jim reed, bbc news.o be offered financial support in england as the government closes travel corridors in the uk from tomorrow. up to £8 million will be available to help airports cover costs such as business rates. here's our business correspondent katy austin. from tomorrow, nearly all arrivals to the uk will have to quarantine for ten days because the travel corridor system will be suspended. it's another blow for travel and tourism. last night, the aviation minister acknowledged the impact tighter restrictions would have and said a pre—planned grant scheme for airports in england will open within the next fortnight. the airports trade body says this was welcome, but with traffic still extremely low, more support would be needed. we understand that it will be a grant towards fixed costs such as business rates, and it will be equivalent to business rates, but up to about 8 million. so, very, very useful for a number of our airports. but clearly, for some of the very large airports, it's actually quite

jim reed, bbc news. now on bbc news... in a coma battling covid—19, says the healing power of nature helped to save his life. robin was one of the first covid—19 patients into derriford hospital. he may be a veteran of 30 expeditions, but surviving coronavirus would prove to be one of robin hanbury—tenison‘s toughest experiences yet. you know, every day was pretty brutal and we were pretty broken. the doctors called us to say that actually, he is deteriorating further. his chances of ever recovering have now gone down to about 5%. i opened my eyes, saw the sunshine, saw the flowers and that was the moment when my life was saved by the healing power of nature. it‘s a long road back from something like that. essentially, his body was failing and i think having a goal, something to work towards, is vitally important because it gives you a target to aim for. and that goal can be as trivial or as ambitious as you want it to be. so this has been as big a challenge as any that i've done in my life, to get to the point where i cou

jim reed, bbc news. show there were 38,598 new coronavirus infections, recorded in the latest 24—hour period. tha means on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week,was 46,231. across the uk an average of 35,882 people were in hospital with coronavirus over the seven days to friday. 671 deaths were reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test so on average in the past week, 1,119 deaths were announced every day, taking the total across the uk, to 89,261. 0n vaccinations, 298,087 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines, in the latest 2a hour period, taking the overall number of those who've had their firstjab, to more than 3.8 million. airports are to be offered financial support in england, as the government closes covid travel corridors in the uk from tomorrow. up to eight million pounds will be available for each airport to help with costs such as business rates. here's katy austin. from tomorrow, nearly a

jim reed, bbc news. well, let's get more from dr larisa labzin.ralia, where she joins us today. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. let's start with the basics, it was touched on a little in the report but to clarify, some vaccines you get, have one injection and you're on your way and covered but others, you need two. why do you need two jabs at all? well, the immune system is pretty good at recognising foreign things like viruses and bacteria and that is essentially what a vaccine is, trying to trick the immune system into thinking it is then the virus before. but with a lot of these vaccine technologies, because we're only delivering a little bit of that virus into the body, so in the case of pfizer vaccine and also the oxford one, we are delivering the genetic information that encode the spiked protein of the pirates —— virus, that is all we are delivering so while the immune system delivering so while the immune syste m get delivering so while the immune system get some idea of the strain, it is mounting a response

jim reed, bbc news.ures imposed in the capital seoul to the whole country. the measures, which will remain in place forjust over two more weeks, are designed to tackle a recent rise in the number of infections. they include a ban on gatherings of five or more people. 0ur correspondent in seoul laura bicker has the details. across the country there will be a curfew on restaurants at nine o'clock. also any gathering of five or more people will be banned, outside of the kind of work environment. that's probably the biggest change. these are the strictest measures that the authorities here have put in place since this pandemic began. it is clear that they are scrambling to curb rising rates of infections. now, infections started to rise end of november, but we have seen about 1,000 cases a day. that has to be put into a global perspective. remember, here in south korea, there has only been a maximum of 62,000 cases since the pandemic began, but still here, that is where the level of panic has set in. so they

jim reed, bbc news. expert, dr anthony fauci, has said he doesn't agree with british plans to delay giving second doses of the coronavirus vaccine from 21 days to 12 weeks. the uk has changed its strategy, to allow more people to get the first dose of coronavirus vaccine. it follows a rapid acceleration in the spread of the virus, caused by a much more infectious variant of the disease. the headlines on bbc news. pressure grows to shut more schools. a teaching union demands a two week closures of all primaries and secondaries in england. a new warning over hospitals in parts of the uk. the president of the royal college of physicians says some are now facing a worse situation than at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. india begins a nation—wide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—i9. more than 2,500 people have attended an illegal rave in brittany, in defiance of french coronavirus restrictions. it started on new year's eve and went on for more than 30 hours.

our health correspondent jim reed has more.eat hope to end this pandemic and return life to something like normal. more than i million people in the uk have now received the first dose of this vaccine made by the drugs companies pfizer and biontech. the injection needs to be given in two doses. originally, those were meant to be three weeks apart. now doctors are being told to delay those second appointments and rebook, leaving a longer, 12 week gap. the union representing doctors and some individual gps said cancelling people at the last minute was grossly unfair. there are both practical implications, like actually having to have a conversation with over 1000 patients about the fact that the arrangement you've made no longer applies, and no, you don't know what's going to happen next, and no, you don't know what that means for the efficacy of the vaccine, because they were told that you definitely need two doses. but there's also the implications for trust, for trust in us as doctors, trust in us as their own gp. pfizer has s

jim reed, bbc news.rnment figures show there were 21,088 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that, on average, the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 24,216. the number of people in hospital is falling slightly, down to 34,783. 587 deaths were reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, there were more than 1,100 deaths announced every day, taking the total so far across the uk to over 106,000. 0n the vaccine roll—out, as we've been hearing, a record 598,389 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 2a hour period. that means almost nine million people in the uk have had theirfirstjab. 0ur health editor hugh pym is with me. very good news on vaccines. the government close to meeting potentially its targets?- government close to meeting potentially its targets? yes, clive. an impressive _ potentially its targets? yes, clive. an

jim reed, bbc news.consultant working in london, and outgoing president of the intensive care society. i asked him for his assesment of the current situation for uk hospitals. i would agree with our colleagues from the royal college of physicians, actually. hospitals are, themselves, are under big strain and in some cases more than in march and april and that is echoed in intensive care units. we see the sicker patients, there are small numbers of intensive care beds and general beds, so we see the sort of apex of the pyramid, as it were. so, some hospitals up to a third of their beds, hospital wide, are filled with covid and intensive care sort of mirroring and taking that further, we are seeing 40% or up to two thirds of beds being occupied by covid patients and bearing in mind, these are beds that have already been expanded, as we are talking about intensive care units operating at up to twice more of their usual capacity, which actually is a big stress on staff. we can have more beds, we can buy more

jim reed, bbc news.ice have issued more than £15,000 in fines after people were caught at a rave in east london — a breach of covid regulations. the meoplitan police say they deployed officers after receiving intelligence that an unlicensed music event might be taking place in hackney on saturday night. an estimated 300 people attended the event. police called it a "serious and blatant breach of the public health regulations". as high risk groups continue to be immunised, there are growing concerns that people with learning disabilities have been missed out. despite a recent public health england report warning they are six times more likely to die from coronavirus, as a group, they have not been prioritised for a vaccine. nikki fox reports. you know, you can't smell it, you can't see it. you can't hear it. it's like a silent killer. everyone here has a learning disability. they meet up regularly to talk about and understand death and bereavement. it is scary at times. these chats have never been more im

jim reed, bbc news.to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—i9. the drill is intended to plug any gaps in logistics, facilities and training. it also comes as the indian government says it has approved the oxford astrazeneca vaccine for emergency use. joining me now is our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan. thank you for coming on to talk to us thank you for coming on to talk to us again this saturday. how will this drill were? —— work. us again this saturday. how will this drill were? -- work. the government has employed tens of thousands of health care workers and front line staff to make sure that when the vaccine is rolled out, it is smoothly distributed cross the country and everyone gets the vaccine and there is no confusion. first and foremost, they have developed software so when they get the list of names that everyone is vaccinated and the data is uploaded so vaccinated and the data is uploaded so it does not crash, that is what they want to check. they did a drill a co

our health correspondent jim reed reports. in the battle to vaccinate the most vulnerable. 88—year—old moira edwards became the first person to receive herjab here at them new mass vaccination centre in surrey. i feelvery at them new mass vaccination centre in surrey. i feel very relieved. at them new mass vaccination centre in surrey. i feelvery relieved. i feel this is the way back. i really think thata... feel this is the way back. i really think that a... i can't understand anybody not wanting to have it. this site at epsom racecourse is now open 12 hours a day. if there is enough supply of the vaccine, it should be able to reach thousands of people every week. those over 80 years old, plus health and social care staff, will be contacted and asked to book an appointment. we have had a huge response to the booking options. immediately the bookings went live, those booking slots were filled so i think people are really keen to get vaccinated. epsom is one of seven mass vaccination sentence being openedin mass vaccination sen

jim reed, bbc news.rmacy owner in preston, which is operating the lancashire vaccination centre. hejoins me now. thanks very much for being with us this evening. you have a busy week ahead. what can people expect when the vaccination centre opens its doors? , ., ., , ., the vaccination centre opens its doors? ., , ., ., doors? there is an awful lot of lanet doors? there is an awful lot of planet that _ doors? there is an awful lot of planet that has _ doors? there is an awful lot of planet that has gone _ doors? there is an awful lot of planet that has gone into - doors? there is an awful lot of planet that has gone into our. planet that has gone into our vaccination centre going live this way, about eight weeks of planning. we are eager and excited to get started to invite and welcome in our first cohort of patients this week. who does the actual vaccination? we have a who does the actual vaccination? - have a team of trained pharmacists that will be provided to vaccinations to the patients in every com

jim reed, bbc news.rnment figures show there were 21,088 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that, on average, the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 24,216. the number of people in hospital is falling slightly — down to 34,783. 587 deaths were reported — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, there were more than 1,100 deaths announced every day, taking the total so far across the uk to over 106,000. 0n the vaccine roll—out, as we've heard, a record 598,389 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24—hour period. that means almost 9 million people in the uk have had theirfirstjab. danny altmann is the professor of immunology at imperial college, london. hejoins me now. thank you been with us to reflect on these figures, we should talk about trenton patterns rather than individual daily totals, but you will forgive me if i pick up

jim reed, bbc news. heading to france, to speed up processing at ports. lorry drivers must show proof of a negative covid test within 72 hours before travel. the rule was put in place last month after the french government closed its border with the uk amid concerns over the spread of the new variant of the virus. the government is being urged to tackle the growing problem of men offering women rent—free accommodation in return for sex. the housing charity shelter says as many as 30,000 women in the uk may have been propositioned by landlords between march and september, after answering adverts offering a place to live. peter kyle is the labour mp for hove, and shadow ministerfor victims — he's been campaigning for reform around ‘sex for rent‘ offences for several years now. there are people out there who are very good just exploiting people's vulnerabilities. over the last few years housing has become a vulnerability for a lot of people, so they have been exploiting it. then you add in the covid—19 peri

jim reed, bbc news.al goal to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of 2020. 14 million vaccine doses have been delivered to hospitals and health departments across the country but less than 3 million people have been innoculated by new year's eve. the vaccine roll—out plan has been criticised for being "slow and disorganised". it comes as the country passes 20 million cases of coronavirus. i'm joined now by drew armstrong, senior editorfor health care at bloomberg news, who is compiling a vaccine tracker for the whole of the united states. so, 0peration warp speed turns out to be... has installed? i think it's a very fair question that a lot of people are asking around the us but after the kind of warp speed development of the vaccines which the united states deserves credit for pushing forward , states deserves credit for pushing forward, we are seeing certainly not a warp speed delivery of the vaccines into people's arms wasn't the goal was stated around 20 million by the end of last year at this poi

jim reed, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... pressure grows to shut more schools. closures of all primaries and secondaries in england. india begins a nationwide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—i9. french police make arrests after more than 2,500 people break virus restrictions at an illegal rave near the city of rennes that began on new year's eve, in defiance of coronavirus precautions. the government is being urged to tackle the growing problem of men offering women rent—free accommodation in return for sex. the housing charity shelter says as many as 30,000 women in the uk may have been propositioned by landlords between march and september, after answering adverts offering a place to live. peter kyle is the labour mp for hove, and shadow ministerfor victims — he's been campaigning for reform around sex for rent offences for several years now. hejoins me now. very good afternoon to you, peter kyle, thanks for your time this afternoon. some of these adverts are really brazen, aren't they? sofa bed free for homeless girl, f

jim reed, bbc news.people are being told to stay at home. it's to ease the pressure on the nhs — but what effect are the latest restrictions having on our mental health? with limited access to friends and family — and even work colleagues — how are we coping under lockdown? duncan kennedy reports. green space or urban setting, the cloa k of green space or urban setting, the cloak of human hibernation has come to shroud us all again. this is the centre of southampton, normally heaving with people, not today. here we are, back in lockdown, what did you think? should have happened last year. i understand why they don't do expert we had to think long—term, get lockdown turn, get this out of the way, it is real. on a personal level, are you just resigned? nothing we can do, you got to abide by the rules and hopefully it will fade away in time. this city centre park was almost deserted, just a few walkers, joggers and bloggers like this university student. what you think of going back into lockdown?” know it i

jim reed, bbc news.rofessor beate kampmann, who's head of the vaccine centre at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. she is also a working group contributor to the uk vaccine network. about that two—week period to are hearing, does that sound realistic to you? it hearing, does that sound realistic to ou? . ., , ., to you? it an important question because anyone _ to you? it an important question because anyone who _ to you? it an important question because anyone who is - to you? it an important question because anyone who is out - to you? it an important question i because anyone who is out there administering the vaccines today and those people who volunteered to get them has done a fantasticjob, and i think they should be applauded. 0f think they should be applauded. of course it's not done on the question we're asking is what will be the impact and when will see it? this is what the doctor was referring to, that hopefully in a couple of weeks we will see the first signs and they will b

jim reed, bbc news.ony harnden is deputy chairman of thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation which advises the government on the best strategy for vaccination. he's also a gp and professor of primary care at university oxford. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. this is a massive project. isn't it? nhs england is talking about getting thousands of vaccinations done a day. what are the specific targets? what number are you starting with and where do you hope to be, say, in a week or two weeks' time?— you hope to be, say, in a week or two weeks' time? we've been very clear, we two weeks' time? we've been very clear. we want _ two weeks' time? we've been very clear, we want as _ two weeks' time? we've been very clear, we want as many _ two weeks' time? we've been very. clear, we want as many vaccinations to as many people as possible. so we are very keen that our first four priority groups, the over 70s, clinically extremely vulnerable, and front line health care and social care staff are immuni

jim reed, bbc news. chris mason our political correspondent is with me.ole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. but looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. but quite looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. but quite a looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. but quite a lot looking over the whole situation with vaccination, there is quite a lot of good news. but quite a lot of uncertainty. fix, lot of good news. but quite a lot of uncertainty-— uncertainty. a huge amount of uncertainty- — uncertainty. a huge amount of uncertainty- i— uncertainty. a huge amount of uncertainty. i think _ unc

i'm joined now by our health correspondent, jim reed.ondent, jim reed. lot of information they a oui’ a lot of information they are for our viewers to take in. there is no getting away from the very grim serious situation that we are in with regard to cases and data. that's right, i'm afraid it's more grim news that what's been a grim week in generalfor this grim news that what's been a grim week in general for this virus news about it. i should say that some of these figures, we need to take them with a slight dose of caution because the debt figures in particular tend to move around through that festive period. death registrations get delayed over that period. nevertheless when you look at those figures, 1325 people have lost their lives within the last 2a hours. that's within 28 days of a gravitas. that's now the highest on record the previous high was back in april last year at the peak. it means that we are nowjust short of 80,000 deaths in total by that measure since the pandemic began. also we were talking a lot about the pressure

jim reed, bbc news.en missed out. despite a recent public health england report warning they are six times more likely to die from coronavirus, as a group, they have not been prioritised for a vaccine. nikki fox reports. you know, you can't smell it, you can't see it. you can't hear it. it's like a silent killer. everyone here has a learning disability. they meet up regularly to talk about and understand death and bereavement. it is scary at times. these chats have never been more important. all i keep thinking is, am i going to be next? you know. am i going to be the next one to die? i would hate to be in hospital, in lockdown on my own. people with learning disabilities are up to six times more likely to die from coronavirus. that's according to analysis by public health england, which looked at the number of deaths during the first wave of the pandemic. however, only those with down's syndrome and severe learning disabilities are being prioritised for the vaccine. tilly is one of those being prioritis

jim reed, bbc news.chris page in northern ireland, but first to alexandra mackenzie in glasgow. what's the situation there? almost a quarter of a million people in scotland have now received the first dose of their vaccine, the current priority group that is being worked on is care home staff and residents, the over 80s, and front line health workers. now, the government has said that they are on track to have these people vaccinated by the beginning of february, they are about halfway through, almost halfway through. they have said this is dependent on supply. and there has been some concern from the british medical association that supply has been patchy within the community. and some gps are receiving some doses of the vaccine, other gps are not getting any doses of the vaccine. the scottish government has said this is a problem, not a problem with supply, vaccines are coming into the country and are going out to gp surgeries as soon as possible. the uk government has said this will improve each week.

dominic hughes, bbc news. 0ur health correspondent jim reed is with me now.you heard dominic talk about this increase in cases we have seen. doctors say there are two main reasons for that. first of all, the mixing of people before the christmas period and over the festive season, but also this new variant or mutation we have noticed in the virus. there is a number we often talk about at the moment, the r number, the number of people on average that one infected person will pass the virus onto. you really wa nt will pass the virus onto. you really want that number to be below one. that means the pandemic as a whole is shrinking. we had new research out today from imperial college in london saying just that mutation is adding between 0.4 and 0.7 to that number, and that is a key problem. if you think back to where we were in the summer, we were all going on holiday and life felt very different. even then in england, we only managed to get the r number down to 0.8. at the impact of the new variant on the top, and suddenly you're new variant on the top, and sudd

jim reed, bbc news. people aged 80 or over are being sent letters this week, inviting them to book an appointment at one of these new centres. speaking earlier on radio 4's today programme the vaccines minister nadhim zahawi explained that if the vulnerable couldn't travel to their nearest centre, they can wait for their gp to contact them instead. once we open up more centres next week, including the pharmacies, nobody should be more than ten miles away from a site. let's get more from our chief political correspondent adam fleming. well, in private, ministers and officials are more than worried, they are scared, that people are not following the lockdown restrictions, which are fairly similar to what we had last march, but they say adherents, in the jargon, in other words following the rules, is not as good as it was last year. and that is why today they have sent out professor chris whitty, chief medical officer for england, to just lay it on the line for people about the pressures facing the nhs. he

jim reed, bbc news.est government figures show there were 38,598 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week was 46,231. across the uk an average of 35,882 people were in hospital with coronavirus over the seven days to friday. 671 deaths were reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. so on average in the past week, 1,119 deaths were announced every day, taking the total across the uk, to 89,261. 0n vaccinations, 298,087 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24 hour period, taking the overall number of those who've had their firstjab, to more than 3.8 million. 0ur health editor, hugh pym is here. great news on vaccines by rising admissions to hospital, a mixed picture. admissions to hospital, a mixed icture. , ., .,, admissions to hospital, a mixed icture. , ., , ., , picture. yes two contrasting stories here, p

jim reed, bbc news. number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 24,245. the number of people in hospital is falling slightly, down to 34,783. 587 deaths were reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, there were more than 1,100 deaths announced every day, taking the total so far across the uk to over 106,000. 0n the vaccine rollout, 598,389 people have had theirfirst dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24—hour period. that means almost 9 million people in the uk have had theirfirstjab. captain tom moore has been taken to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus. his daughter said that he had been treated for pneumonia at home over the last few weeks, but now needed help with his breathing. captain tom was knighted for raising over 30 million for the nhs by walking laps of his garden in the lead—up to his hundredth birthday. the irish prime minister says the european union was "blindsided"

jim reed, bbc news.rk hutchings in wales and chris page in northern ireland, but first here's alexandra mackenzie in glasgow: almost a quarter of a million people in scotland have now received the first dose of vaccine. the current priority group that is being worked on is care home staff and residents, the over 80s and front line health workers. the government has said that they are on track to have these people vaccinated by the beginning of february. they are about halfway through or almost half way through but they have said it is dependent on supply. there has been some concern from the british medical association that supply has been patchy within the community and some gps are receiving some doses of vaccine, other gps are not getting any doses of vaccine. the scottish government has said that this is not a problem with supply, that vaccines are coming into the country and are going out to gp surgeries as soon as possible. the uk government has said that this will improve each week. in wales, we h

jim reed, bbc news.y. there is the tower. as we show you the coastline there, along to south sea and of course the city centre. and when we were zooming in a moment ago, we saw many empty car parks. you can see empty playing fields and all the bars are closed as well! here all week! sorry about that, we lost the picture. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. a dry and cold tuesday. some rain, sleet and snow in eastern scotland and northern england. rain showers in east anglia and the south—east and the channel islands. some will be heavy at times. the clear skies in between as we head towards the evening, temperatures at 6 dropping below freezing in western scotland. some mist and fog could form here. icy conditions in eastern scotland into the eastern half of england. rain showers still keeping temperatures above freezing in the south—east. elsewhere a cold start to tomorrow morning. minus six in central scotland. tomorrow a lot of dry and bright weather and the showers in the south—east wi

jim reed, bbc news. twitter has temporarily suspended the account of a us republican congresswoman.nt supporter of president trump, had repeatedly made false claims about election fraud in georgia. let's get the latest from our north america correspondent peter bowes. welcome to you of course. president trump banned from twitter and now we see some of his supporters having the same punishment handed out to them, although this might be just temporary. but what does it tell us about how his fellow politicians are going to be treated? i politicians are going to be treated? ~ , , treated? i think it tells us that there _ treated? i think it tells us that there is _ treated? i think it tells us that there is going - treated? i think it tells us that there is going to - treated? i think it tells us that there is going to be i treated? i think it tells us| that there is going to be a huge fight and the republican party. moving forward from this point, the next few days and indeed the next few months in terms of who the party falls behind. does it encourage commit as a support those who are

here's our health correspondent, jim reed.ssure on hospitals this winter shows no sign of easing up. the person in charge of the nhs in england said the service is now in the most precarious position in its 72 year history. since christmas day, we have seen another 15,000 increase in the inpatients in hospitals across england, the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients. staggeringly, every 30 seconds across england, another patient is being admitted to hospital with coronavirus. new figures show more than 100,000 nhs workers off sick in england last week, half either had the virus or were self—isolating. adding to the pressure on busy wards. tomorrow, this vaccination centre at blackburn cathedral will open offering thousands ofjabs a day to nhs staff as well as care workers and those over 80. or by invitation only at this stage. we felt it would be really appropriate to offer this space up as a place where people could come and feel safe and secure. a place that they know. it is one of ten new regiona

our health reporter jim reed has more. the vaccination roll—out in the uk continues.housands of those most at risk are receiving theirjabs this weekend. but as we try and navigate our way out of this pandemic, scientists think new variants of coronavirus are a real concern. a mutation first found in cases from south africa is thought to spread faster. some worry it can make a vaccine less effective, though that is not yet certain. speaking on the andrew marr programme, the health secretary said the government is monitoring it closely. there are 77 known cases of the south african variant here in the uk. they are under very close observation and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. the majority of those who have had contact all come from south africa and that is why we have got such stringent border measures in place. the government has said all international travellers will need to show a negative covid test before arrival. but the opposition is now calling on ministers to go further. on monday, we have got thi

jim reed, bbc news.r's day special — but now it's been announced that a new companion will be joining jodie whittaker when the show returns later this year and he is a familiar face to comedy fans — let's take a look at who it is. here you are, your horoscope for the year ahead. aries — surprises lie in store this year. the colour blue will be important and the letter d. your lucky number is 13. be prepared for action and whatever hurdles come your way, just remember, it's not the end of the world. john bishop has been announced as the new cast member, a bit of escapism to look forward to. it's a great casting. actors who go into doctor who, they are stepping into cultural history. the time is ten minutes past eight. "a last resort" — that's how the education secretary has described the decision to keep all of london's primary schools closed this week. pupils in some boroughs were due to return on monday — despite an increasing number of coronavirus cases — but yesterday it was decided a city—wide closur

jim reed, bbc news.de epsom racecourse in surrey, one of the new mass vaccination sites. andy, good morning. it is, iwould imagine, a busy day ahead?m certainly will be a busy day here. vaccination is due to start in about two hours. you can see vaccination is ready to go. you can see an area where people will sit out for 15 minutes afterwards so somebody can keep an eye on them in case there is an adverse reaction. the whole process will last less than an hour. how are we getting on with the vaccination programme across the country? the health secretary, matt hancock, says 2 million people have already been vaccinated. about a third of the over 805. we are vaccinating about 200,000 in england alone a day. to get 15 million in those high—ri5k categories vaccinated by the middle of february, we have to raise that it i5 february, we have to raise that it is something like 400,000, which is why these big centres needed. so they will be taking in people from about up to 45 minutes away, 130,000 invitation5 h

jim reed, bbc news. 0ne one of those centres is in wembley and that is due to open tomorrow morning andl's cabinet member is neil nerva. the governments was talking about thousands the of vaccinations being carried out over the next few week, what is your target, how many thousands are you expecting to get through? thousands are you expecting to get throu~h? , thousands are you expecting to get throu~h? u, ., . ., ., thousands are you expecting to get throu~h? _, ., ., ., ., . ~' ,, through? good afternoon. thank you very much- — through? good afternoon. thank you very much- the _ through? good afternoon. thank you very much. the wembley _ through? good afternoon. thank you very much. the wembley site - through? good afternoon. thank you very much. the wembley site is - through? good afternoon. thank you | very much. the wembley site is going to be a large—scale site, which is capable of delivering thousands of life—saving jabs each week, scaling up life—saving jabs each week, scaling up the operation and down according to the vaccine supply. hesse up the operation and down according to

jim reed, bbc news.has been detained after landing back in moscow. he made a brief statement to reporters saying he was not afraid, and then kissed his wife before being led away by uniformed officials at moscow's sheremetyevo airport. the prison authorities said he'd broken parole conditions. from moscow 0leg boldyrev gave us this update. he spent about a0 minutes on russian soil, which is taking in from the plane to the terminal, then at the russian border, he was separated from his lawyer and his wife, and no arguments that his lawyer should be with him when the charges of violating parole of being present has not been taken into consideration, so he walked with police officers, his wife and the spokeswoman, they went back with the journalists who are hugely interested in those who manage to make it from the other moscow airport where the plane was initially going. in a few minutes later, the federal or prison service issued a statement saying that mr nepal any�*s detained pending trial on violating a

for many the light at the end of the tunnel has got that much brighter. 0ur health correspondent jim reedw minutes there is news of another firm's jab. its, is news of another firm'sjab. very busy day for vaccine news. the last ten minutes news on another vaccine awarded by the british government. —— ordered by the british government. this one has been developed by a company based in belgium, a unit ofjohnson & johnson, the big manufacturer. from a technical point of view it this works similarly to the astrazeneca jab, they take a cold virus and modify its and their use that to be not infectious but produced the spike protein that we hear about all the time and protect people from the actual disease. important that this one we've had results from, they have been testing in a single version so it might not need a booster shot and that would be the first. these results in the last five minutes have just come first. these results in the last five minutes havejust come in, 72% is the figure it showing for how effective this vaccine is. in that the us part of the trial, globally about 66%. tha

jim reed, bbc news. let's talk to the gp, dr ellie cannon, who practices in london.ning us, how is it going, how many people, how smoothly? it going, how many people, how smoothly?— going, how many people, how smoothl ? , ., , , smoothly? it is going very well, my ractise is smoothly? it is going very well, my practise is involved _ smoothly? it is going very well, my practise is involved in _ smoothly? it is going very well, my practise is involved in a _ smoothly? it is going very well, my practise is involved in a primary - practise is involved in a primary care network, with our own vaccination hub in north london. yesterday morning alone between nine and onepm, we vaccinated 400 patients, very smoothly, very quickly, all elderly patients who are vulnerable. that was with the astrazeneca vaccine, we have had more arrive this week, so, it is going very well, in general practise. it going very well, in general practise-— going very well, in general ractise. , , ., practise. it is interesting though, because a couple _ practise. it is interesting though, because a c

jim reed, bbc news. the kremlin, alexei navalny, has been detained by police after returning to moscow for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack he blames on the russian authorities. he flew in from berlin, but was led away by police after reaching passport control. western leaders have condemned his arrest. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports. he'd only been back on russian soil a few minutes when alexei navalny was told he was being detained. a kiss goodbye for his wife, yulia. then the kremlin�*s fiercest critic was led away. earlier, there were chaotic scenes at a different moscow airport, where mr navalny�*s flight had been scheduled to land. police detained his supporters. "it's a disgrace," they chant. inside, the arrivals hall filled with riot police, who cleared the terminal. but in the end, the plane was re—routed to another airport. for alexei navalny, this isn't quite home sweet home, as you can see from the welcome party. he's back in the country where last sum

lisa: i love jim agreed coming out -- jim agreed -- jim reed of deutsche bank coming out saying that there will be a discussion of the fed stepping away with those officials coming in saying not going to happen. what i'm watching, jobless claims, we are expecting to see a deterioration in the labor market as the coronavirus continues to take hold. we will not be remiss and talking about the fact that 4400 americans died on tuesday, another record day of deaths. almost a 400,000 casualties in the united states from covid taking a toll personally from a health perspective and a market perspective. jay powell is set to speak at 12:00, we expect him to put a kibosh on taper talk. this will be the ongoing scene, dampening any kind of concern in markets as the fed backs away. at 7:15, joe biden is expected to introduce the new stimulus plan. these are huge numbers and people expecting republican congress members to sign on. to give you a sense, no gop members signed on to bill clinton's initial plan when he came in the office. only three when barack obama came into office. this would be a

jim reed, bbc news. has warned that the next few weeks will be the "worst" for the nhs, as the number of covid patients in hospitals is expected to rise. to prevent new infections... professor chris whitty said everyone should ask themselves whether they needed to leave their home, or meet anybody they don't live with. charlotte wright reports. as covid infection rates continue to rise sharply, this is the stark warning from the government. once more we must all stay home. a message that those on the front line say is now more vital than ever. the health service is very, very close to being overwhelmed in a way that will affect the health care that we all need all the time. whether you have covid, whether you have something else, whether you are a healthy person who is unlucky enough to get hit by a bus, the health care that is available to all of us is not the same right now. it comes amid questions over whether enough people are complying with the current lockdown restrictions, prompting this intervent

jim reed, bbc news. let's take another look at the latest coronavirus figures from the government.ay of a positive covid—i9 test — the number is usually lower after the weekend. 37,535 people tested positive for coronavirus in the latest 24—hour period. and, just over 4 million people in the uk have had theirfirst dose of the coronavirus vaccine. our health correspondent nick triggle is with me. we are waiting for the latest downing street briefing and i am sure we will get more on those figures, particularly the vaccination numbers because the government think it is a good news story. it is, the vaccination roll—out is going very well? absolutely, it is gathering pace day by day. those figures, 4 million, we are yet to have wales, scotland and northern ireland's figures. it means half of the groups that were initially targeted, over 805, half of the groups that were initially targeted, over805, health and care workers and residential care residents have been vaccinated. we have had the vaccination programme in some areas will be rolled out to people in their 705. if we can look at

our health correspondent jim reed has the latest.ryone vaccinated, all adults vaccinated under the age of 50. roughly 3.2 million. more good news for the government as it tries to get this roll—out strategy done amid alarming hospital numbers at the moment. that is the first dose. but in context, in an overall perspective, that is good news for the government, in terms of the progress being made. yes, and this week we have had the bunch of the seven mass vaccination centres across england. each should be able to start vaccinating as a minimum thousands of people a week. if they get enough of this vaccine in stock, potentially two or 3000 people a day. that will really increase the amount people should be “p increase the amount people should be up to get vaccinated. it is available in gp hubs and hospitals as well. using all three techniques, covered hopes to reach this number of 15 million by the middle of february, the middle of next month. lets talk the r number, then. that is very important. _ lets talk the r number, then. trisgt

jim messina. and adam jefferson, a former senior aide to harry reed and author of "kill switch: the rise of the modern senate and the crippling of american democracy." kristen welker, first to you. the problems are piling up around the president. he seems very much in a bunker in the white house for these remaining six days. fewer allies to defend him publicly during this last week in office. what is your reporting telling you? >> reporter: well, i think you hit the nail on the head, andrea. this is a president who is increasingly isolated with few allies and advisers around him. and just to paint a picture of the stark difference between this second impeachment and the first, during the first impeachment, andrea, there were legal advisers, top aides buzzing all around the west wing, aides who were eager to flood the airwaves with talking points and to defend the president. they were putting a legal strategy and a legal team together. and in the second impeachment, yesterday could not have been more starkly different. there were very few advisers here behind the scenes in the west wing. it is not clea

detective jim rohr looked for evidence to refute the teenagers, stores that they had witnessed but did not commit the gruesome murders of wayne and charman stock six weeks before. he went to reed's it. >> what we were looking for was anything at all that would tie them to nebraska or any other location that they were at during their crime sprees. >> oh, when he found it, all right. here, hidden behind a picture frame was this cigarette box and inside a shotgun shell, 12 gauge the same gauge as used in the murders and there was more folded up in that little box. this letter, apparently meant for greg fester, that said, quote, and this bullet, well, bunny, it's the only thing left. and i loved it, but that's something we'll talk about one day. but it's here also because that's something i did for you, me -- and for to you love me as much as i love you. that's the end of the quote. you read the material that you found. what did you think? >> this was so bizarre. that gives you a mindset of the type of person we were dealing with. >> and then, he found a notebook. incredibly, with more words pennedpy jessica reed. i killed someone. he was older. i loved it. i wish i could do it all

jim reed, bbc news.have questioned why they have been asked to travel to centres miles away from their homes during a pandemic. speaking to radio 4's today programme, the vaccines minister, nadhim zahawi, explained that if the vulnerable couldn't travel to their nearest centre, they can wait for their gp to contact them instead. this is really, you know, a race against time, so at the moment, we are trying to open up as many sites as possible, but once we open up more vaccination centres next week and the week after, and of course the community pharmacies, independent pharmacies, nobody should be more than ten—mile radius of a site. let's get more from our political correspondent, jonathan blake. jonathan, we've had something of a blitz this morning from the chief medical officer for england, professor chris whitty, which has been very welcome, but it does show the government very worried? yes, we had a stark warning this morning from the chief medical officer for england, professor chris whitty, as you