tonight at six — the uk has recorded more than 1000 daily deaths for the first time since april. this is bbc news i'mjane hill. the headlines at five. a further 1,01” deaths at the epicentre — related to coronavirus have stretched to the limit — been reported in the uk. we report from one of london‘s biggest hospitals, it's the first time since april where covid admissions have doubled in the last fortnight and staff the daily figures have are reaching breaking point. exceeded a thousand. for another week at this rate, but after that we really need to see it slow down, or we‘re going to see the care we can deliver suffer, i think. and as lockdown comes into effect, a record number of daily coronavirus 0perating theatres have been turned into intensive care units. cases have been reported pregnant women and cancer patients are among those being treated. for the second day running, this man feels lucky to be alive. with more than 62,000 people testing positive. borisjohnson says the new variant you are gasping, it is like there is of coronavirus has brought renewed pressure on the nhs no oxygen around. frightening. very and changes everything. it is inescapable that the facts frightening. are changing and we must change our response and so we have no choice but to return to a national lockdown in england with similar measures being adopted by the devolved administrations.

the education secretary says students in england — whose summer exams have been cancelled — will be graded by their teachers — but there are questions over how the process will work. gcses, a—levels and as—level exams will not go ahead this summer. this year, we are going to put our trust in teachers, rather than algorithms. where the secretary of state goes, chaos and confusion follows and its children, families and education staff across the country who pay the price for his incompetence. pressure mounts on the government to get its vaccination programme right — the minister in charge says he hopes deaths will start to reduce as early as this spring. on a knife—edge.. with most votes counted in georgia, president—electjoe biden‘s democrat party looks set to gain

control of the senate. supporters of donald trump are gathering in washington, where he will be addressing what his team have coined the "save america" rally. the prime minister says he had no choice but to introduce a new lockdown in england. speaking in the house of commons, he said the easing of restrictions will not happen with a "big bang" but will instead be a "gradual unwrapping". it comes as the uk has recorded 62,322 new coronavirus cases — the highest daily number to date — and 1,01” more deaths —

the highest daily reported total since april 21. downing street has confirmed mass vaccination hubs at seven sites across england, including sports venues and london's excel convention centre will begin operations next week. in other developments — the education secretary gavin williamson says the government will put its "trust in teachers, rather than algorithms" as he confirmed gcse and a—level exams in england won't go ahead this summer. labour has accused the government of treating btec students as an "afterthought" gavin williamson says schools and colleges can decide whether to cancel their exams. today, the house of commons was recalled from recess for the second time, to debate and retrospectively vote on the lockdown measures layer tonight. damian grammaticus has more.

in a capital with soaring infection rates, mps recalled today for an extraordinary sitting. the prime ministerjust a few days ago did not foresee this lockdown happening this fast. how long are we in this for, prime minister? but in the capital, one in 30 people have been infected by the virus in just the past week. inside there was ceremony, but few to see it happen, a handful of mps present in parliament. a new year, a new variant and so tighter restrictions. i now call the prime minister to make a statement, borisjohnson. it is inescapable that the facts are changing and we must change our response and so we have no choice but to return to a national lockdown in england with similar measures being adopted by the devolved administrations. so we can control this new variant until we can take the most likely victims out of its path with vaccines.

under england's new restrictions, you can only leave home for essential reasons. no mixing of households is allowed indoors or out but you can meet one person for exercise and there are exceptions for child care and medical needs or support bubbles. mps are concerned about how long restrictions may last. they could be in place until the end of march, but there will be fortnightly reviews, including in mid—february, by when 13 million vaccinations may have been offered. with england back under lockdown, it is that timeline for vaccinations that is so important. last time there was a vote, more than 50 of the government's own mps did not support new restrictions. this time most will and so will opposition parties. what is different? the new variant of the virus is on the loose but also there is the prospect of millions being immunised in the coming weeks. the labour leader keir starmer confirmed his party would vote for the restrictions but was critical of

the government's actions. the situation we face is clearly very serious. perhaps the darkest moment of the pandemic. but this is notjust bad luck. it is not inevitable. it follows a pattern. in the first wave of the pandemic, the government was repeatedly too slow to act. some conservative mps said they wanted regular chances to vote on whether the restrictions should be ongoing. many of us are concerned, being asked to approve a lockdown which could continue until the slst of march. can i ask my right honourable friend to reconsider and to offer the house a vote at the end ofjanuary and at the end of february as well, not on whether to lift restrictions but on whether to continue them or not? with broad support this time, borisjohnson has less disquiet to worry about. he said the return of schools after the february half term was a priority and restrictions

could be relaxed area by area, depending on local circumstances. damian grammaticus, bbc news, westminster. let's cross to our political correspondent, ben wright who's at westminster. then, how would you summarise the tone and the mood of this debate? what mps are saying about this third lockdown? mps hate the fact that there is a third lockdown happening, they worry about its effect on the economy, on children's education, on the nation's mental health, but the vast majority of mps across the parties realise there is no choice right now. as damien said, what is change the argument is that the virus and this new mutant strain there is surging as viciously as it is. but also the fact that vaccines are already being administered and i think that has changed the way that mps are discussing this lockdown and

parliament is expected to rubber—stamp this legislation in a couple of hours also with very little dissent. there may be a handful of tory mps that oppose it, but this will go through. as you heard there, the question is whether mps will get a say over the next 23 months about whether what should happen towards the end of march because there are certainly some tory mps that fear that this could roll along forfar tory mps that fear that this could roll along for far too long, even after millions of started to be vaccinated. —— whether mps will get a say over the next 23 months. in terms of timescale, will the prime minister come back to the commons every few weeks? where are we in terms of how often this will be discussed. in relation to education, it's hugely damaging. the government is very keen to be open and candid about the numbers. they will be broadcasting regulatory press conferences on the airwaves, how many people, which of the vulnerable

groups are being vaccinated as the days and weeks roll on. they will make that information public, but what you are hearing from some tory mps isa what you are hearing from some tory mps is a demand for some sort of metric that can then tally with how restrictions will be lifted and that is something that the prime minister and the government don't want to give them at the moment and i think, we have been used to borisjohnson being quite bombastic and optimistic ina way being quite bombastic and optimistic in a way that he talks about defeating this virus. today, i thought his tone was very cautious and guarded. he said he wanted schools to reopen as soon as possible, it would be a priority, but he wouldn't commit to a timetable. he wouldn't say that they would be back after the february half term because he knows in many ways, this is out of his hands. this is the government against the virus thatis is the government against the virus that is so far, rampant around the country and he was very careful today not to be specific about mapping a route out of this lockdown that could conceivably last through to march. that is interesting, isn't

it? thank you very much, ben. ben they're listening to the continuing debate in westminster and we will be there with a vote in a couple of hours. let stay with education. the education secretary gavin williamson has confirmed that gcse and a—level exams in england won't go ahead this summer. he said he wanted to reassure everyone that schools haven't suddenly become unsafe, but that limiting the number of people who attend them is essential because of the climbing rates of covid—i9. gavin williamson said gcse, as and a—levels in england will be replaced by a form of school—based assessments — with training given to make sure grades are fair and consistent. he added that it is now legally binding for all state funded schools to provide high—quality remote education — and that this will be enforced by 0fsted. he said schools must provide 3 to 5 hours of teaching a day; and he praised uk internet providers for offering free data at key educational sites. in terms of vocational

qualifications, the education secretary said schools and colleges can decide whether to cancel btec exams — even though some pupils have been sitting some today. he also announced funding to help schools provide food parcels, or to enable children to access free school meals if they're eligible. mr williamson said the government had learnt lessons from mistakes that were made with exams last year. this year we are going to put our trust in teachers rather than algorithms. the department and 0fqual had already worked over a range of contingency options. while the details will need to be fine—tuned in consultation with 0fqual, the exam boards and teaching representative organisations, i can confirm now that i wish to use a form of teacher—assessed grades with training and support provided to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently across the country.

i know students and staff have worked hard to prepare for the january exams and assessments of vocational and technical qualifications and we want to allow schools and colleges to continue with these assessments where they judge it is right to do so. no college should feel pressured to offer these and we will ensure all students are able to progress fairly, just as we will with vtqs in the summer. this the shadow education secretary kate green said a consistent approach this a consistent approach is needed across the country. mr speaker, months ago, the education secretary gave a cast—iron commitment that exams would go ahead. at that moment, we should have known they were doomed to be cancelled. i wanted exams to go ahead fairly, but i was always clear

that there must be a plan b if that was not possible. for months, there was no sign of any such plan, although the risks that exams could not happen has always been predictable. the secretary of state says he will be providing support to teachers to award grades. can he tell me when they will receive the support and what form it will take and confirm that it will be available in all schools? and can he tell me exactly what will be done to ensure that all the grades are fair, consistent and support pupils to move on in their education or employment? i heard what he said about technical and vocational exams. but frankly, he is failing to show leadership on the exams taking place injanuary and he is leaving it simply to schools and colleges to decide what they should do in difficult circumstances. will he now do the right thing and cancel this week's btec exams, as parents, colleges and the association

of colleges are calling for? i'm joined by stuart mclaughlin, who's a retired secondary head teacher and chair of the naht — the national association of head teachers — secondary council. in terms of gcses and a—levels being cancelled, do you feel that that was the correct decision?” cancelled, do you feel that that was the correct decision? i think it became inevitable, really. i was concerned, even in the autumn term, as the numbers were rising and more and more students were starting to miss their learning in certain parts of the country, that the playing field was becoming increasingly unfairand it was field was becoming increasingly unfair and it was very difficult that the exams would ever be able to ta ke that the exams would ever be able to take place. so, exactly. so in terms

of how grades are then finally awarded to students this summer, we know gavin william said it was going to bea know gavin william said it was going to be a former teacher assessed grades, but also training to ensure fairness and consistency. do you have an understanding as to what that might mean? i mean, i would like to see the detail. my main concern is that certainly the naht has been pushing the government for a plan b so that if the government had to make a decision to cancel exams, they would roll it out and there will be clarity as to how those teacher assessments would be arrived at and the fact that that decision has now been made and it is the right decision given the current circumstances, and yet we don't have any details. teachers still are confused and parents and students will be confused by exactly how those grades are going to be decided. i think whatever they come up decided. i think whatever they come up with, there has to be real clarity. there has to be really clear criteria that teachers are using to make sure that across the

country, the same criteria as being used to decide on the grades all students. what would you suggest? if gavin williams and found you at this evening and said, how should we, what should we be doing to ensure fairness across the country? what are some of the key pointers, do you think? one of the things we could look at is that there is a portfolio of evidence that teachers are using, whether that is work done in a class a mock exam results, but real clarity about what sort of information should be used. i feel that there should be some level of moderation, so that once those teacher assessments are in, very similarto teacher assessments are in, very similar to how coursework. when coursework is submitted, there is a moderation process that follows to check that teachers are assessing at the right level. whether that is off

call all the examples could be involved in a moderation, that is the only way, really i can see that we can have a fair process. is it possible to carry out this process without grade inflation happening? that is one of my main concerns. grade inflation is very easy for it to happen. even in schools where you are asking teachers for their predictions for the students, you will get a variety according to how the teachers see those grades. some teachers are very optimistic and some are on the side of caution, so that's why the criteria is really important. that moderation process, whatever that looks like, the difficulty is that we have left it so difficulty is that we have left it so late to make this decision, it then makes it harder to put those processes in place. whereas, in other parts of the uk, such as in scotland, they made that decision really early to not have exams and we we re really early to not have exams and we were really clear about what teachers can do to make sure that they have got a real evidence basis

to give those predicted grades, those grades at the end of the process. yes, well, thank you very much for your thoughts. stuart mclaughlin, thank you very much indeed. chair of the nha t secondary council. let's stay with this. let's ask someone who is steeped in as well for her response and suggestions as to how this might work. dr tina isaacs is an honorary associate professor in educational assessment at university college london's institute of education and joins me now. a big question, but exactly what i have just been discussing with my previous guest. how can fairness, consistency, be achieved, do you feel, when deciding what grades youngsters should be awarded this honour? i don't disagree with anything the previous speaker has said but i do want to say, and people probably will not want to hear this, but the system cannot be

absolutely fair. no system can guarantee that across every school, every individual pupil, that every pupil gets exactly the grade here she deserves. what we need to create isafairenough, she deserves. what we need to create is a fair enough, the fairest system, that in this time of crisis we can rally around. so, to answer your question, sorry for the long preamble, but i think it's really important that we recognise that we can't put a perfect system in place. so yes, teachers need to know exactly what evidence they can bring to bear. i would argue that as much evidence as is humanly possible, which is one of the reasons why i was hopeful, but now it won't happen, that they would be a

combination of teacher judgment, coursework, moderated, some kind of coursework, moderated, some kind of coursework for homework portfolio of evidence, and some sort of truncated exa m evidence, and some sort of truncated exam test. i think those are more important for a—level students than for gcse students, and i would have wa nted for gcse students, and i would have wanted to see some form of very highly modified gcse tests. i'm saying test rather than exam, in english and mathematics only. but that's clearly, after today's announcement, that clearly won't happen. so, what is important is that there is a very clearly designed a set of evidence that teachers can put forward that will be heavily moderated, more heavily moderated than usual coursework. sorry to interrupt, but when you say heavily moderated, do you mean, you

mean other pairs of eyes looking at the decision and someone independent, perhaps he doesn't know the child? yes, so i would argue for a combination of internal and external moderation. that external moderation can be done via groups of schools and colleges getting together, it doesn't necessarily have to be from the exam boards, but the exam boards could have a role to play in this. so yes, i think there needs to be some form of external moderation, but internal moderation first. and i don't think they said distrust our teachers. —— matt i don't think we should distrust our teachers. i'm still slightly reeling from your comment that there is no com pletely from your comment that there is no completely fair way of doing it. i'm sure you speak the truth, but my heart is breaking for those students who have been working hard but perhaps won't be coming out with the grade for a particular subject that they've worked so hard towards. it's

pa rt they've worked so hard towards. it's part of what we should be planning here is a decent appeal system? absolutely, absolutely. we need to have an appeal system, there needs to bea have an appeal system, there needs to be a recognition of learning loss, so that part of that appeal system is pa rt loss, so that part of that appeal system is part and parcel with the kind of learning loss that individual students may have suffered. could i say that in a normal year, using purely examinations, that system is not 100% fair either. we seem to believe that everyone gets the grade he she deserves, but i hate to say this, but that isn't the case. fascinating to hear your perspective. ifeel there is much more i could ask you even around that and i'm sorry we can't speak for longer. it is interesting to hear your perspective given yourfield. interesting to hear your perspective given your field. thank you very much. perhaps we will talk again when we get more details around the

system of moderation as well. that would be very good, thank you very much. thank you very much, tina isaacs from the institute for education which is part of london university. it's 23 minutes past five. we turn oui’ it's 23 minutes past five. we turn our attention to events in the us. let's take you to washington now where president trump is addressing a group of supporters who have gathered, refusing to accept that he lost the us election tojoe biden. president trump still at the podium. people have gathered, people who support him, president trumper saying that he doesn't believejoe biden has won the election, it looks like the rally is still going on. let's have a listen to what he has been saying in the past ten and 15 minutes. we will never give up, we will never concede, it doesn't happen. we don't concede when theft

is involved. 0ur happen. we don't concede when theft is involved. our country has had enough. we will not take it any more and that's what this is all about. to use a favourite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steel. today, i will lay out some of the evidence that we won the election and by a landslide. this wasn't a close election. i say it sometimesjokingly, but this wasn't a close election. i say it sometimes jokingly, but there is nojoke about it sometimes jokingly, but there is no joke about it. i have it sometimes jokingly, but there is nojoke about it. i have been in two elections, i won them both, and a second one i won much bigger than the first one, 0k? almost 75 million people voted for our campaign, the most of any incumbent president by far in the history of our country. 12 million more people than four yea rs 12 million more people than four

years ago. i was told by the real pollsters, we do have real pollsters, we do have real pollsters, they knew we were going to do well and we were going to win. i was told that if i went from 63 million, to 66 million, there was no chance of losing. well, we didn't go to 66, we went to 75 million and they say we lost, we didn't lose. and by the way, does anybody believe thatjoe had and by the way, does anybody believe that joe had 80 and by the way, does anybody believe thatjoe had 80 million votes? does anybody believe that? cheering. it's a disgrace. there's never been anything like that. there is third world countries, take third world countries, are more honest than what we have been going through in this country. it's a disgrace. it's a disgrace. even when you look at last night, they were all running around

like chickens with their heads cut off, with boxes and nobody knows what's going on. there is never been anything like this. we will not let them silence your voices. we are not going to let it happen. cheering. not going to let it happen. so, there has never been anything like this, says donald trump to his supporters in washington, dc. just to reiterate, he said that he would never concede to the 2020 presidential election, we will never give up, we will never concede, we will stop the steel. we are two weeks away from the inauguration of the democratjoe biden as president and vice president kamala harris.

let's discuss all of that. nataliejennings is the editor of the fix, which provides political analysis for the washington post. shejoins me now. good afternoon. what did you make of what you i can't say any of it was unexpected but that might remarkable and unusual and present trump is very angry. he is dealing with very difficult day in his presidency. his party has likely lost the senate after last night's elections in georgia and congress is about to finalise the last process of our constitution process to affirm his win. but on the other hand, he is talking to a crowd of really adoring people who came from all over the country by their thousands to speak to him —— see him and that is his

bread—and—butter. he loves to be in front of a crowd that loves him and he was giving them what they want to hear and as we go into the last couple of weeks of his presidency, he is not taking the reality in his stride. into weak's time, joe will be sworn in as president. so what we are watching today, appealing to his base as you have explained, in practical terms, it doesn't change anything, does it? it does not. it doesin anything, does it? it does not. it does in political terms, though. president trumper is someone who is still enormously influential, although he lost an election and the senate. the balance of power in washington is shifting, maybe not by huge margin of power but very significantly. but there remain a lot of people who are loyal to him in the volume of those people is something that he will continue to

wales to try to remain influential. of course, we still have two weeks where he is the head the american government, so there is still time for him to do things and will be watching to see what that is. do we think that he will appear at the inauguration? it is traditional for the outgoing president to be there at the swearing in. we don't have any reason to think that he will, whether he has ruled that out explicitly, but according to president trumper, this election isn't fair and he has not even conceded thatjoe biden won, so i can't envision that he will be there on the steps to oversee a transition of power. we heard yesterday about different past presidents who... george w bush and his wife will attend the inauguration which will be scaled scaled—back affair due to coronavirus, but we don't think president trump will appear and we don't know exactly where he will be on that day what his schedule for leaving the white house is. thought

about those senate races in georgia, not completely confirmed, but it looks as if, let's assume, let's say that it goes to both democratic candidates. we then have a 50—50 split in the senate, the upper house, it gives kamala harris the deciding vote. what does that mean? what could that mean for a biden presidency? well, it gives biden a lot more room to be ambitious in its policies and go more for things that liberals and democrats were like. to think a little bigger, if you will, because this is a thin margin. he will still have to appeal and the moderates, a 50—50 split isn't very big, but what it does mean is that democrats control the agenda in the senate. the democrats will be in charge of the senate and in charge of all the committees of the senate, so of all the committees of the senate, so not only do they have... votes,

but they have a major strategic advantage in terms of what biden can even consider bringing before them. really interesting to talk to you. thanks for your time. natalie jennings, the editor of the fix, which provides a political analysis for the washington post. europe's drug regulator has approved moderna's coronavirus vaccine. the european medicines agency authorises all treatments for the 27 eu members. the euopean commission is expected to give its approval later today. the moderna jab will be given as two injections, four weeks apart. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. we have certainly started 202i on a cold wintry note and temperatures are still well below average for the time of year. it's cold out there once again today, a few wintry flurries for parts of eastern england, the south—east of england has seen

rain, sleet and hill snow which is slowly clearing. still some rain showers the channel islands for the rest of today, temperatures only about one to 6 degrees. this weather front moving in from the north will bring some significant snowfall across scotland, perhaps ten centimetres or more over the highest ground. even at low levels for scotland and northern ireland tonight, several centimetres of snow. snow and ice around as temperatures plummet well below freezing once again for the all of us through the course of tonight. you'll also notice notice some freezing fog patches around which will be slow to clear away, reducing visibility through the day. much of england and wales having a mostly dry day, but we will have this weather front moving in from the north, so further snowfall for scotland and northern england later. sunshine and wintry showers return from the north, staying cold for the south. goodbye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. a further 1,01” deaths related to coronavirus have

been reported in the uk. it's the first time since april that the daily figures have exceeded one thousand. and as lockdown comes into effect, a record number of daily coronavirus cases have been reported for the second day running, with more than 62—thousand people testing positive. borisjohnson says the new variant of coronavirus has brought renewed pressure on the nhs — and changes everything the education secretary says students in england — whose summer exams have been cancelled — will be graded by their teachers — but there are questions over how the process will work. pressure mounts on the government to get its vaccination programme right — the minister in charge says he hopes deaths will start to reduce as early as this spring. on a knife—edge. with most votes counted in georgia, president—electjoe biden's democrat party looks set to gain control of the senate

supporters of donald trump are gathering in washington, where he is addressing what his team have coined the "save america" rally. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good evening — increasing coronavirus cases continue to have an impact on sport. in the last hour premiership rugby's released what it's calling a series of enhanced measures to help prevent the spread of the virus amongst players. in terms of training, schedules will be reviewed to reduce the amount of time players are there, all non—training staff and injured players will have to be socially distanced and wear face coverings. matchday protocols are being stepped up too with one of the changes no more face to face celebrations after a try‘s been scored. a ban on ice baths and only grab

and go food being available are some of the other changes. however, exeter chiefs head coach rob baxter believes the steps won't stop the spread of the virus. the chiefs have had more positive tests — although their game against bristol on saturday will still go ahead. the rugby club itself is probably the safest place during the week because the things that are in place already, but also what you do not allow for is what happens outside. it is impossible for me to say the strengthening of the rules within the club environment. more covid—i9 outbreaks. none of us are in com plete outbreaks. none of us are in complete control of what you do what you leave the rugby club. the stuff to go shopping, is still risk everywhere. a total of five games have been cancelled this season. the latest is northampton saints match against leicester this weekend. it's after a number of saints players tested positive. northampton's training ground has also been closed,

they're not expected to train again until monday. the match won't be rescheduled, a premiership rugby panel says it'll allocate points "in due course". next to cricket, england's touring party in sri lanka have passed coronavirus tests. they were all retested — after moeen ali's positive result on monday. he's in a ten day quarantine, as well as chris woakes who was deemed a close contact. england started restricted training today in hamba ntota, but players and staff will need to have a third test tomorrow, ahead of the start of the first test match next thursday. big news from the english football league this afternoon — all 72 clubs will now be tested twice a week to halt the spread of the virus. over 50 matches have been postponed due to outbreaks — with league one clubs particularly badly impacted. efl sides — unlike premier league clubs — test at different times in the season, rather than every week. the professional footballers association will pay for these tests which get underway on monday. arsenal women have asked

for their wsl game against aston villa on saturday to be postponed after an unsanctioned trip to dubai led to a coronavirus case. three players, who have not been named, visited the united arab emirates over christmas — without telling the club beforehand. 0ne tested positive for covid—i9 after returning, leading to others self—isolating. arsenal say the trips were made for commercial reasons, in line with permitted business travel at the time. saturday's fa cup third round tie between southampton and shrewsbury is in doubt after a significant number of shrewsbury players and staff tested positive for coronavirus. and staff tested positive their league one game against crewe was called off due to the outbreak with all affected now self isolating. all teams are being tested 72 hours before matches. the club's league game agaisnt lincoln next weekend is also thought to be in doubt. and derby county will play their under—23 and under—i8 squad players, to ensure their third round match at non league chorley goes ahead. the club's first team

and their interim manager wayne rooney are currently self isolating, after a number of positive tests at the club, which led to their training ground being shut down. and some transfer news before we go. mesut ozil could leave arsenal this month according to his agent. the 32 year old — who earns 350,000 pounds a week — hasn't played for the club since march and was left out of arsenal's premier league and europa league squads. he's in the final six months of his contract — meaning he can talk to other clubs. and a reminder it's manchester united v manchester city in the league cup semi final tonight. city have had more positive covid tests but the game goes ahead. we'll be live at old trafford in sportsday looking ahead to that and more — join 0lly foster for that if you can. that's all your sport for now. we've seen record uk coronavirus infection figures today — la ke lets remind ourselves of the numbers.

and over a thousand new deaths have been reported. 1,01” deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. that is the highest level of deaths recorded since april last year. there was also another record number of coronavirus cases — with 62,322 people testing positive — the highest figure since the start if the pandemic.in all since the pandemic began 77,346 people have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. our health correspondent nick trigglejoins me. grim figures, just put it on the context what it all means. they are grim, but sadly, there were inevitable. we have seen rising

rates of infection throughout december and over 62,000 new cases today and that is after a week of seeing more than 50,000 cases every day and the numbers are four times higher than they were at the start of december and that has led on to more patients in the hospital is out secretary has been talking about the house of commons. what and 30,000 patients in the hospital, that is above 50% since christmas day alone and the hospital admissions sadly, some of those will be dying next week end but we have heard for the deaths, we should expect to see sadly more in the coming weeks for the impact of lockdown starts to have an effect and also it is important to say that that lockdown may be less than what we've seen from previous lockdowns because you have more transmission will variant.

and what i will say that over 1000 deaths and over the christmas period there have been delays, this is higher than the average that we are seeing we have seen on average, just under 700 deaths a day and that still a 40% of just under 700 deaths a day and that still a 40% ofjust before christmas and asi still a 40% ofjust before christmas and as i say, i think it will continue going up until lockdown sta rts continue going up until lockdown starts to have an impact. and you mentioned that new variant, nick. when some is tested, if they get a positive test result, you do not know where variant is giving you the positive result do you? to what extent the people watching this think this is all the result of the new variant? where are we with that in understanding of it? the scientists are still trying to understand it. around 50% more

transmissible, maybe even 70% more transmissible, maybe even 70% more transmissible we simply do not know. by transmissible we simply do not know. by the things that allows us to measure the spread of the variant is the way the test is carried out and looks at different genes and the way that the variant measures up in this test looks at three different genes, they can tell whether or not the variant, the cause of that infection. we are able to track that it has been growing across the southeast in on some parts of the rest of the uk, there are some suggestions and small hence no it is figures that there's a slight telling off in the growth of the variant in the southeast which is very good news and as i say, lockdown it takes a week maybe even longerfor lockdown it takes a week maybe even longer for lockdown have an lockdown it takes a week maybe even longerfor lockdown have an impact and we also have this time is the vaccines that are being rolled out

andi vaccines that are being rolled out and i think everyone hopes that once you get past the middle of november, we start to see some of those really what are distressing figures now, heading of the right direction. thank you very much. coronavirus cases are rising in almost all corners of the globe — and for governments it's a race against time to make sure vaccines reach the people before the virus does. so how are different countries co—ordinating their campaigns? we've been finding out from some of our correspondents. i'm hugh schofield, the bbc‘s paris correspondent. here in france, what's really exercising people more and more, is the sheer sluggishness of the government's vaccination programme against covid. at the weekend, when neighbouring germany had vaccinated a quarter of a million people, here in france, the figure was a mere 530 or 540. it was miniscule. part of it seems to be purely bureaucracy. it's part of the system here in france for inoculating

anyone for anything that each person has a kind of pre—consultation five days ahead of the actual injection, in which doctors can assess whether there are complicating factors and so on. and that's having to be gone through with everyone at the old people's homes, which is causing a huge delay. there's general acceptance now that that kind of very procedural approach is going to have to change. there is another problem though in france, which is that it is, in europe, the most vaccine sceptic country. a lot of people simply say they're not going to have the vaccination. and that, i think, means the government is moving very slowly, very cautiously. in any case, the accusations of the government have stung, and now it says it is going to step up, accelerate its programme, and it promises by the end of the month, its cruising speed for vaccinations will be the same as in the rest of europe. i'm tom bateman. i'm the bbc's middle east correspondent in jerusalem. and israel has raced out of the blocks when it comes to administering the first dose of the vaccines. they've been doing around 150,000 jabs a day, and already some

1.5 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine. that amounts to 15% or so of the population and means that israel has been vaccinating people with the first dose at the fastest rate in the world. and they've done it because the country has a very centralised system of databases of patient records and ways of contacting patients, and there's been a very big pr drive at the same time. but it does come with a warning. the top scientist that advises the israeli government on coronavirus told me that although this was an amazing achievement, he said it would be many, many more months yet before they can contain the virus. i'm sophie long, the bbc‘s correspondent based in los angeles. here in the united states, the vaccination process is progressing much more slowly than many had hoped. the trump administration has distributed more than 15 million doses to states across the country, yet less than a third of those have actually been administered.

why is that? well, health officials say they are dealing with a deep distrust of the vaccine, largely because of the speed with which it has been developed. 0thers, though, are citing organisational glitches. dr anthony fauci, the country's leading expert in infectious diseases, says it's the logistics that are causing the problems, not people's hesitancy to actually have the injections. now, every day, a grim new record is broken. in the last week, an average of more than 2,500 americans have died from the coronavirus every day. while we're now into england's third national lockdown, thursday evenings will look very similar to the first one last march. people across the uk are once again being invited to put their hands

together for the return of clap for carers for ‘every hero who has played their part through the pandemic‘ — under a new name — ‘clap for heroes‘. it appears that it may be coming back and let us talk again to the lady who started this last year. good evening. you and i spoke on the day of the final plat for carers backin day of the final plat for carers back in last spring, summer. and you said to me that perhaps she had some concerns that i got in be political, they devoted was the right time to end it and why is it back now? again, a lot has happened and we are

in third national lockdown and i felt that a lot of people wanted to help in any way i can to see if i can help and lift their spirits just a little bit and connect the communities and that is what i thought it may be a good idea to bring it back. and coloured clap for heroes who are the heroes than? -- and calling it. we are well aware of the pressure that the nhs is under in the carers are under and working around the clock and people doing different things to share their appreciations and the applause disassembled gesture and we thought it would be nice to bring back and in this way even the volunteers, and

those that are shielded and following the rules, the people that are playing their parts to get us through this challenging time, i thought to name their heroes, it can be anybody because we are all doing the best that we can to get out of this as soon as we can. what the lovely things about it is by definition, you will be seeing your neighbours, you don‘t really bump into them in the streets and itjust for that brief moment and it was dark actually, we are reflected in oui’ dark actually, we are reflected in our street how it was almost more special right at the start when it was still dark at eight o‘clock in the evening and it was this remind you that goodness, there is so—and—so over the road and we would wave to each other and that community spirit that you are feeling because the uk really is in lockdown again that it is what you wa nt to lockdown again that it is what you want to rekindle. yes, even if that‘s possible in the slightest way we can do that, yeah. just one

moment, know that you‘re not alone in the rest of the time we are in oui’ in the rest of the time we are in our houses in here, we are not alone, everyone is fighting this together and safely. last march and april, it was a shock that we did not know what we were in for how long it was going to last, do you have any concerns that people are not surprisingly, rather more jaded now? no, because we know now what lockdown looks like and we have and we are hearing the numbers are going up we are hearing the numbers are going up and up and yet, people of different feeling and i understand that but those who feel different can help, please help injoining me and want to express my gratitude in another way but yeah, this is for

those who want to join. thank you very much indeed. the founder of the clu b very much indeed. the founder of the club for carers last year and that is likely to return a newbie called cla p is likely to return a newbie called clap for heroes at eight o‘clock on thursday. in wales, the chief medical officer, dr frank atherton has stressed the severity of the virus and said there have been rapid increases in parts of the north of the country. speaking at the welsh government‘s coronavirus briefing, he said that about1 in 4 coronavirus tests are positive. there are signs that it is rising in many parts of the country and particularly in north wales were rear seem particularly in north wales were rear seem quite rapid increase in their two real reasons for this, too much population mixing and the other one is that there is a new variant strain i‘ll talk a little bit more

about that in a moment. but a couple of indicators of the severity of one and four coronavirus test that we doing well as of the moment are coming back as positive and this shows that there is a lot, is very widespread in terms of transmission oi’ widespread in terms of transmission or communities. also, in particular this concerns me, piercing rises and the rates of the of the 60s of our population and we know that matters because that leads to more severe infections of hospitalisations. a former goldman sachs banker, richard sharp, will be confirmed later this week as the next chair of the bbc trust. richard sharp recently served as an adviser to the chancellor, rishi sunak. he will succeed sir david clementi, whose term expires in february. the french restaura nteur and chef albert roux has died at the age of 85, after a long period of illness.

albert roux opened le gavroche restaurant in london in 1967 with his brother michel, who died last year. le gavroche was the first restaurant in the uk to be awarded three michelin stars. albert‘s son michel rouer said he was a mentor, and a real inspiration to budding chefs. now to an uplifting story. a missing dog has been rescued after being stuck in a 20 foot rabbit hole for 30 hours. cocker spaniel dizzy — who‘s deaf — disappeared during a walk in worcestershire with her owner, it took an appeal on social media. and ajcb digger — to get her back. charlotte wright has more. fantastic! this is the moment dizzy, the cocker spaniel, was reunited with her owner after more than 30 hours missing. yes!

the pair had been for a walk at burlish top nature reserve near kidderminster on sunday evening when dizzy had suddenly vanished behind a bush. duncan flowers, a roofer from stourport, raised the alarm with the help of his sons on social media, and more than 70 volunteers joined the search. but by midnight, no luck. so the next day, duncan had an idea. armed with a shovel, they began to unearth the rabbit holes near to where dizzy had gone missing. before calling in reinforcements. duncan says he had no indication that dizzy would be in there, just an inkling. can you see her? i don't know. come on! and sure enough, that evening she was found, ten feet deep into a rabbit hole. she‘s tired, isn‘t she? bless her. a little shaken, but safe and unharmed. charlotte wright, bbc news.

and finally to a success story for one company which has found a way to adapt and survive during this pandemic. not only that — they have managed to do it by helping some of the people who are most vulnerable to this disease as david sillito reports. it isa it is a bit breezy but it is having its moment. you just feel really free. it‘s the safest way for me. this firm was on the edge of bankruptcy, the officers in shops and serviced suddenly when to lockdown. catastrophic to begin with, 95% of our business with the way overnight and it is an absolute disaster. however, for some people have to keep on travelling throughout lockdown, the outdoor

roots is the perfect solution. clinically extremely vulnerable people such as anita, the taxi has become a lifeline. i feel really safe and it is definitely better than the bus or in huber. it's been a real pleasure to be able to help people were extremely vulnerable to be able to travel in a way where they feel safe in the outdoors away from likely sources of infection.“ even this winter deepens, i need unphased. i know how to dress for the weather and even have a little blanket. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. we‘ve yet more wintry weather across parts of the country over the past 2a hours or so. country over the past 2a hours or so. it‘s been really mixed fortunes in terms of a sunshine and this is the picture earlier in county

durham, some blue sky there, further skies across england we found a lot of cloud and has been bringing in a mix of rain and sleet and some snow over the high ground of kent and sussex as well. that area is now clearing the intention turns moving to the northwest as we will see some rain in many heavy snow fall through tonight but for the hearing now, we‘re still in the cold air so the blue colours still with us, not as blustery as it has been over some recent dates. for the rest of the day we have that area of rain and sleet and it is clear and gradually from the southeast and still heavy showers and quite a lot of dry weather out there as we head to the remainder of the day but temperatures only about one to 6 degrees in the rain quickly turns to snow as it moves and across the northwest of scotland it‘s going to bring some sleet and snow right across northern ireland through this evening into night too. so, quite a lot of snow and ice and is developing as the front pushes its way in furtherance of the curious be some icy stretches and also some fault patches two. the temperatures going down to about —40 minus six

degrees, not quite as cold and the far southeast of east anglia but what we will notice is the freezing fog patches will linger to the day, particularly through parts of northern england towards the midlands and central southern england and wales as well, so freezing fog for some of us i will gradually start to break up a little bit. some sunshine and wintry showers in the north and here is this weather front that continues his progress out of bringing several centimetres of snow in southern scotla nd centimetres of snow in southern scotland and pushing into northern england as well. a very cold day with the registers to 5 degrees this afternoon. in the of this weather front making its way southwards but it fizzles out and still bringing in sums chari precipitation over the course of friday, moving its way southwards to the midlands, wales and further wintry showers across parts of scotland as well, away from the wintry flurries by another cold day with temperatures around two to 4 degrees and could be some icy stretches around friday and then he

looks like things are going to turn a little bit milder as we head to the weekend and into next week. goodbye for now. 00:59:36,413 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 this.