Covid-19: Boosters advised for all adults and masks back in shops
- Published
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday evening. We'll have another update for you tomorrow morning.
1.Booster jabs advised for all UK adults
Covid booster jabs should be offered to all over-18s to help stop a potential wave driven by the new variant Omicron, scientists have advised the UK government. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the minimum gap between the second dose and booster should also be reduced to three months. And they recommended children aged 12 to 15 should be invited for a second dose three months after their first.
2. Further restrictions announced to MPs
Health Secretary Sajid Javid formally announced to MPs that from Tuesday, masks will be compulsory in shops and on public transport in England. He also confirmed stricter travel rules from some countries. It comes after early evidence suggested the Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, has a higher reinfection risk. Eleven cases of the Omicron variant have been found in the UK so far.
3. 'Test much more', says Sturgeon
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is urging people to "test much more" after six of the UK's 11 Omicron cases were identified in Scotland. Ms Sturgeon asked people to take lateral flow tests before mixing with other households, and for bosses to maximise home working. She called for even tougher travel restrictions for people arriving in the UK - although that has been ruled out by Downing Street.
4. Omicron sparks scramble for flights
The new tougher travel restrictions in response to the Omicron variant are causing travel turmoil for people trying to return to the UK. The government has added 10 southern African countries to the UK's travel red list. One traveller, Alex Clarke, told the BBC he had found a flight from South Africa back to the UK but a lack of quarantine hotel spaces meant he might have to re-arrange his return again. Here are your refund rights if your flights are cancelled due to Covid.
5. Steps tour axed over Covid cases
Some may dub it a Tragedy - pop group Steps have postponed the remainder of their UK tour due to Covid-19 cases. Singer Lee Latchford-Evans tested positive on the same day that bandmate Faye Tozer was allowed to return to the stage following her own Covid isolation. With further cases emerging, Steps said continuing the tour was "impossible" and shows would be re-arranged for some time next summer.
Steps have had two number one singles and three number one albums
And there's more...
As more cases of the Omicron variant emerge, find out here whether existing Covid vaccines still work.
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