Ministers ‘confident’ NO more Covid curbs needed in England, but Scots face ‘fun-ban’ until SPRING

Ministers are ‘quietly confident’ that further Covid restrictions in England can be avoided and say there is ‘nothing’ in the data to suggest they will be needed despite the recent surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant.

The UK recorded 137,583 new Covid infections yesterday, a week-on-week increase of 14.7% which is lower than over the preceding days.

However data from Scotland was omitted from that total and Scots were today warned that April could be ‘too early’ to be planning large parties in a sign that Nicola Sturgeon’s tougher Covid rules could be extended for months. 

Ministers will review the plan B measures and travel testing requirements this week, and while many restrictions are expected to remain in place, a senior government source told the Times that pre-departure tests could soon be scrapped. 

Growth in Covid hospitalisations in London – seen as a leading indicator of what may happen in the rest of the country – slowed in the run-up to New Year, new official figures revealed yesterday, although holiday reporting glitches could be affecting the total.

There were 319 patients admitted to hospital in London on December 31, a 14 per cent rise on the same day a week before, and 450 on 30 December which is a 15 per cent rise week-on-week.

While a holiday effect may be artificially keeping those numbers low, the rate of increase is well behind the days before that saw a 32% increase on December 29 to 511 admissions.

Edward Argar, a minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, said he was ‘seeing nothing at the moment in the data right in front of me in the immediate situation that suggests a need for further restrictions’.

‘We need cool, calm heads,’ Argar said in an interview with Times Radio. ‘We need to look at the data and we need to do everything possible to avoid any restrictions.’ 

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay said that an uptake in testing showed that ‘the British public are taking sensible steps to keep themselves safe’.

‘We’ve seen significant behaviour change as a result of Plan B. That’s why there has been such a demand for testing in recent weeks,’ he said.

‘That, combined with the booster programme, is the key way as a country that we will avoid the need for further measures.’  

In other Covid developments:

• The Education Secretary said entire classes may need to be merged into larger groups or sent home to work remotely due to teacher absences caused by coronavirus 
• Fewer Covid patients in hospital are relying on ventilation compared to previous peaks during the pandemic, it has been revealed 
• Britain’s streets may soon be littered with rubbish after bin collections were cancelled across the country in the face of severe staff shortages

LONDON: Cases in the capital have been plateauing recently although holiday reporting  glitched could be to blame. The grey bars are incomplete data and will rise 

Pub, restaurant and nightclub bosses believe firms in Edinburgh missed out on around £20 million on Hogmanay due to coronavirus measures. But national clinical director Jason Leitch (L) dismissed calls for the famous New Year street party to be rescheduled to April, meaning restrictions brought in by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (R) are likely to last until spring.

Conversely, Scotland’s national clinical director has said that the country’s ban on large public gatherings amid high Covid cases could last well into the spring, prompting concerns it could be a final blow to hospitality firms.

Pub, restaurant and nightclub bosses believe firms in Edinburgh missed out on around £20 million on Hogmanay due to coronavirus measures, but Professor Jason Leitch dismissed calls for the famous New Year street party to be rescheduled to April, saying it would be too soon for mass events. 

His comments come as hospitality firms continue to struggle under Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s restrictions, which mean pubs and restaurants must have table service only and one metre social distancing between groups. Night clubs were closed on December 27 for at least three weeks, and officials have been warned that some hospitality businesses currently closed will not reopen due to the impact of Sturgeon’s tough restrictions in recent weeks.   

Department of Health data has revealed a further 137,583 Covid cases in its daily update which marks an increase of 17,660 on the figures given for Boxing Day, while figures on New Year’s Day showed a 33.4 per cent week-on-week increase in new cases.

This is the twelfth day in a row that cases have been above the 100,000 mark as the country moves out of the festive season, while in recent days the week-on-week increase in new cases has been as high as 72.5% (Dec. 29).

The Government advised that the data provided could be incomplete due to inconsistency in reporting over the holiday period, with today’s Covid figures for Scotland not available. Hospitalisation data is also not updated on Sundays. 

It comes as official figures revealed nearly one in 10 NHS workers were off sick over New Year’s Eve as coronavirus continued to hit the health service. 

Meanwhile, secondary school pupils will be told to wear face masks from the moment they arrive until they leave when they return to classrooms this week.

In an effort to protect the education of millions of youngsters amid a sharp rise in cases of the Omicron variant, Ministers have requested that pupils cover their faces all day – including while they are being taught. They are already asked to wear masks in communal areas.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi last night said he and Boris Johnson saw schools as their ‘No 1 priority’, adding that they wanted to ‘do everything in our power to minimise disruption’. 

Scotland is set to face months more of strict Covid measures under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The likelihood of Scots facing an extended ‘fun-ban’ increased when national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, said that a planned rescheduling of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay New Year’s party to April ‘might be slightly too early’.

He said: ‘I like an Edinburgh night-out like any other person. Whether we can bring that forward to April, the jury is still out.

‘We are hopeful. We have now got data from South Africa, from University College London, from Denmark and, crucially, Edinburgh that suggests serious disease is certainly less with this variant, maybe as much as three-quarters less. But let’s put that in perspective – 2,500 Delta cases [per day] gets you 50 people in hospital.

‘You need 10,000 Omicron cases for the same number of admissions and Scotland is at 15,000. Omicron is encouraging compared to Delta, but Delta was a very low bar.’

Gavin Stevenson, vice-chairman of the Night Time Industries Association in Scotland, claimed there had been an 80 per cent drop in footfall on Hogmanay, which may have cost the sector £20million.

He told the Sunday Mail: ‘Hogmanay has been pretty disastrous for the licensed trade. I would estimate that the hospitality sector has lost tens of millions of pounds on Hogmanay night alone.

‘It could be a final nail in the coffin for small businesses.’

It comes after a horde of police officers descended on a Glaswegian pub on New Year’s Eve to break up a socially-distanced gathering after they reportedly saw ‘dancing’. 

Onlookers booed and shouted ‘shame’ as around 25 officers stormed the Avant Garde gastropub in Glasgow and arrested two revellers during the raid on the venue which was hosting a socially-distanced and ticketed New Year’s Eve party.

Bar owner Billy Tetmichalis, 63, who plans to make a formal complaint against the police, says he was told he had to close because customers were not following Covid regulations. 

However, Police Scotland said the visit was part of a ‘routine visit’ and not to enforce Covid restrictions.

Police officers tackled a man in a Glasgow bar, put him in a headlock and arrested him as he went to retrieve his coat after they arrived to break up a New Year’s Eve party in the city centre

They told MailOnline the owner was unable to produce proof it was complying with licensing conditions and was subject to enforcement action.  

Mr Tetmichalis told MailOnline officers entered his bar, in King’s Street, Glasgow, because they saw a few people ‘dancing’ and getting served at the bar. 

‘We had complied with all the measures. We were doing table service but some folk got off their seats to approach the bar and we didn’t stop them because everyone was safe.

‘This venue has a capacity for 306 people and we stopped selling tickets at 80 in order to give them enough space – everyone was well-spaced.

‘Some people came to the bar and we didn’t stop them – if that makes us at fault, so be it.’

Miss Sturgeon is expected to update the Scottish Parliament on the restrictions on Wednesday.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘Every restriction means lost revenue for businesses that were already fighting for survival.

‘The Scottish Government must ensure that all those eligible for support receive it.’

New fears for face to face teaching: School staff absences could force a fresh return to online lessons as masks make a classroom comeback

• Nadhim Zahawi said schools might find face-to-face teaching impossible
• Omicron variant could lead to mass staff shortages and teacher absences
• His admission came as Department for Education confirmed secondary school pupils will have to wear masks in classrooms and test twice a week 

Entire classes may need to be merged into larger groups or sent home to work remotely due to teacher absences caused by coronavirus, the Education Secretary said yesterday.

Schools may find it ‘impossible’ to deliver face-to-face teaching to all pupils as the Omicron variant leads to mass staff shortages, Nadhim Zahawi added.

His admission came as the Department for Education confirmed that secondary school pupils will have to wear masks in classrooms and test themselves twice a week when they return tomorrow.

In an open letter to schools sent yesterday, Mr Zahawi said remote learning ‘should only be on a short-term measure’ and schools ‘should return to full-time in-person attendance for all pupils as soon as practicable’.

He added: ‘If operational challenges caused by workforce shortages in your setting make delivery of face-to-face teaching impossible, I would encourage you to consider ways to implement a flexible approach to learning.’

This could involve using all available staff to ‘maximise on-site education for as many pupils as possible’ while schools ‘flexibly deliver provision either on-site or remotely to some pupils’. However, he stressed that such arrangements must be only temporary.

He added: ‘If operational challenges caused by workforce shortages in your setting make delivery of face-to-face teaching impossible, I would encourage you to consider ways to implement a flexible approach to learning.’

This could involve using all available staff to ‘maximise on-site education for as many pupils as possible’ while schools ‘flexibly deliver provision either on-site or remotely to some pupils’. However, he stressed that such arrangements must be only temporary.

Short of sending children home to learn remotely, other options include bringing in supply staff and combining classes into larger groups.

Less than 3 per cent of teachers were recorded as being off sick at the start of last month. But worries are growing that numbers could rise sharply – with one of Britain’s largest academy trusts saying it had experienced staff absence levels of 10 per cent.

And unions have predicted some form of disruption ‘looks sadly inevitable’ as the new term starts.

The Government has faced mounting criticism over its decision to reintroduce face masks, with critics saying it a ‘declaration of war against children’ (file image)

The Government has faced mounting criticism over its decision to reintroduce face masks, with critics saying it a ‘declaration of war against children’.

However teachers and unions have broadly welcomed the move, stressing that it is preferable to remote learning.

In August 2020, Boris Johnson called the notion of wearing masks in classrooms ‘nonsensical’. But the recommendation was brought in for two months last March and will again be in place from the start of the coming term until at least January 26.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘Face coverings are already advised in communal areas for pupils in year 7 and above.

‘Pupils are accustomed to their use and we are sure the reintroduction of face coverings in classrooms is something that schools and colleges will take in their stride.’

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said masks were unlikely to have a ‘significant mental health effect’ on pupils.

She added: ‘We have mask-wearing in secondary schools in Wales and Scotland, and I don’t think that it is causing a huge problem.’ And Rev Steve Chalke, the founder of academy trust Oasis Community Learning, said that while enforcing masks in classrooms was ‘not optimum’, it was ‘better than working at home’.

He told Sky News: ‘We can’t afford lost days of schooling for these children and we know from reports in the media that children being left on their own is not good for them, it’s not good for society.’

However, Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, told Sky News he wanted the Government to ‘set out the evidence’ in the Commons to justify the decision.

‘If masks are not required in offices or restaurants, why are we getting young kids to put them on?’ he said.

And Us For Them, a parents’ group which has campaigned against schools being closed during the pandemic, said it was ‘dumbfounded’ by the decision.

‘Kids’ faces should never be used as political pawns. This is a declaration of war against children’, the group added.

Some 7,000 air cleaning units will also be provided to schools, colleges and early-years settings to improve air quality, it was announced. And staff and pupils have been urged to self-test at home before they return and start testing twice-weekly at school.

The Department for Education said schools and colleges can obtain tests through a separate supply route and ‘will have access to more as needed’.

A Government spokesman said masks and other measures will ‘maximise the number of children in school’ for the ‘maximum amount of time’.