Happy New Year – though, “alas” (as the prime minister would say), that’s just a polite wish, not a true description.
On the upside, this morning an 82-year-old dialysis patient from Oxford has become the first person in the world to receive the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine outside of clinical trials on the day the UK rollout begins . The full story is here.
But at the very least, Covid’s cases, hospitals and deaths are now rising abruptly and the outlook for the coming weeks is grim. Here are three recent Twitter threads that explain why.
From Professor Christina Pagel, head of the clinical operations research unit at University College London
Christine Pagel
(@chrischirp)THREAD – Covid-19 in England.
Things go from bad to worse.
This is where we are in 9 prints. 1/9
From Chris Hopson, head of NHS Providers
Chris Hopson
(@ChrisCEOHopson)1/3 Today ‘s data on NHS hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID – 19 diagnosis remains a major concern and shows how difficult this is now growing for the NHS. Two things to note. 1. Significant increases overnight for London, SE and E (+ 8%, + 6% and 5% in just one day) pic.twitter.com/FtnBB476S2
From Niall O’Brien MP, leader of the Conservative party’s policy board
Niall O’Brien BP
(@NeilDotObrien)> There is a great crisis ahead
The current wave of Coronavirus crisis is in many ways * worse * than the original spring surge. Quick thread:
In his latest tweet, O’Brien says “something big” is needed.
Niall O’Brien BP
(@NeilDotObrien)Feeling overwhelmed by the decision:
> in addition to going as fast as we can with mass vaccination, we need to do something big to reduce explosive growth and stop hospitals being overcrowded.
Yesterday Boris Johnson added that tougher locking measures could be announced soon. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has been giving interviews this morning, and he has supported that message as well. “Every week we look at every part of the country to make sure we are in the right position in terms of standards,” he said. “It is a very difficult situation for the virus to grow. ”
The situation in the UK has worsened considerably in recent weeks due to the new variant of coronavirus in circulation that is now under control in some areas. But in an interview on the program today, Hancock said he was “extremely concerned” about another new strain of the virus, one that has surfaced in South Africa. He told the program:
I am very concerned about the South African diversity. That is why we have done what we have done to prevent all flights from South Africa, and transfers from South Africa, and to ensure that anyone who has been there South Africa separates.
This is a very important problem. In fact I spoke to the number facing my South Africa over Christmas, and one of the reasons they know they have a problem is because, like us, they have excellent genomic scientific ability, be able to analyze the details of the virus. And it’s even more of a problem than the new UK version.
ITVan Robert Peston posted this on Twitter to help explain Hancock’s idea.
Robert Peston
(@Peston)According to one of the government’s scientific advisers, the reason is @MattHancockThe “surprising concern” about the South African Covid-19 variant is that they are less confident that the vaccines will be as effective against it as they are for the UK variety. https://t.co/prc2udPVVP
Today the news is likely to be dominated by the continuing uncertainty about pupils going back to school in England. And in Scotland the prime minister makes an emergency report to parliament. Here is the agenda for the day.
12f: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily meeting for a lobby.
12.15f: Welsh government health minister Vaughan Gething will hold a coronavirus preparation.
2f: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is making an emergency statement to the Scottish parliament, which has been recalled from recess, about coronavirus.
Politics Live is now doubling as the UK’s live coronavirus blog and, with the way Covid’s crisis is shutting it all down, this will continue into the future. But we deal with non-Covid political stories as well, and when they seem more important or interesting, they take precedence.
This is our global coronavirus live blog.
I try to keep track of the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, enter “Andrew” somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I will try to answer questions, and if they have a general interest, I will post the question and answer above the line (ATL), although I cannot promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to get my attention quickly, it may be best to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.