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Minggu, 12 Desember 2021

'Get boosted now': Covid booster programme extended to over-18s, PM announces - ITV News

ITV News Political Correspondent Daniel Hewitt reports on the PM's emergency plan to tackle Omicron

Over-18s will be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of the year in England, as the target for giving every eligible adult a third dose has been brought forward by a month over fears of a "tidal wave of Omicron" that could cause "very many deaths".

In a televised address to the nation, Boris Johnson announced that from Monday, in England the booster vaccine programme will be opened up to every adult over 18 who has had a second dose of the vaccine at least three months ago - the NHS booking system will be open to the younger age groups from Wednesday.

In a stark warning, the PM told the nation “we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection”, as he set a new deadline of jabbing everyone over 18 by the new year.

“No one should be in any doubt that there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming and I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we need,” Mr Johnson.

'We're opening up the booster to every adult', PM announces

He said scientists had discovered that being fully vaccinated is “simply not enough” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus mutation and that, without a lightning speed mass booster campaign, the NHS could be overwhelmed.

The mission to administer millions of jabs by December 31 will see 42 military planning teams deployed across every health region, extra vaccine sites and mobile units, extended clinic opening hours to allow people to be jabbed around the clock and at weekends, and the training of thousands more volunteer vaccinators.

Daniel Hewitt on the timing and manor of the announcement as the PM receives criticism from within his party over alleged Covid-rule-breaking parties

The Omicron variant has concerned scientists since its emergence in South Africa, and the UK has now recorded a total of 3,137 cases after a further 1,239 cases of the mutation were recorded on Sunday. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the actual number was likely to be 10 times as high.

Mr Zahawi also confirmed the first hospitalisations from the variant in the UK, warning that the the variant is "so infectious, it will seek [unvaccinated people] out".The PM’s address came as the UK Covid Alert Level was increased from Level 3 to Level 4 “in light of the rapid increase in Omicron cases”, the four UK chief medical officers said in a joint statement.

'Tidal wave of Omicron is coming'

Speaking on Sunday, the Prime Minister said: “We’ve already seen hospitalisations doubling in a week in South Africa and we have patients with Omicron here in the UK right now.

“At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe.

“And even if that proved to be true we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths.

ITV News Health Editor Emily Morgan on the 'monumental challenge' to vaccinate millions before new year

“So we must act now. Today we are launching the Omicron emergency booster national mission, unlike anything we’ve done before in the vaccination programme, to get boosted now.

“A fortnight ago I said we would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January.

“Today in light of this Omicron emergency I’m bringing that target forward by a whole month.

“Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the new year.”

Watch the PM's address to the nation:

[embedded content]

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2021-12-12 23:56:28Z
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'Get boosted now': Covid booster programme extended to over-18s, PM announces - ITV News

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UK's Omicron restrictions on African countries are 'travel apartheid' - Metro.co.uk

A woman with a oxygen mask on with her head in her hands, people queuing outside a vaccination centre, a woman and a child getting jabbed, a man holding up a sign that reads: 'We want a vaccine'. The UK and other European governments have been accused of 'travel apartheid' for their Omicron travel restrictions on African countries. — People coming from 11 African countries have to pay more than £2,000 for hotel quarantine (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

The UK and its European neighbours have been accused of inflicting ‘travel apartheid’ on African countries placed on red lists.

South African scientists told the world they had discovered the mutant Omicron variant on November 25. Whilst governments around the world thanked the country for its transparency, the announcement quickly backfired.

Some 11 African nations were put onto the UK’s red list, with much of Europe and the US quickly following suit.

It means most entry to the UK is banned and anyone arriving from these places has to pay around £2,285 for the Government’s hotel quarantine package and two PCR tests.

African leaders and international health experts have pushed back against these restrictions with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres dubbing the rules ‘travel apartheid’.

Speaking earlier this month, Mr Guterres said: ‘We have the instruments to have safe travel. Let’s use those instruments to avoid this kind of, allow me to say, travel apartheid, which I think is unacceptable.’

Nigeria's high commissioner to London, Sarafa Tunji Isola having a virtual meeting with the Queen. The UK and other European governments have been accused of 'travel apartheid' for their Omicron travel restrictions on African countries. — Nigeria’s high commissioner to London, Sarafa Tunji Isola, said the UK should not panic about Omicron (Picture: PA)

When Nigeria was added to the UK’s red list on December 6, the country’s high commissioner to London, Sarafa Tunji Isola, quoted Mr Guterres.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Nigeria is actually aligned with the position of the UN secretary-general – that the travel ban is apartheid’.

Mr Isola went on to claim that Omicron is ‘mild variant’, insisting it is not a strain to panic about.

Indeed, the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has also said the global bans are ‘no longer informed by science’.

Although it is too early to tell whether the Omicron variant evades vaccines, several South African scientists have said infected people exhibit symptoms milder than those with Delta.

Other experts believe the variant has not been studied for long enough to know Omicron’s effects on hospitalisations and deaths.

Even if ‘milder symptoms’ ends up being true for South Africa, the country has a much younger population than the UK and scientists want more data on how Omicron affects the elderly.

But Omicron has already been found in many European countries. There were 1,898 confirmed cases in the UK on Saturday and this number, which is probably higher in reality, goes up every day.

A graph showing rising Omicron cases in the UK. The UK and other European governments have been accused of 'travel apartheid' for their Omicron travel restrictions on African countries. — Omicron will be the UK’s dominant variant by mid-January, it has been predicted (Picture: MailOnline)

Top epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector believes the UK will have more Omicron cases than most African countries in less than 10 days.

If true, this would leave ‘very little point’ in enforcing travel restrictions, the King’s College scientist added.

Indeed, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) predicts Omicron will account for more than 50% of the UK’s cases by as early as next week.

The fast spread has largely been attributed to Omicron being more transmissible than Delta, as Boris Johnson said early evidence shows

The seemingly inevitable dominance of Omicron is what African leaders argue is the ‘pointlessness’ in travel restrictions.

But besides this, Mr Rhamaposa said it was unfair for the west to penalise poorer nations with rising cases after depriving those countries of vaccines in the first place.

Vaccine inequality is dangerous but also completely avoidable. A year into the worldâ€™s most ambitious vaccination drive, no country should lack sufficient access to vaccines.Â
Â #ACTAccelerator pic.twitter.com/k0Hd1eha5d
— Cyril Ramaphosa ðŸ‡¿ðŸ‡¦ (@CyrilRamaphosa) December 9, 2021

He said last Thursday: ‘This pandemic has shown how we respond to a truly global crisis.

‘[The west] ordered more vaccines than their populations required and when we wanted vaccines, they kept giving us the crumbs from their tables.

‘Of nearly 7.5-billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered globally by mid-November, 71% had been administered in high-income and upper-middle-income countries. Only 0.6% had been administered in low-income countries. Africa is the hardest hit by the inequitable access to vaccines.

‘As the events of the past few days have shown, we live with the threat from mutating variants which have the potential to unleash further devastation in communities globally.’

People queuing for a vaccine in South Africa. The UK and other European governments have been accused of 'travel apartheid' for their Omicron travel restrictions on African countries. — Vaccinations are down in pooer nations because of hoarding, poor infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy (Picture: Getty Images)

Indeed, every single adult in the UK will be offered a third booster shot by January whilst South Africa has a fully vaccinated population of just 25.93%.

Nigeria has only jabbed 1.91% of its people and Malawi and Zambia, which have also been placed on the red list, have vaccinated less than 5%.

Kenyan GP Marie-Claire Wangari previously told Metro.co.uk the UK should delay its booster scheme so countries like hers could catch up with rich nations who were able to stockpile vaccines in bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies.

However, it is important to note that whilst many African countries have now received the jabs they were entitled to, inoculation programmes are hindered by poor infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: ‘Throughout the pandemic the government has been guided by the science and the advice of health experts to ensure that steps minimise the risk of importing COVID-19 cases and variants from abroad.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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2021-12-12 07:00:00Z
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The key moments from week two of Ghislaine Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial - including $300 'massages', nude photos and the Queen's cabin - Sky News

Warning: This report contains graphic descriptions of alleged sexual abuse of a child.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, is currently on trial, facing eight charges - including six counts of enticing minors and sex trafficking.

Spanning a 10-year period from 1994 to 2004, the 59-year-old British socialite's charges involve four alleged underage victims - with the youngest just 14 years old at the time.

Maxwell, the daughter of former media mogul Robert Maxwell, could be sentenced to 80 years in prison if found guilty of all counts.

She has denied all of the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

So as the second week of her trial comes to an end, here's what has happened since week one.

Monday: Second alleged victim says Maxwell 'told me I was one of Epstein's favourites'

The second alleged victim testified, saying Maxwell allegedly pressured her into giving Epstein sexual massages when she was still a teenager and told her she was "one of his favourites".

The woman, now 44, said she was 17 and struggling to make friends after moving to Britain from France when she met Maxwell for tea at her London townhouse in 1994.

They became acquainted through a 35-year-old man she was dating.

Testifying under the pseudonym Kate, she said she returned to the townhouse weeks later while Epstein was there and she massaged his feet at Maxwell's request.

A couple of weeks later, Kate said Maxwell asked her to come back to the house and give Epstein a massage.

When asked by a prosecutor whether she was a massage therapist, Kate said no.

She said Maxwell led her to a massage room and Epstein was there, wearing a bathrobe, and when he took it off he was naked.

The witness said Maxwell gave her some massage oil and closed the door, and then Epstein had a sexual encounter with her.

Tuesday: Third alleged victim says she was paid $300 for Epstein sexual massages when she was 14

The third alleged victim took the stand, saying she gave Epstein sexual massages when she was 14.

Carolyn, testifying under only her first name to protect her privacy, said another Epstein accuser, Virginia Roberts, introduced her to Maxwell.

"Virginia said: 'Do you want to go to Palm Beach and give a wealthy friend of mine a massage?'" she said.

Over the course of the next four years, Carolyn said she returned to Epstein's Palm Beach home more than 100 times and often two to three times a week to give him a massage.

Every time, she told the jury, it would involve some sexual contact.

The woman recalled how Epstein would touch her breasts and buttocks.

She said the encounters would end with him masturbating until he ejaculated.

Carolyn said Maxwell would sometimes call her to schedule appointments with Epstein, during each of which she would be paid $300 to $400.

Tuesday: Massage room and nude photos shown in FBI images

Pictures taken during a raid on Jeffrey Epstein's £58m New York townhouse were shown to the jury.

The FBI found boxes of CDs and nude photos of women and girls in several rooms - including a so-called massage room - during the search on 6 July 2019.

Some had "evidence tape" sealing them but that had not been put there by police, the court heard.

Investigators uncovered "numerous black binders" containing CDs which were clearly labelled with thumbnail photos at the seven-storey Manhattan property.

The cache of digital photographs also included images of two women who have accused Maxwell of serving them up to Epstein while they were teenagers.

They are depicted in various states of undress, prosecutors said.

Wednesday: Maxwell and Epstein seen at Queen's Balmoral Estate

Pictures charting Maxwell's relationship with Epstein were shown to the court, with one image taken at what appears to be the Queen's log cabin on the Balmoral Estate.

The Queen and her family have been pictured sitting by what looks like the same cabin.

In other images, Maxwell was seen kissing and massaging Epstein.

Thursday: Accuser's ex-boyfriend says he drove girls to Epstein's home

A former boyfriend of Carolyn - the alleged victim who testified on Tuesday - corroborated her account.

Named only as Shawn to protect Carolyn's identity, the man said he drove her and two other girls to Epstein's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, multiple times in the early 2000s.

He would wait in the car for an hour until the teenagers emerged with $100 bills.

Shawn said he drove the girls to the affluent neighbourhood whenever he received a call from one of three women who worked for Epstein. One of them, he said, had a "proper English" accent.

Friday: Fourth alleged victim says Maxwell told her to undress and rubbed her breasts

Annie Farmer, who is the only one of four accusers to give evidence under her full name, testified Maxwell and Epstein forced themselves on her when she was 16.

She recalled how Maxwell instructed her to "get undressed" before giving her massage and rubbing her breasts while on a trip at Epstein's New Mexico ranch.

Ms Farmer said she felt "frozen" and "surprised", adding: "I wanted so badly to get off the table and have this massage be done."

She also told the court that Maxwell wanted her to rub Epstein's foot "because that was something she thought I should learn to do."

Ms Farmer described another incident at a cinema in New York where Epstein reached for her hand and started "caressing" it before "rubbing" the bottom of her shoe, foot, and leg.

"I felt sick to my stomach," she said.

What happened in week one of Maxwell's trial

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2021-12-12 01:59:49Z
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Biden warns Putin of ‘devastating’ consequences if Russia invades Ukraine - Financial Times

US president Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that he would dispatch additional troops to allies in eastern Europe if Russia invaded Ukraine, in one of his sternest warnings yet about the fallout from military action by Moscow.

Speaking to reporters after remarks on the deadly tornadoes that battered the US, Biden said if Putin “moves on Ukraine” he would face “devastating” economic consequences. Washington and western allies are discussing a hefty package of economic and financial sanctions to punish Moscow in a more damaging way than they did when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.

But Biden added that the US and Nato would also bolster the defence of B9 countries, a group of alliance members in central and eastern Europe who are most vulnerable to the security threat posed by Russia.

“We will find it required that we’ll have to send more American and Nato troops into the eastern flank, the B9, all those Nato countries where we have a sacred obligation to defend them against any attack by Russia,” Biden said.

The US has not indicated any appetite for deploying troops directly to Ukraine. But Biden said that Washington would “continue to provide for, and we have and continued to provide for the defence capacities for the Ukrainian people”.

The US president also suggested that Russia would pay “a terrible price” in terms of its image if it were to attack Ukraine.

Biden’s comments came after a week of tense negotiations over the fate of Ukraine, following warnings from the US that Putin was preparing to attack its neighbour with up to 175,000 troops. Biden held a two-hour call with Putin in which he warned the Russian leader against taking any action. But he opened the door to a negotiation and a possible “accommodation” with regards to Ukraine, unnerving some Nato allies in eastern Europe.

Since then, Russia has made a series of demands of the US, including that it curb any ambition to further expand Nato, which were dismissed by US administration officials.

“[Biden] stands by the proposition that countries should be able to freely choose who they associate with,” Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser told reporters.

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2021-12-11 23:12:30Z
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Sabtu, 11 Desember 2021

US tornadoes: At least 70 people killed in 'one of largest tornado outbreaks in US history' as warnings death toll may exceed 100 - Sky News

Up to 100 people may have been killed as tornadoes and storms hit several US states, toppling buildings and trapping people inside.

President Joe Biden says the deadly weather system is likely to be "one of the largest tornado outbreaks in US history" as he pledged to "provide whatever is needed" to people in need.

Addressing Americans at at a White House news conference on Saturday, Mr Biden said: "I promise you, whatever is needed, the federal government is going to supply it."

He revealed how his "heart aches" for those affected by the disaster, including the rescue crews.

"This is the United States of America, our citizens are badly, badly hurt and they're scared to death right now, it's devastating," Mr Biden told the nation.

"We just have to keep at it, we have to keep focused, this is going to be the focus of my attention until we get it finished."

Earlier, Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear said it was "the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky."

He said: "Earlier this morning at about 5am we were pretty sure that we would lose over 50 Kentuckians. I am now certain that that number is north of 70, it may in fact end up exceeding 100 before the day is done."

Mr Beshear said four tornadoes had torn through the state, with the primary tornado travelling more than 227 miles (365km) across the state.

He said the community of Mayfield had been devastated, with a roof collapse at a candle factory resulting in "mass casualties".

Almost 60,000 people had been left without power, he added.

Mr Beshear said he had also declared a state of emergency.

"It's been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky's history," he said.

Speaking at a news conference on Saturday morning, he said: "The damage is even worse now that we have first light.

"But everywhere along the line of this tornado that touched down and stayed down for over for 227 miles has been severely and significantly impacted."

At least six people were confirmed to have died in other states, including one fatality at an Amazon warehouse after the roof collapsed.

Illinois

Police in Edwardsville, Illinois, confirmed there had been at least one death at an Amazon warehouse where a wall about the length of a football field collapsed along with the roof above it.

About 100 emergency vehicles were sent to the warehouse, which is 25 miles east of St Louis. It was unclear how many people were hurt but two people were flown to hospital by helicopter.

Rescue crews were searching through the rubble to check if anyone was trapped inside.

Arkansas

At least one person died and several were injured when a tornado hit the Monette Manor nursing home in northern Arkansas.

Some 20 people were trapped inside the building as it collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press.

Five were left with serious injuries and a few others had minor injuries, he added. The home has 86 beds.

Mr Day also said another nursing home around 20 miles (32km) away in Truman was badly damaged, but no injuries were reported. The residents were being evacuated because the building was unsafe.

Another person was killed in Leachville after a tornado destroyed a Dollar General Store and smashed apart the city's downtown, according to Lieutenant Chuck Brown of the Mississippi COunty Sheriff's Office.

Tennessee

Two storm-related deaths were reported in Lake County, in the northwestern corner of Tennessee, according to Dean Flener, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

A third death was reported in neighbouring Obion County.

Missouri

One person died and two others were injured when buildings collapsed near the towns of Defiance and New Melle in Missouri.

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2021-12-11 21:45:00Z
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US tornadoes: At least 50 people likely to have been killed in Kentucky - Sky News

At least 50 people are thought to have died as tornadoes and storms hit several US states, toppling buildings and trapping people inside.

Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear said the state had "experienced some of the worst tornado damage we've seen in a long time".

He said the number of deaths would likely "exceed 50" and could be as high as 100.

He said the community of Mayfield had been devastated, with a roof collapse at a candle factory resulting in "mass casualties".

Mr Beshear said 56,854 people were left without power.

He said he had also declared a state of emergency.

"It's been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky's history," he said.

Elsewhere, at least five people were confirmed to have died, and emergency crews in Illinois are responding to reports of injuries at an Amazon warehouse after the roof collapsed.

Three people died in Tennessee, while one person died and several were injured when an apparent tornado hit a nursing home in Arkansas, and at least one fatality has been reported in Missouri.

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Minggu, 12 Desember 2021

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Sabtu, 11 Desember 2021

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