katharine da costa, bbc news.er nicola sturgeon has told the scottish parliament that the new variant of coronavirus has caused renewed concern about the pandemic — and is why such tough restrictions are needed. alexandra mackenzie was listening . what more did nicola sturgeon say? the first minister's leading first minister's questions at the moment but before that got under way properly she did have to issue an apology. a photograph had appeared of her in the scottish sun this morning at a funeral wake without wearing a face covering. she was talking to people, she was a distance but she was standing up and it was in a pub so she should have been wearing a face covering, as she tells everyone else too. she did issue an apology, she said she was sorry for the breach of rules and she asks everyone to follow every day. she said she was wrong, she said there were no excuses and the rules applied to her as they do to eve ryo ne rules applied to her as they do to everyone else. before drawing a line under it, she said

here's our health correspondent katharine da costa.ing up for the biggest vaccination programme in its history. 50 hospital hubs are set to receive the first batches of the pfizer—biontech vaccine. huge efforts are under way to prioritise patients over 80, invite care home staff into hospitals, and it's likely some nhs staff will be among the first to be vaccinated, so that doses are not wasted. the difficulty lies with the ultra—low temperature needed to store and transport this particular vaccine. it comes in boxes of nearly 1,000 doses, packed in dry ice. brussels airport has been ramping up preparations, with up to 50% of vaccines expected to be transported by plane. think of a large pizza box, that's the way we are describing it. that's got to be stored in a fridge at —70. to be frank, the only way you can really do that at the moment is to store them inside nhs hospital hubs. you can only move them four times, and you have to ensure that the two doses are administered three weeks apart. so it's quite complex. scotland's announced

katharine da costa, bbc news.mark drakeford has said he can't rule out a post—christmas lockdown. our wales correspondent hywel griffith is in cardiff. what more has he been saying? mark drakeford what more has he been saying? mark dra keford reflecting what more has he been saying? mark drakeford reflecting on what are the rising and rising numbers of coronavirus cases here in wales. a third week now of cases going up, and accelerating, showing no signs of slowing. while the first minister has ruled out imposing any lockdown before christmas, and the five days are for relaxed rules, over christmas, he says unless things show a sign of improvement by then, he will move things to level 4. what does that mean? he will publish that next week. it will look pretty much like the firebreak lockdown that wales experienced in autumn. he has been under a lot of pressure to move things, bearing in mind the pressure in the community and welsh hospitals which have a record number of covid patients. health boards have been told

katharine da costa, bbc news.ke is with me again. we are expecting a significant number of areas of england to be moved into the new tier 4 category of even tighter restrictions, but they will be largely confined to the south—east. at this point in time. these areas arejudged south—east. at this point in time. these areas are judged to be the most urgent, where cases of coronavirus are rising sharply, although it doesn't seem that christmas will be cancelled or restricted even further for those areas as the expectation is at this point that the changes will begin on boxing day, so those areas in tiers one, two and three allowed a limited number to one, two and three allowed a limited numberto mix on one, two and three allowed a limited number to mix on christmas day, will still be able to do that, but after that it could be very different for large areas of england which are expected to move into tier 4 on boxing day and there will be other parts of england as well moving up the pre—existing tiered system of 1-3,

here's our health correspondent katharine da costa.nation programme in its history. 50 hospital hubs are set to receive the first batches of the pfizer—biontech vaccine. huge efforts are under way to prioritise patients over 80, invite care home staff into hospitals, and it's likely some nhs staff will be among the first to be vaccinated, so that doses are not wasted. the difficulty lies with the ultra—low temperature needed to store and transport this particular vaccine. it comes in boxes of nearly 1,000 doses, packed in dry ice. brussels airport has been ramping up preparations, with up to 50% of vaccines expected to be transported by plane. think of a large pizza box, that's the way we are describing it. that's got to be stored in a fridge at —70. to be frank, the only way you can really do that at the moment is to store them inside nhs hospital hubs. you can only move them four times, and you have to ensure that the two doses are administered three weeks apart. so it's quite complex. scotland's announced plans to break up the packs

katharine da costa, bbc news. 60 years, has died at the age of 83. she found fame in the carry on films of the 1960s and ‘70s, and went on to spend more than 20 years behind the bar of the queen vic in eastenders, playing the formidable landlady peggy mitchell. in 2014, barbara windsor was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease, and she spent the last few years of life campaigning for better understanding of the condition. our entertainment correspondent david sillito looks back at her life. barbara giggles. that'll do, that'll do. all right, girls, get in the coach, and you get on with the loading. barbara windsor — funny, cheeky and much loved. so we were told to bring the minimum of clothing. now, really let's see those chests come out! the tributes today a testament to a career that goes back. ooh, matron, take them away! among them, her eastenders co—stars. patsy palmer — "i can hear that laugh now." danniella westbrook — "my heart is broken." you know, she was actually a mentor to me and a good friend to me thro

katharine da costa, bbc news.cuffe, is here. good afternoon, robert. that r numberand good afternoon, robert. that r number and infections, what is it all telling us? that report gave us the broad picture, about one in 100 in england and wales have the virus, but it is a mixed picture. the north of england is coming down to meet the south of england coming up, broadly. the r number in the north—east, north—west of yorkshire, we're north—east, north—west of yorkshire, we' re pretty north—east, north—west of yorkshire, we're pretty confident that is below 1. we're pretty confident that is below 1, infections are coming down and hospitalisations are coming down as well. but in the east of england, the south—east and london have been seeing r possibly above 1, and infections rising as well. and we talk about the ons, people might have read stories questioning to what extent is the ons on the right track here. explain a little more about that. cast your mind back to mid—october and the daily infections the ons were say

here's katharine da costa on that.a million people have so far received their first dose of the pfizer biontech vaccine, but with concern about a new variant of the spreading 50—70% more quickly, there have been calls to speed up the roll—out of vaccines by giving more people one dose rather than two. given the circumstances we are facing, with the rapidly expanding number of cases, spreading through the country, we have to do what we can to save as many lives as we possibly can as quickly as we can. therefore, giving second doses only gives a marginal benefit compared with the benefit you get from giving more people first doses. trials found the vaccine provided 52% protection after the first jab. that rises to 91% after the second dose. and reaches 95% a week later, after the first jab. the uk regulators approved the pfizer vaccine based on two doses so any changes we need to be reviewed. in the meantime the decision on the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is expected soon. the uk has pre—ordered 100 million doses. if appr

here's our health correspondent katharine da costa. 0n the front line, and under pressure, hospitalsr winter, but with the unprecedented impact of coronavirus, this will be a year like no other. there is no question that we are full—on during the second wave now, and we are seeing, certainly where i work, increasing numbers of covid patients coming in. we are also dealing with the normal winter pressures, but we are, at the same time, trying to keep everybody safe and socially distanced, while we are dealing with staff who are also unwell. in a letter to the prime minister, nhs providers say there were 13,000 covid patients in hospital in england this week, compared to 500 in early september. 0ur trust leaders are very concerned. its chief executive has urged caution ahead of the review of tiers next week. what we are saying is you just need to be really careful about relaxing the restrictions on social contact, because we know that that inevitably at the moment, what that means is, more covid cases, more pressure on the nhs, and to be frank, more people dying unnecessarily. all four

katharine da costa, bbc news.l be first in line to get the vaccine. it is not totally clear cut, but it is certainly true in england that the major hospitals expect that, when the vaccine arrives, when it was approved, that nhs front line staff would be amongst the first to get the vaccine, along with some patients, on the grounds that we have got the start right there, it has to go to a major hospitals because of refrigeration issues, you might as well do with staff. once the approval came through on thursday and the fine print was looked at, it was decided by health leaders and ministers that, actually, the over 80s were high up the priority list from the vaccine experts. they ought to be prioritised, so hospital patients who were over 80, inpatients and outpatients coming in will be among the first to get the vaccine next week. care home workers were high up, the original priority list, they will be invited into hospitals, but it doesn't mean nhs staff won't be done. if they are there and they got these big box

i'm joined by our health correspondent, katharine da costa.ard about the measures for schools and in the wider community with the tier system. necessary because of the pressure the health service is under. put that in more context. in winter, particularly january and february, the nhs is at its busiest, because respiratory viruses like flu are most prevalent and, this winter, hospitals are under significant pressure because ofa under significant pressure because of a surge in covid patients and there are more in hospitals across there are more in hospitals across the uk now than in the first peak in april, but there are 10% fewer beds because of social distancing and infection control, and a big challenge, hospital leaders say, is a staff absence, of sick or self—isolating. the latest figures from the nhs for england show that 13 london trusts were forced to increase their critical care capacity in the last month. seven of them by over 20% and one by as much as 60%. overall, the number of occupied beds was 83% for the week ending last sunday.

katharine da costa, bbc news. the latest government figures show new infections continuing to fall.onavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 14,400. 1,365 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last tuesday. 397 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week 427 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 61,014. the labour party has revealed that sir keir starmer is self—isolating. a member of his private office staff tested positive, but the labour leader says he's not showing symptoms. in line with government advice, he will work from home until wednesday 16th of december. merseyside police say the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, has been released on bail following his arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. he and four other people were detained as part of a year—long investigation into

katharine da costa, bbc news. attempted murder after baby girl was found seriously injured inside a property in blackpool. the baby is in a critical condition in hospital. the man had initially been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. our reporter steve saul has more on the story. lancashire police were called to a house on onslow road at about six o'clock on thursday. they found a four—month—old baby who had been seriously injured. she was taken to blackpool victoria hospital and then transferred to alder hey hospital. i am told she remains in a critical condition. at 28—year—old man from blackpool was initially arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, but lancashire police say after consultations and talks with the cps, a man, 28—year—old jordan lay from the same property was charged with attempted murder. —— jordan lay. he appeared at blackpool magistrates' court this morning and has been remanded into custody. blackpool police have said the thoughts of the force remained with the family at thi

katharine da costa reports.people have so far received their first dose of the pfizer biontech vaccine, but with concern about a new variant of the spreading 50—70% more quickly, there have been calls to speed up the roll—out of vaccines by giving more people one dose rather than to. dose rather than two. given the circumstances we are facing, with the rapidly expanding number of cases, spreading through the country, we have to do what we can to save as many lives as we possibly can as quickly as we can. therefore, giving second doses only gives a marginal benefit compared with the benefit you get from giving more people first doses. trials found the vaccine provided 52% protection after the first child. that rises to 91% after the second dose. and reaches 95% a week later, after the first jab. the uk regulators approve the pfizer vaccine based on two doses so any changes we need to be reviewed. in the meantime the decision on the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is expected soon. the uk has pre—ordered 100 million do

let's get more on that from our health correspondent katharine da costa.ds to be done in this, so there will be further investigations going on in public health england's laboratories in porton down and wiltshire to find out more about the behaviour of this south african variant. as well as ongoing investigations into the variant that's been seen circulating predominantly in london, the south east and east of england. matt hancock said that cases across the country were up 57% on last week, and he said that the new variant was spreading at a dangerous rate. looking at the data of patients with coronavirus in hospital up until the 18th of december, that stood at close to 19,000 patients. compare that to the peak in april, when it was up to 21,000. we have had some response from nhs providers, which represents hospital trusts in england. and they say it's right to respond to rising infections, hospitalisations and deaths which are nearly at the level of the height of the first wave of the pandemic in april. so moving more areas into higher tiers is an import

katharine da costa, bbc news.with attempted murder after baby girl was found seriously injured inside a property in blackpool. the baby is in a critical condition in hospital. our news correspondent steve saul gave us more detail. well, lancashire police were called to a house on onslow road in leighton at around six o'clock on thursday. now, they were made aware by the north west ambulance service. there they found a four—month—old baby, she had been seriously injured at the property. she was taken to blackpool victoria hospital and then she was transferred to the specialist alder hey children's hospital. i am told that she remains in a critical condition tonight. a 28—year—old man from blackpool was initially arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. but lancashire police say after consultations and talks with the crown prosecution service, the man, 28—year—old jordan lee from the same property was charged with attempted murder. now, he appeared at blackpool magistrates‘ court this morning, and has been rem

our health correspondent katharine da costa has the latest. sport —— gosport in hampshire, one of theh preparing to enter tier 3 from tomorrow, joining two thirds of england living under the highest level of restrictions. parts of the south—east, east of england and london are seeing a rapid rise in new infections and hospital admissions. health leaders are worried. they are faced with 10% fewer beds due to social distancing, staff off sick or self isolating, with some now having to cancel nonurgent operations even before we hit the peak winter months. we are now at a really dangerous point to where we are finding it really difficult to get ambulances off—loaded. there are no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. all of that cycle is back to, there's an ambulance outside an ed that can't go out to the next patient who needs it. latest official figures show cases were rising across the uk in the week to last saturday, with infections now hire in london and the east midlands than in the north of the country. there has been stark warnings that mixing over

katharine da costa is at wexham park hospital in slough.lock this morning and the first was an a&e consultant, a man in his 605 who has worked for frimley health trust for more than 20 years. he said he was delighted and felt very proud to receive the vaccination, he said he could make for other colleagues, friends and families to also receive it. it was the nhs staff the first to have the vaccinations. in about half an hour, outpatients in their 805 and 905 will arrive by appointment for their injections. in5ide appointment for their injections. inside the building behind me there are some very excited 5taff inside the building behind me there are some very excited staff members to welcome lenin. they will be shown through to one of three bay5 that have been set up where a nurse will give the vaccination and they are 5hown through to recovery area for tea5 5hown through to recovery area for teas and coffees afterwards. only expecting a slight pain in the arm initially, only mild side—effects. then they will be invited back in about three w

our health correspondent katharine da costa gave us this update from the wrexham park hospital in slough05 who‘s worked for frimley park health trust for more than 20 years. he said he was delighted and felt very proud to receive the vaccination. he said he couldn‘t wait for other colleagues, friends and family to also receive it. so it was nhs staff that were the first to have the vaccinations. in about a half an hour‘s time outpatients in their 805 and 905 will start to arrive by appointment for theirjabs. and inside the building behind me, there‘s some very excited staff members waiting to welcome them in. they‘ll be shown through to one of three bays that have been set up where a nurse will give the vaccination and then they‘re shown through to a recovery area for teas and coffees afterwards. so they‘re only expecting a slight pain in the arm, initially, only mild side effects. and then they‘ll be invited back here in about three weeks for a second jab. now, there are also care staff that are being invited in later today. they‘ll be vaccinating here right up until nine o‘clock this e