this is bbc news with the latest headlines. enforcing lockdown rules — the uk's most senior police officer warns rule—breakers are increasingly likely to be fined. where somebody is breaking the law, breaking the regulations, and it is absolutely clear that they must have known, or do know that they are, then we will move very swiftly to enforcement and finding people. morrisons and sainsbury‘s take a tougher stance on people refusing to wear masks while shopping. downing street rejects suggestions that borisjohnson broke the rules on only exercising in your local area after he was seen cycling in the olympic park in east london. what do you think about how the lockdown rules are being enforced? are you confused by

the rules themselves? if you'd like to get in touch on this or any of our stories, you can contact me on twitter @geetagurumurthy, or #bbcyourquestions. ministers say they're looking into claims that some food parcels sent to children who would normally get free school meals are inadequate. security is stepped up as the fbi warns of armed protests across the united states in the run—up tojoe biden‘s inauguration. and coming up this hour... finding your thing during lockdown. we look at how people are keeping themselves motivated while staying at home. the uk's most senior police officer has said that people who break lockdown rules are being fined much more quickly, but says that more

clarity on the meaning of "local" on exercise guidelines is needed from the government. it comes as the health secretary says that tighter measures for england cannot be ruled out. metropolitan police commissioner dame cressida dick wrote in the times that it's "preposterous" that anyone could now be unaware of the need to follow restrictions, and covid rulebreakers are "increasingly likely" to be fined. morrisons and sainsbury‘s say people who refuse to wear masks will be banned from their shops, but it's unclear if they will receive police support. it comes as downing street has made it clear that borisjohnson did not break any rules when he went cycling in east london at the weekend. this report from our political correspondentjessica parker. with hospitals under huge strain, people are being urged to follow the rules to try and bear down on infections and admissions. this is 42—year—old hanifa, whose condition worsened after testing positive. it is loud and clear. covid is serious.

national lockdown rules may be tough on many, but there are warnings that they could yet become tougher, especially if people don't follow the current restrictions. there's been speculation about more restrictions, and we don't rule out taking further action if it's needed. but it's your actions now that can make a difference. the supermarket morrisons says it will bar customers who refuse to wear face coverings unless medically exempt. sainsbury‘s is also set to challenge people without a mask. and writing in the times, britain's most senior police officer, cressida dick, said... labour has suggested tighter rules in england should be considered. so, we're in this extraordinary situation, if you like, where,

having got to at least as serious, if not a more serious position than in march of last year, we've got lesser restrictions in place, and we need those in place as quickly as possible. meanwhile, boris johnson, a keen cyclist, was seen on his bike in east london on sunday around seven miles from downing street. advice is to stay local when exercising, but a number 10 source insists he was within the rules. jessica parker, bbc news. let's hear more from the head of the metropolitan police, dame cressida dick. she says that people who break covid rules will be more likely to be fined. we have said last week and again to day that we are moving more quickly to enforcement. so, this doesn't mean that we won't engage with people, of course we will, we will explain and encourage people, but we will move more quickly to enforcement, particularly where somebody is breaking the

regulations, and it is absolutely clear that they must have known or do know that they, then we will move very swiftly to enforcement and fines. our chief political correspondent adam fleming is with me. there is obviously a big focus on enforcement this week, do they have enough specific guidelines to know when to clampdown on people or indeed the manpower to do so?m when to clampdown on people or indeed the manpower to do so? it is an interesting question. cressida dick was saying it is only a minority of people who are breaking the rules, but her officers are going to move more quickly from guiding people towards the guidance, asking them what they're doing, and handing out more fines. so, i think we could see more people getting fined if the police feel they are not sticking to the rules. but there isa not sticking to the rules. but there is a crucial distinction there. the police, when they are dealing with the law, it is very clear. however,

lots of the coronavirus stuff is in guidance, which is voluntary, doesn't have legal force, and isn't necessarily that clear. so, she went on to say in that interview that it would be helpful if the government clarified, for example, what it meant by saying you should stay local when doing your exercise. i am not sure the government will want to clarify that because i think they left it deliberately vague so that people can make their own decisions. but she also said 300 notices had been handed out to people who may have breached the rules in london in just 2a hours, which she said is quite a high number. and perhaps what you do outside is perhaps more ofa what you do outside is perhaps more of a distraction because the key worry is what people do indoors, gathering, but of course, boris johnson, questions about that bike ride over the weekend, and whether oi’ ride over the weekend, and whether or not it was undermining the government message? downing street are very clear, in their mind, the prime minister did not break the law and the law does not say how many

miles a local bike ride is. they also say he didn't break the guidance because all the guidance saysis guidance because all the guidance says is that you shouldn't leave your village or york or go to another part of your city if you are for exercise. and the policing minister kit malthouse has been on the airwaves today and he did not wa nt to the airwaves today and he did not want to talk about the specific case of the prime minister, but his case to the general public was, focus on the big stuff, not the small stuff. well, he was taking his once—a—day exercise, as i understand it, and obviously some people their average cycle will be much greater than that. and i know thatjoggers will jog that. and i know thatjoggers will jog more than that. but if they do, then obviously as long as they are staying local within their own mind, they are not interacting, not mixing with other people, and they do it efficiently and quickly and get back, then that is reasonable. we understand that people need to go outside to take their exercise.

however, i think this borisjohnson bicycle story might have a few more hours left in it, because in that interview, cressida dick of the met police also said that in her mind, the definition of local exercise in london is, you start and finish your exercise from your front door, apart from ina exercise from your front door, apart from in a few specific circumstances, which means political journalists will be spending another day asking number 10 downing street if the prime minister got a lift to the olympic park for his bike ride oi’ the olympic park for his bike ride or whether he cycled the whole way, which i am sure two downing street officials and ministers will be a massive distraction, because they wa nt massive distraction, because they want people to focus on the big stuff, following the rules in general, rather than looking for these very small, specific bits on these very small, specific bits on the edge of the guidance. and very briefly, the point about this in terms of what the prime minister does is, does he undermine the government's main message? because people than use this as an excuse,

they say, if people in power don't listen, if celebrities don't listen, why should i? that is a very interesting point to make. because it is in guidance and he hasn't broken the law, this is something thatis broken the law, this is something that is in the eye of the beholder, and to some people this will be like dominic cummings minus, his former adviser who drove to the north of england during the lockdown, and two others, it will be the dilemmas facing all of us, plus, it is just that he is a bit more high—profile. what i find interesting is how this whole enforcement thing has been working in the last few days. we talk about the police and fines para but actually most of it is being donein but actually most of it is being done in quite a softly, softly way. for example, supermarkets, over the weekend, there was a meeting of senior ministers in the government to look at what they could do to get adherence to the rules by the public. 0ne adherence to the rules by the public. one of the issues they looked at was supermarkets as a potential source of infection, because the statistics suggest that

maybe they are. so then defra, the government department which manages the government's relationship with supermarkets, did not want to be too heavy—handed, they had a chat, they reinforced with them the idea about the rules, then you got sainsbury‘s and morrisons coming out yesterday saying they would insist that all their customers wear masks. i know from my own experience of going to a supermarket last night, the social distancing in my local supermarket was much tougher last night that it has been in the last couple of weeks. he that will have a much bigger effect on people is daily lives than individual high profile cases like the prime minister. but we will have to wait for a couple of days to see what impact all of this has on the coronavirus case numbers. you could get an online delivery, that might help! thanks very much!

mps from the health and social care committee will today meet to hear about how nhs front line staff could be facing burn—out in the wake of the covid—i9 pandemic. there are fears that many are working under incredibly difficult conditions and that unless that extra support is put in place, there could be burn—out in many workplaces. the committee will also be hearing about the experience of minority ethnic staff and discuss what support should be in place to support them. we can now speak to dr samara afzal, a gp at netherton health centre in dudley. thanks forjoining us. how have you and your colleagues found this third lockdown that we are in, has it been even more acutely stressful? thank you for having me. yes, absolutely, it is an extremely stressful time at the moment not only because it is the moment not only because it is the third lockdown, we are seeing a number of covid cases, increasingly, and also we are responsible for the roll—out of the vaccines. you have to remember that apart from doing oui’ to remember that apart from doing our usual general practice work, we

are also now ensuring that thousands of people are getting their vaccines, and it is a huge effort andi vaccines, and it is a huge effort and i really have to commend everybody from the admin staff to the managers and doctors and nurses giving out the vaccines and the thousands of volunteers who are coming in and making sure everything is running smoothly. it is an incredibly difficult time. we want to roll out as many vaccines as we can but ensuring that we are still providing our usual work because we have got patients who have got cancers and other medical problems. so, it is an increasingly difficult time. and in terms of maintaining staff, a re time. and in terms of maintaining staff, are you finding that people are sticking with it, are people wanting to leave because theyjust can't take it anymore or is it their sense of duty driving people on? can't take it anymore or is it their sense of duty driving people 0mm general practice i think most people, at the moment, they arejust pushing themselves and really working hard. in hospitals i think it is slightly different, the

atmosphere has been different and i have heard a couple of colleagues in intensive care and some nursing staff who have really struggled with their mental health. so, it is difficult. i don't know of many people at this particular moment leaving the nhs and i think as health workers everybody has stuck together. we've all got various groups and we all encourage and support each other. so, everybody is working really hard. of course people are burnt out and stressed andi people are burnt out and stressed and i think that we have some hope, and i think that we have some hope, and this vaccine is giving us a lot of hope to continue to work hard. should minority ethnic staff be prioritised for the vaccination? because we saw that minority ethnic communities are under higher risk? yes, and once again, assessments we re yes, and once again, assessments were done on the ethnic staff and as far as

were done on the ethnic staff and as farasi were done on the ethnic staff and as faras i am were done on the ethnic staff and as far as i am aware, where i am working, the majority of staff have actually received their vaccination, both of the ethnic minority and everybody else. and recently matt hancock has said that staff will get priority and everybody should be vaccinated by the end of next month, oi’ vaccinated by the end of next month, or in the coming few weeks. so, yes, of course, particularly the older ones who have got underlying health conditions, they should certainly have their vaccines straightaway. and in terms of the roll—out, are you getting the supplies of vaccine that you need, is the system working as well as it could? at the moment it's relatively new, so all of the supplies that we've had, you get a few days' notice that you are getting them and we have come together and we have given them quite effectively. with the pfizer ones, there is no transport and storage issues so they have to be given within three days. we've given out every single one of those and we are starting to get through some of the astrazeneca ones now, and in a

couple of days we will be giving the next lock and then next week hopefully we will get another delivery and get those out as well. soon as we get delivery, we ensure that straightaway they are rolled out and we get the staff together. 0bviously out and we get the staff together. obviously as more and more come in, it will be difficult for general practice to administer them straightaway so of course pharmacies will be involved in the vaccinating process. i know that the army have been asked to come in and i think thatis been asked to come in and i think that is sensible because in three or four weeks' time, when hopefully we will have many more million vaccines, the quicker they are given out, the better for everybody. so do you think it should be 21w, younger, healthcare staff could be given it in the middle of the night, for example? absolutely, i think if we get to the point where we have got vaccines lying around, which isn't the case at the moment. they are coming in slowly at the moment,

but if we got to that position, then definitely, i don't see why they should be sat waiting 12 hours until the morning, there will be lots of people who would go and happily get it done in the middle of the night. thanks very much indeed, dr samara afza l. and just after 9.30, we'll be answering your questions on restrictions and vaccine roll—out. to answer your questions, i'll bejoined by dr naomi forrester—soto, a virologist at keele university and by professor keith neal from the university of nottingham. get in touch with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions, or you can text 61124, or you email yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. some breaking news that is coming into us on british gas. engineers

are due to be staging a series of fresh strikes over pay and conditions. there are a number of dates in january, up conditions. there are a number of dates injanuary, up to the ist of february. this announcement has been made at the end of a five—day stoppage by five thousands of engineers whose jobs include stoppage by five thousands of engineers whosejobs include key things like servicing boilers. the gmb union has also launched a national strike fund at the moment without appeal to its branches and members. there are concerns that the quality and quantity of food being provided to some children from low—income families as part of the government's free school meals pledge is inadequate. labour leader keir starmer says that some images of free schools appearing online are woefully inadequate, calling it a disgrace. childrens minister vicky ford says she will urgently be looking into the matter. in a tweet, she said food parcels should cover all lunchtime meals, and be nutritious.

andy moore reports. even though many children may not be at school because of covid, the government is still committed to providing free school meals in the form of vouchers or food parcels. but some of those deliveries have been falling short of expectations. this is claimed to be the supply of food for one child for ten days issued in place of a £30 voucher. the company believed to have supplied it says an investigation is underway. it says the photo doesn't reflect the specification of one of its hampers. and now, this example, and other hampers provided by different companies, have come to the attention of marcus rashford, the attention of marcus rashford, the manchester united player and school meals campaigner. he tweeted an image of a parcel said to be three days of food for one family, saying it was just not good enough. he added that children deserve better than this. when marcus rashford raises an issue, ministers

ta ke rashford raises an issue, ministers take note. the claims can't be verified but they have already prompted the child ren‘s verified but they have already prompted the children's minister, vicky ford, to say she will be looking into the issue urgently. the department for education said parcels should be nutritious and contain a varied range of food. it said there were clear guidelines which it expected to be followed. the night the prime minister made the announcement i was at a supermarket getting all our packed lunches for the next two days, and what i bought looks better than what we get from the company we use, and it was half price, and that is what we found throughout lockdown, what we found throughout lockdown, what we have been getting from the company has been not the greatest in the world and is believe it or not nearly double the price that we paid for the hot meals pre—lockdown. so, yes, we weren't happy at all. some pa rents yes, we weren't happy at all. some parents have been happy with the food hampers they have received, but the government will be keen to defuse this row before incurring the wrath of marcus rashford once again.

the fbi has warned that armed protests are being planned across the united states by supporters of donald trump ahead of president—electjoe biden‘s inauguration next week. a huge security operation has been drawn up to prevent any repeat of last week's storming of the capitol building in washington. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. washington, eight days before joe biden is due to be sworn in as the next president. unprecedented security around the capitol building, where the national guard is on patrol. from tomorrow, parts of the city will be under lockdown, and president trump has approved a state of emergency lasting until the end of next week. inside the capitol, more political high drama. the democrats don't want to wait to see the back of mr trump — they want him out now. resolution calling on vice president michael r pence... it's a long shot, but they're hoping

the vice—president and a majority of the cabinet will agree to invoke the 25th amendment, declaring mr trump unfit to continue in office. he will be removed immediately. if that doesn't happen, the democrats will move forward with articles of impeachment, accusing the president of incitement of insurrection, that he gravely endangered the security of the united states. around the country, feelings are running high. you know, if one of us was inciting a riot we would get thrown in jail, so i think that somebody like... you know, just because you're the president doesn't mean you are exempt from the law. and i think he should be held accountable. hurry up and impeach him! but we're only hoping that he will never run for anything ever again. except from the police. yes. so lock him up. while washington debates the president's immediate future, mr trump is planning to head to texas to see part of the border wall that he promised to build. for his part, joe biden has been focusing on the coronavirus, receiving his second dose of the vaccine.

he was pressed by reporters on whether he was concerned about the open—air inauguration ceremony next week. i'm not afraid of taking the oath outside, and we've been getting briefed. butiam... i think it's critically important that there be a real, serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition, and threatened people's lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable. the head of the national guard has said up to 15,000 troops could be deployed in washington for mr biden‘s inauguration, while the fbi has warned that armed protests could take place in the capital cities of every state in the country over the next week. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. let's return to coronavirus. for many parents at the moment, home schooling and working is proving difficult, but for those with toddlers,

there has been some relief, with nurseries staying open, in a divergence from the original lockdown rules in march. for many parents, it's the only option for them to be able to continue working, but some have argued that there are still too many children in these settings and that perhaps by closing them, the spread of covid—i9 may reduce further. joining me now to discuss some of this is the ceo of the national day nurseries association, purnima tanuku, and karen simpkin who runs the sunflower child ren‘s centre in sheffield. thanks both of you forjoining us. karen, have you had any cases of covid in the last year? no, we have not had any children with covid at all. perhaps we are lucky but we have not, and i opened back injune last year, we reopened. we've spent a lot of money putting a lot of protocols in, we've made sure that it can be as safe as it can possibly be. we keep the staff are separate

for the different age groups and it is working well. i don't know where that phone is ringing, is it in your office at the moment?” that phone is ringing, is it in your office at the moment? i mean, it is outside, it is the doorbell. how many children have you got at the moment? i feel it is very safe, there is no evidence that children are getting coronavirus and spreading it, so i'm really co mforta ble spreading it, so i'm really comfortable in the setting. the investments we've made, we've got things like when you hand wash, you just waved it under the tap, the same with the drying, we have got doors so that you can waver them and open them rather than touching them, we've got lots of protocols in place. —— wave at them. unless it sta rts place. —— wave at them. unless it starts to spread within settings, then i genuinely believe we should stay open, it's not the little ones that are spreading it. last boom,

there is some concern that too many settings are open and that even if very small children can't get it themselves, we just don't know whether they can transmit it to the adults that they are working with or whether it can spread through households in that way, do you think nurseries should stay open? good morning. i think the surveys that we carried out since the prime minister announced the recent lockdown, 99% of nurseries are open and they want to continue to open to support families and children. yes, there is some concern for families and children. yes, there is some concern for parents families and children. yes, there is some concern for parents and nursery staff because what we are asking for is that evidence, and we did get some evidence from the scientific advisers, who did say that children are at low risk both in terms of catching the infection and also transmitting it. but what we want the government to do is to be open and transparent in their communications, to reassure staff and parents. because nurseries have been operating since covid began

very safely and they have put so many measures in place, not only because of the importance of children being safe and staff, which isa children being safe and staff, which is a priority for them. so, what information are you not getting from government that you want?|j information are you not getting from government that you want? i think really the evidence behind the numberof really the evidence behind the number of cases, really the evidence behind the numberof cases, in really the evidence behind the number of cases, in terms of positive tests in children and the numberofany positive tests in children and the number of any serious hospitalisations amongst young children and i think the data generally doesn't exist and i think the scientific community admitted thatis the scientific community admitted that is the case. but the evidence so that is the case. but the evidence so far, and that is what we can go by, is that children are at low risk. but when the government is asking nurseries to keep open to support key workers and families and children, but the government is not actually providing them the support they desperately need. for example, they desperately need. for example, the testing, i think they need to introduce rapid testing for staff,

because staff testing positive, testing and tracing, is becoming an issue for nurseries because of staffing issues, and the government can't say they can use the furlough scheme because they cannot third on staff when they need those staff desperately. karen, do you think there are too many people being brought in under the criteria of key workers? i don't think so. if the list is correct and they are key workers and they're right for the economy, right for the nhs, all the areas that they cover, then it is quite interesting that there are a lot that are key workers, and there probably are, if you think about it. you need nurses, you need doctors, you need people in warehouses for deliveries. so, otherwise you don't get any food in the shops. and are those the parents that you are supporting? we've got a whole mixture of them as well. we've got vulnerable children, as all settings

have, so it's notjust the key workers, it is the vulnerable children, and we've had very few that don't want to come to the setting, and those that have aren't bothered about the settings protocols, they're just nervous generally. and an interesting one is pa rents generally. and an interesting one is parents that are both working from home and don't have any other support, and they worry that if both of them get covid, then they got nobody to look after the children. so, iget nobody to look after the children. so, i get that. but they are impressed with what we do in the setting. purnima tanuku, if restrictions are tightened and if nurseries did close, who would lose out the most, do you think, is it those key workers who might not be able to manage? i think everybody would lose out because in the first lockdown, when nurseries have closed, they've lost money. in fact, they're still losing money. and of course at the beginning of the

pandemic it was encouraged, for nhs parents who couldn't access insufficient childcare, and i think that way all parents will lose out and providers will lose out and this is why we are saying, to make sure that the government recognises that and treats the private and voluntary sector fairly, along with schools, in terms of supporting them with equipment and mass vaccinations and also it is not that they want to jump also it is not that they want to jump the queue but they need to be considered on the priority list because they don't even feature on the list at the moment. most importantly, the funding, they must continue to support providers because they cannot operate a healthy business, not even break even, with the number of children who are coming into nurseries at the moment because they're losing money. thank you both very much indeed. the findings of an inquiry into cruelty suffered by unmarried

mothers and their children in religious institutions is expected to be published by the irish government today. at one mother—and—ba by home in county galway, almost 800 children died during the mid—twentieth century. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page has been to meet a man who was born and lived in the home. the only thing that i can remember is the bed being wet. wetting the bed an awful lot, then march down to school. i had to go ten minutes late in the morning. we had to leave ten minutes early in the evening. and when it came to playtime, then we were all cornered off in a section of the playground by the nuns so you wouldn't mix with the other kids. locked up — what i called a prison, really. and to think, why? just because i was born out of wedlock. pj haverty spent his first seven years in the home which once stood here. ireland in the 1950s was a deeply conservative catholic society. unmarried women who were pregnant were taken into religious institutions, and separated

from their children. pj's late mother, eileen, eventually moved to london, where he met her. and i suppose then when you look at other people, i was lucky — i got to meet my mother. that's the most brilliant part of it, as well — i got to meet her. and, as i said, i got her side of the story so i could never blame her. but if i didn't meet her, i would be blaming herfor living in there. there's another reason why pj thinks he's lucky — he was fostered by a loving family near here, after a plan for him to be adopted in america fell through. at the tuam home, nearly 800 children aged up to three died between 1925 and 1961. investigators believe many were buried at the site in some kind of sewage system. when i go down there and stand there, to think that i could be in there, too. for i was born a healthy baby. and to think that the mothers

of today are still looking for them babies, not knowing where they are — and to think, the possibilities that their baby could be in there in the sewer system — i was amazed, i was shocked that a religious country, that we are supposed to be, would do the likes of that to a helpless little baby. the irish government has committed to having this site excavated, so the children whose remains are beneath this ground can be reburied with some dignity. tuam is the mother—and—baby home which has generated the most international attention, but there are many other institutions in the republic of ireland with long histories of shame, neglect and unspeakable cruelty. back in 2011... the historian who discovered what happened at tuam says there should be a state apology. these babies were more than likely left to die, but they were neglected. there were some little simple diseases that could have been treated. and let's give an apology to all those people who suffered at the hands of the state, the church and the religious.

and pj is hoping the public inquiry report will lay out all the dark truths. the priest never went after the father — he never went to the father's house and said, like, "you're responsible here — you must look after this child, this is your child." it was always the woman's fault. and that's why i like to get my story out there, and i want this to go into the history books of ireland — what was done to the women in the past. chris page reporting. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good morning. another disruption from the pandemic. formula 1's season—opening grand prix in australia has been postponed because of the pandemic. the race in melbourne has been moved to mid—november, so the season will now start in bahrain a week later than scheduled on 26th march. the chinese grand prix has also been put on hold

because of travel restrictions. that's yet to be rearranged, so formula 1 bosses have brought imola in italy back onto the calendar instead. the race there will be on 18th april. there's plenty to look forward to in the fourth round of the fa cup, not least for non league chorley, who've got a home tie against wolves. remember, chorley beat the championship side derby in the third round of the cup. it's the first time they've ever been this far in the competition, but, as their manager explains, it's not the first time they've played wolves. there's a bit of history, because in 1986, chorley played against wolves at home and beat them 3—0. so we just need to do that again. the lads have trained today, to try and get some of the some that lactic acid out of the system. we're prepared for lemington. and then we've got a few of the games, and then we've got to prepare for that. it'sjust tough, though, isn't it, to try and keep them focused on the league, which is our priority. nevertheless, they're going to start thinking about wolves and dreaming big, i'm sure. the weekend's other giant killers, crawley town, have been drawn against bournemouth. cheltenham town have a home game against manchester city. and the tie of the round

will be at old trafford, where manchester united have been drawn against liverpool. united boss 0le gunnar solskjaer will be hoping for a repeat of scenes like this. he scored the winner when the sides met in the fourth round in 1999, the year that united went on to complete a famous treble. the full draw for the fourth round of the fa cup is on the bbc sport website and app. there was one more third round game last night. west ham's game at non—league stockport was temporarily stopped by fireworks outside edgeley park — not sure the west ham captain mark noble is a fan. on a very wet night, it was the premier league side who eventually won it, craig dawson's late header enough to send them through to the next round. there's more pressure on celtic, who had to cobble together a side for their scottish premiership game against hibs last night. they were without 13 players and boss neil lennon after a positive coronavirus test following their much—criticised training camp in dubai. they went ahead through david turnbull‘s free kick,

but hibs got themselves an equaliser in stoppage time. celtic are 21 points behind rangers with three games in hand. the premier league's getting in touch with clubs this week to remind them of coronavirus rules. referees are also going to be asked to remind players to stick to social distancing rules during matches — so that includes avoiding unnecessary contact like goal celebrations and handshakes. there are growing concerns that footballers are breaching too many of the regulations. european rugby's champions cup and challenge cup have been temporarily suspended because of the pandemic. the decision comes after the french government said clubs should not play in the competitions this month because of the public health risk. 0ur rugby union correspondent chrisjonesjoins me now — what does this mean for the season here in england? well, it means that when it comes to english elite men's rugby there will

bea english elite men's rugby there will be a two week break. there was support for bringing some premiership matches forward to fill the void left by europe and get a couple of rounds of premiership matches out of the way, to give breathing space on the calendar later also have more premiership games where the internationals were available, because the 6—nation start in february six so for the best pa rt start in february six so for the best part of two months the internationals will not be playing clu b internationals will not be playing club rugby, but for some reason the clu bs club rugby, but for some reason the clubs not agree on the change answer without europe there will be a two week break. as for the six nations, is that under threat with the decision of the government? french the french have tried to allay fears, they are confident the six nations can go ahead as planned on the 6th of february, and perhaps because international teams can bubble up for two months it might make it as covid safe as possible,

but until that tournament starts, it will be under a cloud. six nations, a lwa ys will be under a cloud. six nations, always alight at the end of a dark tunnel. you, chrisjones. —— always a light. thank you, chrisjones. and the masters snooker continues in milton keynes. 2015 winner shaun murphy the latest player to progress to the quarter finals after beatin mark williams. murphy will play the defending champion stuart bingham in the last eight. legendary nfl coach bill belichick says he will not accept president donald trump's offer of the presidential medal of freedom. the new england patriots boss, who's won a record six super bowl titles, said he was flattered when he was first offered the medal — the top award given to civilians in the us — but he has now refused it after last week's riot at the capitol building in washington. belichick had previously spoken of his friendship with president trump. that is all the sport to now, back

to you. we have had more statistics on the number of deaths from the 0ns registered in england and wales, the latest weekly statistics. they say the number of deaths registered in week 53 was 26.6% above the five year average, 2115 deaths higher, although they say they should be treated with caution as the number of statistics that have come out, but we're also seeing that last year saw the largest increase in deaths ina single saw the largest increase in deaths in a single year in more than 70 yea rs, in a single year in more than 70 years, according to provisional 0ns figures. in 2020 nearly 697,000 deaths were registered, the averages nearly 606,000 per year between 2015 and 2019, the average increase a single year since 19110 —— the largest increase in a single year.

0ur statistics expert robert cuffe will be here soon, but it is clear that the toll of toes edge —— of covid will be taking a toll on the numbers, the worst excess deaths since world war ii according to these 0ns numbers, the largest increase in deaths in a single year in more than 70 years. we will get more in more than 70 years. we will get m o re co ntext in more than 70 years. we will get more context on that too, but obviously very grim reading and confirmation of our position at the moment. and now on bbc news it's time to take a look at what you've been asking about vaccines, it's your questions answered. you've been sending us your questions on the coronavirus vaccine and lockdown rules across the uk. with me now to answer your questions, i'm joined by dr naomi forrester—soto, a virologist at keele university, and by professor keith neal, emeritus professor

in infectious diseases at the university of nottingham. thank you both very much forjoining us thank you both very much forjoining us today. can i start with you, naomi, david williams says, "on vaccines, does the second dose administered need to be the same type as the first?" really good question, ideally we would say yes, but scientifically both these vaccines are designed against the same spike protein and there is evidence from the literature that giving one dose of one vaccine and the second of a second can sometimes be beneficial, so although the vaccines were tested in clinical trials with the same repeated dose, there are no child is going on, or just about to start, to test whether this distinguished benefit —— there

are now child is going on. ideally i would say to get the same vaccine, but under these circumstances we need to see what the data says for the different vaccines. one question i was sent on twitter by peter, "i am 80,! i was sent on twitter by peter, "i am 80, i had myjabfive i was sent on twitter by peter, "i am 80, i had myjab five days ago, i was sent on twitter by peter, "i am 80, i had myjabfive days ago, i wa nt to am 80, i had myjabfive days ago, i want to know how protected i have now." after want to know how protected i have now. " after 21 days, want to know how protected i have now." after 21 days, 7096 of people showed no evidence of disease, it is quite complicated but if you have not had your second boost you still need to take precautions, i cannot state that enough, the second biscuits useful protection, you are probably somewhat protected with the first dose but it is definitely better to protect yourself until you get the second. professor keith neal, joe devenport says, "does the government roll—out plan involves ensuring we are only invited to have

a second dose of the same brand?" that is the same theme. generally yes, for the any —— same reasons naomi alluded to because we have to deal with the evidence we have, and we used the same vaccine in the side, but the question because if there is a problem with vaccine supply and one brand is not available, so you give nothing or give a second dose of a different vaccine? 0ne give a second dose of a different vaccine? one of the things that has plagued vaccines for dedicated supply issues. i would have no qualm about having a second dose of a different brand if that was the only alternative. naomi, jean says, "do people who have recovered from covid also need to vaccine?" good question, we know that immunity wanes a little better after coronavirus infection so it is

likely that even people who have been exposed to the virus all have had severe coronavirus may require vaccination at some point. we do not know when. at the idea is to give it to everybody thinking that the vaccine will boost whatever immunity anybody has, even if they already have immunity to the virus, and hopefully the vaccine induced immunity will last for longer than five it induced immunity. les gray asks, "will we all need a booster next year?" i do not have a crystal ball, we do not know. there is a possibility the virus might change and we might want to modify the vaccine to improve it, but it is relatively simple, we will be able to do this flu in one arm, covid any other, it is a technical exercise. it can be done at not the same speed we are having to roll—out the emergency programme. and it might

need to change to take into account the different mutations. project asks, "why is head immunity not working and insisting factored into the vaccine?" you just need to get you a certain level of the population and you hope there will be immunity? we hope there will be heard immunity once enough people have been vaccinated, the reason it has not been working as a prior to 2019, nobody had seen this virus before so the whole population is what we term naive, had no immunity, so there is no herd immunity in the population because we had not vaccinated enough people yet to graduate. a very interesting question, john from preston, "is it definitely safe to leave a longer time period before administering the second dose orgy with that i was gaining immunity?" in the united states and across the world health 0rganization they are sticking on

the pfizer to shorter intervals of three weeks also, six weeks of mall. some of the people in this have to follow the evidence based on the drug companies, they are only allowed to say what has been published on licensing criteria, but theissue published on licensing criteria, but the issue is if you have 1000 doses of vaccine, do we give two to 500 people all one dose to 1000 people, we will protect a lot more people and faster by giving one dose and then delaying the second. what we know it is that many people next vaccines in their written schedules, children might have a cold and be u nwell children might have a cold and be unwell all failed to get you an appointment for basic childhood programmes and it does not compromise long—term immunity, and children's immune systems are a bit more sensitive than adults. personally i would prefer to have my first dose early and a second dose

later than not having a dose at all. naomi, there is a question about whether the virus will get around it and be immune to the vaccine, there isa and be immune to the vaccine, there is a slight risk of that? yes, viruses, especially rna viruses, which coronavirus is mutate all the time, but! which coronavirus is mutate all the time, but i am not sure we will see a german of change, it is so well adapted to humans and infecting humans than any massive changes in the spike protein which probably mean the virus is less effective at infecting and transmitting, so i am hopeful the vaccine will be long—term but i might be proved wrong. professor keith neal, i guess we do not know if we wait 12 weeks on the site, there is no data as to how much protection there is? —— on

the pfizer? the first is uk protection until the second dose, we know that. we calculate vaccine efficacy of 70% plus at day 21. that will not get less in 12 weeks and theoretically it will almost certainly increase as your immune syste m certainly increase as your immune system does not stop working at day 21, whichjust system does not stop working at day 21, which just happens system does not stop working at day 21, whichjust happens to be the day we gave the second dose in the trial. alex says, "if a person is asymptomatic, for how long can they continue to pass on the fibres, are 14 continue to pass on the fibres, are 16 days in isolation to sunday have longer in terms of quarantine. 14 date is mostly the standard, some countries are longer, others are shorter. asymptomatic people, it is very ha rd to shorter. asymptomatic people, it is very hard to know because they are asymptomatic so they are not

generally followed or tested, we have not captured how infectious they are for how long, but for most viruses, asymptomatic people transmit life in symptomatic people and full lifetime because they are clearing the virus after from the system. —— and for a shorter time. we can be confident 14 date would be sufficient but there are always exceptions and there might be people who are immunocompromised who are shedding for longer but they would bea shedding for longer but they would be a small proportion of the population. john says, "why are the vaccine is not being delivered to local health centres, doctors authorities?" it is a logistics question at the moment, how fast are we getting the vaccine is made? this is an international problem, we cannot make it fast enough. it is sometimes quicker and more efficient to have a single site where people can get you and have vaccines going through rather that 20 people

turning up in my local village, the policy would only need to do 20 or 30 people and that is a very inefficient use of space and tightening. dr naomi forrester-soto and professor keith neal, thank you for your time and expertise. let's get more on the news that last year saw the largest increase in deaths in a single year in more than 70 years, according to provisionalfigures from the office for national statistics. robert cuffe, our head of statistics, joins me. what's more can you tell us about these numbers? we saw almost 700,000 deaths registered in the uk last year, that is a large variance and a single year, the average in the five yea rs below single year, the average in the five years below that was just a little

bit over 600,000, so that 90,000 extra deaths, 15%, is larger than we have seen since around world war ii. it does not mean we are back with the death rates we saw back then, it isa the death rates we saw back then, it is a big increase in a single year but it leaves us with death rates we we re but it leaves us with death rates we were probably seeing in the middle of the noughties, it is an historic interest in —— increase in death rates, during about ten years of progress in terms of life expectancy. does it break it down further comedy hh or the geography, or is it an overall picture? —— does it break it and said, including ph ranges all the geography? the patterns during the second wave have been pretty consistent, it is a continuation of those. we are wary —— at looking at the week on week changes over the christmas period because these are the deaths registered in that week and there is

a break around then, there is a big caveat, these figures only go to the end of last year and the big rises we had seen in coronavirus deaths have really started to happen and be recorded in 2021, we have been seen 1000 deaths announced each day, a new phase. the most recent week, up by 26% or something, there is a caveat about treating these figures with caution but what does that tell us, is it concerning what we know already? it is pointing in that direction, even without those caveats, when we look at these figures all other sources of data we are seeing the number of deaths due to coronavirus increasing, we know they will go up in future weeks because the more up to date information we have from the daily death numbers is writing too, it has been going up since the start of the yea rs, been going up since the start of the years, so the news is not good. ——

since the start of the year. we had seen an increase in infections, and a couple weeks later there is an increase in the number of deaths. a couple weeks later there is an increase in the number of deathsm trying to understand where the uk is globally, i was looking at thejohns hopkins figures, still one of the highest countries in the world in terms of cases and mortality, can you give us any perspective? terms of cases and mortality, can you give us any perspective7m terms of cases and mortality, can you give us any perspective? it is a little bit early to make definitive conclusions about who has had the worst second wave, because even in the uk the patterns are going up, we are heading up the slope and you do not want to start making conclusions and you come out of the other side. the uk was one of the worst hit in the world in the first wave and that will be driving lots of the comparisons now. across europe we are seeing an increase in excess deaths, the uk does not look to be quite so bad looking at some

figures, but we are seeing increases across europe and we will have more data on that later. at places like the us where they saw maybe a slightly lower first wasteland many leading economies, is that because they have had a more sustained pattern of deaths throughout the year? they are catching up with the classic worst hit countries from the first wave like italy, belgium and the uk. the relative positioning will change over time because u nfortu nately will change over time because unfortunately there is a long way to go. thank you, robert cuffe. life under lockdown has thrown up many challenges and, for some, it's been as simple as finding something to do — particularly inside your own home. here in the uk, we are going through another phase of heavy restrictions, so jayne mccubbin reports on how some people have been perfecting the art of achieving something — a lockdown lifeline. here we are again, and so many of us need to find a thing that will make all of this bearable. some have found that thing in the most unlikely place. kath, we're talking lockdown lifelines.

what has saved you? k—drama. k—drama, for the uninitiated, is korean drama. and kath‘s new love is zombie flicks. one of the best things about k—drama is, very strong female roles. usually older women who have some power. i'm very, very, very keen on that, and i'm sure most women my age are! what saved your bacon through lockdown? personal challenge, i guess. this is tim. there's not much else to do, so finding that challenge is the big elevator, i guess. start with one pot, end up with two pots. can't remember if it was four or five. ran out of pots.

and yeah, i think that was five, six hours' time well spent. we got a decent video out of it. everyone's in the same boat, aren't they? you just got to keep yourself motivated somehow. when the sun has set on another day of grim news, so many have found solace here. for me, it's got to be looking at the night sky. i love it, i get a sense of peace and tranquillity about it, so it's kept me going. through the magic of twitter, i'll tell people, tonight, 7.30, go outside, take your phone with you and i'll be tweeting about the things you can see in the sky. one of the many families joining mark to look outside their window up at the night sky, has been caroline and hayden. i believe you guys have been doing some stargazing? we have, yes indeed. it helps me relax. hayden is autistic and has adhd, and he's sometimes been

overwhelmed by events. everything's so still and so quiet. and we wrap up really, really well, and we get all cosy and just look up, and it's just wonderful. it's not easy to look at the news and feel anything other than dread, but be it zombies, challenges, stargazing, christmas decs or dancing, these people have found their thing and keep the faith. one day this will end. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. watching the west wing is keeping my family going, aged 20 years old that it is still brilliant. —— aged years old. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. clea re r, clearer, drier, brighter and clearer, drier, brighterand than clearer, drier, brighter and than ——

in the nose, but turning colder. milder in the south but cloud and rain will linger. for the rest of the uk, away from the south and south—west, plenty of sunshine developing. it will feel clothed in the east, 203 for edinburgh and newcastle per ten or 11 towards plymouth. —— it will feel cold in the east, two or three. there could be sweetened no mainly over the higher ground but to low levels across parts of northern england —— there could be fleet and snow. tomorrow we have a band of rain slowly nudging north—eastward, affecting many parts, mild in the south—west but chilly, just two or three, in the north—east.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. last year saw the largest increase in uk deaths in a single year since 1940, according to new official figures. enforcing lockdown rules — the uk's most senior police officer warns rule—breakers are increasingly likely to be fined. where somebody is breaking the law, breaking the regulations, and it is absolutely clear that they must have known what do that they must have known, or do know that they are, then we will move very swiftly to enforcement and fining people. downing street rejects suggestions that borisjohnson broke the rules

on only exercising in your local area after he was seen cycling