeting now it wasn't that the prime minister said let's do this and the rest of the cabinet said no they had a frank discussion about it but it seems that a lot of cabinet ministers and
[14:04]particularly the chancellor didn't want to take any more measures at the moment until they've got more data despite the scientists telling them you need to act sooner rather than later so it was
[14:16]discussed yesterday nothing so far but as you heard the prime minister wants to keep it all in reserve so it all feels a little bit when not if but that's the sort of that's the sort of measures that
[14:27]are now being discussed going forward okay now that was in april of last year when those measures came in this is what happened with matt hancock in a news conference in downing street
[14:38]the following month people can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like and you can meet one other person from outside your household
[14:48]in an outdoor public place but please keep two meters apart this weekend with the good weather and the new rules i hope people can enjoy being outside
[14:59]but please stick with the rules keep an eye on your family and don't take risks so step two was still in place uh and uh
[15:10]just about a few minutes after that news conference this is what was happening in the garden of dining street and the guy there with his back tea with the suit
[15:21]that according to some is matt hancock doing exactly what he told people not to do or is he i don't know let's find out
[15:32]what tomorrow thinks your take on that tomorrow well okay yes matt hancock has admitted being in downing street on that day the day we believe of a press conference he said that he debriefed with the prime
[15:43]minister and then he left to go back to the department of health we have not independently verified that that is matt hancock but that is what's being reported and of course this is the same month that he was pictured with his aide
[15:55]at the department of health which led to his resignation so already accusations that matt hancock was not not accusations he's admitted not following the rules at that stage of the pandemic
[16:05]and now an accusation that he was actually at this downing street gathering when everybody else as we've heard some really tragic situations of people's elderly relatives dying alone
[16:16]people going to huge lengths to try and follow those rules so this again another example many think of the government telling people to do one thing and they
[16:27]themselves doing another now unlike the downing street christmas gathering which is still being investigated on this gathering the government have been
[16:39]pretty defensive and boris johnson who was answering questions yesterday claimed it was work gathering talking about work although it was pointed out to him that there don't seem to be many laptops in sight and there are bottles
[16:50]of wine and cheese in sight but the government very much standing firm on that being a work meeting in suits as dominic raab told you yesterday so that is what they are
[17:01]saying we'll make our own minds up i'm sure okay uh when do you just before i let you go when do you think with no minister today i'm not sure why but there we go hopefully they'll be back
[17:10]with us tomorrow um when might we hear more about when we the restrictions could be just to underline that point so boris johnson didn't rule out restrictions before christmas yes some
[17:22]people think it's unlikely because they haven't brought them in yet but he didn't rule it out number 10 have stressed that to me again today that he didn't rule it out i expect kaye that we'll get more data this week and there
[17:32]will be another cabinet meeting this week so far i think mps are gearing up for a recall of parliament to vote on possible restrictions next week but there's no
[17:42]guarantee that it won't be earlier okay thanks tamara um let's bring in katie she's in trafalgar square for us there were supposed to be about six and a half thousand people gathering there weren't there on new year's eve what's
[17:53]happened there were okay and of course this is the second year running now that new year's eve celebrations have been cancelled here in london it was moved here to trafalgar square for a slightly
[18:05]smaller event as you say about six and a half people i think there's normally 10 000 or more on the southbank because of continued fares over the pandemic but the mayor now sadiq khan saying that uh because of the surge in omicron cases
[18:17]here in london at the event simply cannot go ahead in any form at all and essentially what he's doing really is firing a warning shot to the government saying things are really bad here and we
[18:28]need more help he has been calling repeatedly for additional support for businesses here in london particularly the hospitality center but at the hospitality sector bars pubs restaurants
[18:37]which of course rely so heavily on being really busy at this time of year around christmas and new year and the uncertainty over new restrictions coming in has absolutely decimated their bookings and mr khan saying without
[18:49]additional support right now jobs will be lost and of course this all comes after the mayor declared a major incident here in london over the weekend essentially because he was uh frightened
[19:00]of how much covert related absences were going to impact the emergency services we have however heard from the met police and london's fire brigade who say at the moment they are managing to run a normal
[19:11]service despite higher than average levels of absences london ambulance service however though saying that they are extremely busy but they will do everything they can to get people who
[19:21]need them over this winter period okay thank you also making the news for us this morning donald trump has been booed after admitting getting a covid booster the
[19:33]former u.s president revealed he got the job during an event in texas with former tv presenter bill o'reilly both the president and i are vacs and uh did you get the booster
[19:43]yes i got it too okay so uh don't don't don't don't don't no no no that's a very tiny group over there up to a thousand passengers on the queen
[19:56]mary the second could be facing christmas in isolation after a covered outbreak on their cruise from southampton to new york the daily express reports that around 60 passengers have tested positive and are
[20:07]being kept in their cabins in an isolation corridor the during the sex trafficking trial of gillane maxwell have begun their deliberations during closing arguments
[20:18]in new york prosecutors described her as a grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids but lawyers for the former girlfriend of the convicted pedophile
[20:28]jeffrey epstein denies she groomed young girls for him to abuse the death toll from the super typhoon
[20:39]which uh hit the philippines last week has now reached 375 rescuers have warned the number of dead may increase further as many towns and villages remain cut off it's estimated
[20:50]more than 400 000 people have been left homeless the government science work with uh will begin this week to electrify the midland mainline rail network the scheme came
[21:02]under fire last month after the eastern leg of hs2 between the east midlands and leeds was scrapped ministers insist their integrated rail plan will transform rail services in the
[21:12]midlands and the north i look away now if you don't like creepy crawlies giant millipedes as long as a car and weighing
[21:24]50 kilos were once hunted across northern england according to experts at the university of cambridge they say the creature known as the arthropleura
[21:34]was most likely to have been seen a hundred million years before the age of the dinosaur and police in ohio have presented a 27 year old with a bravery award after he
[21:45]tackled a man suspected of stealing a pensionless handbag there you go that's what he did oh goodness that went through quickly didn't it we'll recap that for you surveillance footage shows deshawn presley chasing derek vaughan
[21:56]outside a grocery store in lemon township earlier this month there was a violent struggle between the two men sorry about that
[22:07]we'll show you that um in a bit more detail coming up later on he basically stole the 87 year old's puss um there we go should we slow it down a bit for you there you go he was having none of it
[22:18]grabbed hold of him let's take a look at the front pages for you should we the guardian says that even though covert is surging the cabinet split means there'll be no extra curbs or restrictions at
[22:28]least for now the financial times reports that the prime minister faces cabinet deadlock over whether to bring in any tighter coveted restrictions in time for christmas the eye reports that ministers demanded
[22:40]more data on the impact of the omicron variant during yesterday's emergency cabinet meeting they understand statistics about its severity will be available before christmas and should
[22:51]then be able to be used to help the pm decide on restrictions daily mail says the same their headline rejoice christmas is looking safe
[23:02]and the mirror leads with news that the queen will spend christmas at windsor instead of sandringham breaking her festive tradition for the second year running
[23:12]so she's decided to stay at windsor rather than heading to sandringham which is what she would normally do but will she have family with her angela levin is joining us uh royal biographer of course
[23:24]hello angela thanks for joining us good morning she's going to be devastated isn't she i think she is of course she's been looking for this um for a long time now because she's been
[23:35]so isolated and been on her own and she's used to being with lots of people and she loves her family and i think she loves the grandchildren and the great grandchildren
[23:46]even more than her own now because they're up and going their own way and she just adores the little ones and it also proves to her that the monarchy is just going on and on which
[23:57]is what she really uh cares about and it is a shame because as you said it's it's she didn't go to sandringham last year and actually
[24:08]since 1988 um sandringham has been the place where all the royals gathered for christmas and her majesty likes routine she likes
[24:18]loyalty she likes things to be as they always has she changes things you know imperceptibly but basically she likes the routine that
[24:29]she's had for well 70 years um so i don't think she will be on her own i'm quite sure that the royals who are
[24:39]close to her will make arrangements uh as they did soon after prince philip's death whereby they had um times for each of them to go and see her and keep her
[24:51]company and i think that that will work very well and of course it doesn't mean she won't be able to go up to sandringham at all she does like to be there in january she usually comes back
[25:02]on the 6th of february so she can um enjoy the walking and the the views um later but 50 people were due there and i think
[25:13]that is really too much and most important of all she wants to keep herself going for the platinum jubilee next spring and
[25:24]she's going to have a wonderful time because it's a day with the horses which she loves there's going to be prayers in in chapel there's going to be all sorts of things people all around the country
[25:35]are going to have um get together and eat and be joyous and the concert everything you can think of that she would like and it'd be wonderful because
[25:45]she is the first monarch to have ever been on the throne for over 70 years and i think that that although she's not a grandiose person in any way other than
[25:56]being queen um she she would love to have that in the history books i'm sure uh who do you think will be whether on christmas day
[26:06]well i think probably the the locals will be um that um prince andrew will be there and the um uh
[26:16]contest of essex with louise i mean louise uh now sort of just 18. she gets on extremely well with the queen and she's very gentle and kind and i think
[26:27]they will they might take it in turns um prince charles and camilla will certainly be there maybe not on christmas day boxing day but i think the
[26:37]um cambridges william and catherine will go after that because they've got small children and i think it's quite difficult and they can also go to see
[26:48]katherine's family which william will love because he's so close to them i mean that's just my guess but i think the people who are close to her will be there
[26:59]uh for her and also she's got some of her own stuff because who she's very very close to including angela kelly who's been her dressmaker and advisor
[27:10]and companion for many years now and she um will always give up anything to be with her majesty because she admires her and they get on so well so i think she's
[27:21]such an interesting fit that isn't it she's actually a scouser isn't she um but i remember telling a fantastic story um over the dinner table once about how she'd had to sell her washing machine to
[27:32]buy an appropriate frock to have her interview with the queen and she told the queen the story and she got the job yes well the queen's got a great sense of humor and i think she would think that
[27:43]was you know a really sort of wacky answer as to why she wanted the job and and i don't think people would sell their washing machine for a dress unless they
[27:53]were really keen and and her judgment's been right she's been wonderful to her and the queen has looked so smart and colorful and and um
[28:03]quietly modern in what she's worn lately yeah with angela's uh advice or not with the scarf over her head but you know when she's on duty she yeah i think she's been beavering a beavering
[28:15]away actually of late i think she um received was it the sultan of oman um quite recently um i'd you talked about who may or may not be available to
[28:26]spend christmas um with her i i'm surprised that perhaps um charles wouldn't go yeah i said that i'm sure yeah they would go because i think they might be
[28:37]at high growth um they won't go up to scotland yet which they always do but they might be in high ground and that would be very easy and and charles is very devoted to his mother always has
[28:48]been wants to please her and and camilla now gets on with her incredibly well she's accepted totally um they have lots in common like horses and dogs which
[28:58]they can talk about for ages and also my goodness isn't she working hard she's taking on more and more patronages than almost anybody else i mean almost
[29:10]every day there's another one and she does it thoroughly she doesn't just want her name on a on a note paper um sorry to interrupt do you think that she
[29:21]um is doing what she's done cancel the christmas in order to offer support to her government or because she is anxious about omicron herself i think it's very much to show
[29:33]the country as an example of making a decision that is very difficult but perhaps is the right one and she wants to
[29:44]seem and i think she's done that for the last few years to be the same as us you know when the pandemic arrived in 2020 uh we desperately wanted her to
[29:55]speak to us and 23 million people listened to her to say we will get by we will get on and and it was that she was
[30:05]just one of us and looking after us as a sort of grandmother should really um and i think that she wants to set a good example
[30:15]okay it's always great to talk to you angela you've always got such great insight thank you so much for joining us thank you bye thank you bye-bye the volcano on la palma has appeared to
[30:27]have stopped police officers on la palma have taken to feeding cats in the area who have been left homeless by the destruction from the volcano there you go the
[30:38]volcano went quite last week and scientists say this may signal the end but will not declare the eruption officially over unless the lack of seismic activity continues
[30:48]through until christmas eve and then there's an awful lot of clearing up to do isn't there meanwhile demand has erupted for wine that shares its name with the la palma
[30:59]volcano cells of cumbre viejo red wine have soared since the eruption began three months ago providing an unexpected
[31:07]windfall for its vineyard there you go forecasters say there is a chance of snow in britain on christmas day will we see some snow down south again the
[31:17]official forecast says the parts of the country most likely to see snowfall are scotland the far north of england and northern ireland but they are warning the outlook remains
[31:29]uncertain here is in more detail [Music] look forward to brighter skies
[31:41]the weather sponsored by qatar airways more unsettled midweek bringing an increasing risk of ice and snow as we head towards the christmas period
[31:51]relatively quiet picture just now with most places starting the day on a cloudy note the weather sponsored by qatar airways
[32:04]so no minister for you today so i'm not sure what the latest figures are as far as omicron and the number of people in hospital is concerned we'll try and get that for you but we can tell you that
[32:15]the list of events canceled across the uk due to the omicron variant continues to grow last night london's new zealand celebrations in trafalgar square just hearing about that weren't we they've
[32:26]been called off and around europe restrictions are being tightened the netherlands has the toughest rules the whole country is now back in full lockdown until at least the 14th of
[32:38]january my goodness germany says anyone arriving from the uk must go into quarantine for two weeks regardless of their vaccination status in denmark all cinemas theaters and
[32:49]museums have been closed france has enforced its health pass meaning people have to be fully vaccinated to get into restaurants museums and sporting events
[33:00]official new year's eve fireworks and public parties are also cancelled and in ireland all restaurants and bars apart from takeaways and delivery
[33:09]services now close at 8 pm from dublin our island correspondent stephen murphy reports 7 p.m
[33:20]8 p.m this is how irish night out are now over at eight until at least the end of january for me it doesn't bother me i'm i'm
[33:30]happy enough to have a few points and leave at eight o'clock but for younger people it's much more difficult i think do you think people just drink in houses now oh absolutely i don't see people are people are going to be in a situation
[33:42]where they have no there's no kind of barriers or restrictions or anything holding people back people are going to be absolutely hammered in gaffes and just spreading it even further is that what you're doing now i i will be doing
[33:52]it though that's the worst part sorry about this republicans say they've been left bewildered by the new restrictions no literally a couple of minutes after eight o'clock christmas week and it's
[34:04]completely deserving yeah it's just surreal uh i've done some strange things in my time but that's right up there i mean it just feels kind of ridiculous it feels pointless it feels wrong
[34:15]and uh very it's actually very upsetting just knowing your business is just getting destroyed slowly but surely the new rules have been put in place because of the rise of omicron which in the space of just two weeks has
[34:27]overtaken delta to become ireland's dominant strain the government has warned of record case numbers in the coming days as it urges people to get their booster shots but once again the
[34:38]hospitality industry feels it's being made an easy scapegoat we feel pretty devastated to be honest in the dublin suburbs republican deirdre devitt has spent tens of thousands of
[34:50]euro on outdoor seating a coffee van and filtration systems but now she's going to be hit hard in the pocket again the bar here opens at 12. it's opening
[34:59]from 12 to 8 pm viable for you we have absolutely no idea stephen if it's viable because we don't know what's coming we're one of the most social countries in the world
[35:09]every celebration is had in pubs and restaurants and hotels and you know there's pubs friends of mine pubs and restaurants that are empty and it's christmas week we cannot continue like this shutting up
[35:20]by 8pm may kill the christmas spirit for punters but it's the businesses that are really suffering despite renewed financial supports from government irish pubs and restaurants simply can't afford
[35:31]to keep opening and closing nearly two years on they say there's still no plan for truly living with covid stephen murphy sky news in
[35:42]dublin latest covered figures for the uk for you a further 91 000 new cover cases 44 new deaths sadly have been recorded
[35:53]brings the total number of deaths to 147 2261. as for vaccines 33 000 first doses
[36:03]have been delivered an additional almost uh 40 000 second doses total number of second doses now more
[36:13]than 47 and a half million uh look at these uh booster doses um 846 4466 boosters have been delivered in the
[36:24]last 24 hours which brings the total amount of boosters delivered pushing 29 million more than half of the adult population in terms of omicron
[36:34]there have been an additional 8 000 cases of the omicron variant reported across the uk total number of confirmed omicron cases in the uk now add up to forty five
[36:46]thousand one hundred and forty five those thousands of covid patients are being treated by hospital staff across the country their treatment will have to continue
[36:57]throughout the holidays joining us now covered icu anesthetist dr um ed patrick hello to ed thanks for joining us what's it been like in icu over the last few days hi okay love to
[37:09]join you again um it's been pretty much the same it has been for the last few months so we still have uh covered patients coming into hospital into icu i think one of the
[37:21]things that's happening is that people are just wondering what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks and how it's going to affect admissions but also i think staffing as well because obviously if other people
[37:31]are getting it and needing to go off sick that might be a big issue for the nhs how worried are you about the omicron cases have you had any so it's difficult to say what we've had
[37:42]because that sort of information doesn't really filter down to us so we get whether someone's actually covered positive but we never get to the point of actually hearing whether it's omicron or not so those statistics aren't
[37:53]feeding down um but that'll be quite useful when you're treating them it might it might be useful just to know what it's like on the ground but the treatment is still going to be
[38:04]the same so i think that's the what people would say about it but it would i think it would be helpful just to know you know region by region where that is what do you say to people who are still reluctant to get their jobs i mean i'm
[38:16]always surprised when we read out the number of people that are going for their first vaccination another 30 000 people yesterday decided oh all right then i'll have one so what i'd say to people who are still
[38:27]hesitant is that when you if you end up with covert and end up coming into hospital is that you need a cocktail of drugs in order to keep you alive when you're in intensive care all of which
[38:37]have side effects so that can be avoided if the vaccine can stop you from getting severely ill and the other thing to say is you know people talk about um side effects with vaccine things or that
[38:48]they're worried about things like clots well uh covert can give you uh clots and people who come into hospital who are suffering from covid will go on to medication to help stop their blood
[38:58]clotting to that extent so um all this can be avoided by having a vaccine so if you are on the fence about it um or still wondering i'd definitely recommend getting one and do you find
[39:10]there is unvaccinated remorse when people come in and they say i wish i'd had the vaccination when i could i think people definitely think about
[39:22]whether they could turn back time because obviously you can't give the vaccine once you're in hospital it's a preventative thing so once it's once that horse is bolted there's no going back um to give the vaccine i
[39:33]think there's definitely feelings of remorse and obviously frustration from all sides around that this could possibly have been prevented yeah do you see many people
[39:44]in icu that have been vaccinated it's uh it's more it's mostly unvaccinated people i see in icu people who are vaccinated
[39:56]um are there with other problems that possibly affect their immune system meaning that they don't respond as well to the vaccine but the vast vast majority at the moment
[40:07]are unvaccinated obviously we don't know what's going to happen in the next few weeks when there's a possible worry about surgical infections and whether that changes or not so we'll have to see just then final thought what are you
[40:19]expecting to see that surge there's a possible talk of surging in patients coming in january at some point and i think there's we're
[40:30]talking about planning of how we can sort of deal with uh staff and if there's any staff shortages um so i think that's the time when we're expecting because obviously there's a lag between when you get infected when
[40:40]you become unwell and then when you become so unwell that you actually need hospital treatment and so we're thinking uh the thinking is that that's going to be in january okay good to talk to you
[40:50]doctor keep well thank you thank you is there any hope of foreign travel this winter we all side are we joining us claire evan travel editor at the
[41:02]telegraph hi chloe we spoke to you or you certainly uh used one of your tweets last week when we found out what france were doing now we're hearing that potentially step two could be brought in don't know if it will it could be which
[41:13]means that if you try and travel overseas you get fined five thousand pounds yeah and that's the cost i think many people haven't factored into their holiday um i mean
[41:24]firstly of course there is confusion between um whether it's tier two or step two of course nothing's been confirmed um let me say step two is a a much more
[41:35]serious implication for not just for international travel but for any of us hoping to um you know spend time with with family um and friends either
[41:45]overseas or even domestically um so it's you know it if that is brought in it will be another blow and and interestingly it also contradicts what
[41:56]the health secretary said about travel restrictions when a couple of weeks ago they they scrapped the red list because their thinking was well omicron's so um widely spread that in
[42:07]actual fact travel restrictions are pretty pointless um so of course what that thinking does is open up travel to those people who
[42:18]have the ability to to be a bit flexible um who who can afford any extra testing and so on around that and and you know really want to be able
[42:29]to travel and to travel safely um of course it has so great implications for those people and for people as i say hoping to meet up but you know the industry that supports our
[42:39]holiday that helps us actually get there you know the hotels the ground staff the airlines so um you know a step two would
[42:47]be a very bleak um introduction for for the trampoline street and any of us hoping to use it what about just the threat of step two
[42:58]what does that what advice would you give people this morning i mean yesterday i was talking to hoteliers you know i went into a couple of hotel lobbies and
[43:09]you know the impact already of the last 10 days is immense i mean we're talking hundreds of thousands of pounds impact
[43:17]on individual hotels and restaurants i'm talking to one gm yesterday who said that they have they have a really high repeat uh level of guests
[43:29]and um in the last week they'd had guests phoning up in the morning to cancel and then phoning up again in the in the afternoon to rebook for that same evening because indecision is
[43:40]is so um just completely it erodes confidence and that's the biggest problem facing the travel industry apart from you know just actual closure
[43:52]but but this kind of stealth closure um you know whereby people don't feel comfortable going for dinner or don't feel comfortable honoring a note a hotel booking
[44:03]is is decimating um those industries and indeed then as i say the experience that we all have then when we we finally can travel because there isn't staff you know there
[44:14]isn't infrastructure um and you know and it risks standard slipping so all in all it's um it's bad news what advice would you give
[44:26]to families who are potentially they have christmas at home and then they're either going for a sunshine holiday or they're going um skiing on boxing day should they still go
[44:38]well my advice would be the same as it's been throughout the pandemic is be flexible be open-minded and we have lots of advice on ski swaps
[44:49]so for example if you've got a scheme today booked and you were hoping to go to france there are other options um you know there are sea results in other countries that you
[45:00]can travel to that have availability um there are ways that you can travel there quite cost effectively um but as we've been saying all the way through the pandemic
[45:11]book with a bonded tour appraiser at all bonded tour operator because then you know you'll get your money back then you'll know you'll be supported if you need to um to isolate or find an
[45:22]alternative accommodation sorry to interrupt claire but what happens if step two comes in the day after you travel um i think if we go by tier two well
[45:32]you're already there so you you get to finish your holiday and come back yeah effectively business yeah it's tricky though isn't it to know what i should do yeah i was if you're in that situation i
[45:45]would just enjoy your holiday while you can it's a very good uh tip merry christmas i hope you have a good one thank you very much claire oven from the telegraph thank you now a new exhibition aims to highlight
[46:00]the impact of climate change by showing its effects in some of the most remote and beautiful places on earth this is one of the photos a picture of a
[46:10]little penguin taken in antarctica and here we have this mix of landscape in greenland beautiful joining us now is amy vitale founder of
[46:21]the vital impacts and national geographic photographer and filmmaker and marcy james paper and ink studio owners hello to you both thank you so much for joining us on the program this
[46:32]morning um so tell us more about your work ladies well hello yes we um we basically decided to i
[46:42]work with national geographic and have this rare opportunity to be connected to so many extraordinary photographers artists and
[46:52]basically decided to create a print sale where we can sell this art and raise much needed funding for incredible conservation
[47:03]happening all over the planet and i'm really excited because one of the stars of this is jane goodall herself and you know we asked her if she
[47:15]made any photographs and in fact she she has and so we have these really beautiful even a self-portrait which she saw in
[47:25]front of james so basically we've got a hundred of the world's finest artists and photographers
[47:34]um names you you may know of like nick brandt jim naughton paul nicklin beth moon so many incredible artists and
[47:45]um and then people that you may not know of as well we really searched to find just uh beautiful new voices that are out there
[47:56]and they're shared as we look at these pictures in more detail um ladies perhaps you'd like to talk us through them i don't know if you can see them great picture of a dolphin there and where people can see more of them yes so
[48:06]the website is vital impacts with an s.org and the the photographers are are all incredibly diverse but their one shared
[48:18]uh commitment is to the environment and so all of these images you know it's a range of work from wildlife photographers but also artists and they
[48:29]all really speak about the planet where we're going and i think you know i think the idea is to connect your heart and mind because there's this
[48:40]really strong connection between images and empathy and i believe that you know that will help us um you know feel love and compassion for
[48:52]all the animals and and this planet that we share with yeah so we also have a partner in london the
[49:02]um the print space so they're helping fulfill those orders and and you're carbon neutral here and and yeah so we just broadened this year to incorporate
[49:13]the print space so they print out of london and as well as germany and they ship to um all of the locations internationally i cover all of the shipping for
[49:25]you for the united states and the main reason why we wanted to do this was for um sustainability so that aren't traveling such a long distance amazing
[49:36]photos ladies it's absolutely fantastic to talk to you thank you so much for sharing them with us this morning merry christmas merry christmas thanks a lot bye-bye thank you