the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest ever days in its history, with many due to the usual winter pressures but compounded by the coronavirus. and in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. the warnings come as the latest government figures show the number of new infections is increasing. there were 30,501 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period. but the true number is likely to be higher, as some parts of the uk haven't reported their numbers. 316 deaths were recorded, of people who'd died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test, taking the total across the uk to 70,752. with more on the strain on the nhs, here's our correspondent, sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk. that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambul

the london ambulance service says yesterday was its busiest 2a hour period since march, and in scotland the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. but in wales one health board has had a huge response, after appealing for medical students to help out, in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk. that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambulance service says that yesterday, boxing day, was one of its busiest ever, with calls up by more than 50% compared to last year. i never want to say that the nhs is going to be overwhelmed because we see the nhs being endlessly innovative and ingenious in how it can actually manage to spread incredibly thin resource, but i think it's worth remembering that things are incredibly challenging. meanwhile the welsh government has described the nhs their as stretch

the london ambulance service says it's had it's busiest 2a hour period since march. ay health services could be overwhelmed if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. but in wales, one health board has had a huge response after appealing for medical students to help out in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk — that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambulance service says that yesterday, boxing day, was one of its busiest ever, with calls up by more than 50% compared to last year. i never want to say that the nhs is going to be overwhelmed, because we see the nhs being endlessly innovative and ingenious in how it can actually manage to spread an incredibly thin resource, but i think it's worth remembering that things are incredibly challenging. meanwhile, the welsh go

the london ambulance service said it dealt with nearly eight—thousand calls on boxing day, its seconday ever. the south central and south east coast ambulances have also been dealing with very high numbers of calls. and in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed, if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas, triggers a surge in cases. with this report, here's andy moore. health services across the country are under pressure, and in some areas such as wales and london, they are under particular strain. the capital is where the new variant of coronavirus is growing most rapidly. the london ambulance service has reported that boxing day was one of its busiest days ever, second only to march 16th earlier this year, when the first wave of the pandemic was beginning to surge. on the 26th of december this year, the service dealt with 7,918 emergency calls. that's an increase of more than 50% on last year's total for the same day of 5,217. in order to meet the rising demand, the service is putting back office staff on the road, and drafting in extra ambulances from

the london ambulance service says yesterday was it's busiest 2a hour period since march, and in scotlandlmed, if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. but in wales one health board has had a huge response, after appealing for medical students to help out, in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. stretched to the limit. nhs staff and hospitals in wales are working to full capacity, say the welsh government. annual illnesses, staff shortages caused by shielding and the rapid spread of the coronavirus variant yesterday led cardiff and vale university health board to tweet this stark appeal. "our critical care department is urgently looking for assistance "from medical students and other staff groups who have previously "supported proning patients. proning patients, that is about moving patients when they are in intensive care from their backs onto their stomachs and vice versa. this process is quite heavy lifting, and it involves five to seven individuals. medical students and others answered the call in large numbers and the health board later

on boxing day, the london ambulance service received 7,918 calls. that is up 50% on last year.nment says it is aware of the situation and keeping it under review. i think we are per suing the right strategy, but we have to take into account the medical evidence to keep people safe to protect the nature toes save lives. in wales, nhs services say the services have been stretched to the limit. one hospital tweeted for trained volu nteers hospital tweeted for trained volunteers to help its care unit. with much more mixing over christmas and the high transmissibility of covid would result in many more infections and therefore many more hospital admissions and, necessarily then, more admissions to intensive ca re then, more admissions to intensive care unit and more deaths. in scotland, clinicians are issuing another warning — that the nhs could be overwhelmed and are appealing to the public to adhere to tier 4 restrictions after they were eased on christmas day. i think it was right that the restrictions were only flexed for that day. but there will be a cost for this. one of the t

the london ambulance service has said it's experienced a huge surge in calls over the christmas period days ever with nearly 8,000 emergency calls and urged people only to phone 999 in an emergency. the uk government has released the latest coronavirus figures, citing partial data. 30,501 confirmed cases were recorded in the past 24 hours. a further 316 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for covid—19, bringing the total of deaths to 70,752. the government said the figures reflected data from england and wales but said there was no new data from northern ireland and no new deaths data from scotland owing to the christmas holidays. millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits as a consequence of president trump failing to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by a deadline of midnight. president—elect, joe biden, has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in congress. the relief package aimed to provide a 1.4 trillion dollarfederal budget, agreed by both sides of the house. it also

the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest days in its history, and in scotlandof where things are. what can you tell us about the pressure on the nhs at the moment? how would you assess what is going on? it is very pressured indeed. there are large numbers of patients coming in with covid. i was on on christmas day and it was wall—to—wall covid. we see patients who are coming in who have covid symptoms. we also see other patients coming in with problems who turn out to be covid positive. between that there is a great deal of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards.|j of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards. i will come back to you in a minute. if i can ask you the same question, professor jackie taylor, how much pressure is there where you are? yes, we are seeing significant pressure within scotland. in fact, our busiest time was in october and november. the pressures that london and the south—east is currently under, we have already endured in october and november. we are seeing significant amounts of patients with covert ——

the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest days in its history. european leaders have hailed the start of coronavirus vaccinations across the eu as a turning point in the fight against the pandemic. boris johnson is promising big changes following his brexit trade deal. but chancellor rishi sunak has sought to reassure the city of london, that the post—brexit trade deal will not damage the financial services industry. storm bella has brought winds of more than 100mph to many parts of the uk, along with heavy rain. the met office has also issued yellow warnings for snow and ice meaning disruption is likely in some places. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the chief political commentator for the independent, john rentoul and the political writer & academic, maya goodfellow. tomorrow's front pages in a moment. first, let's just take you through the front pages. "volunteer army ready to distribute covid vaccine" reads the front page of the telegraph. the paper reports that the oxford c

cnn's salma abdelaziz is live for us at a hospital in london, and salma, the london ambulance service many calls as in the first wave of the pandemic. >> reporter: the london ambulance service says the day after christmas was almost as busy as their busiest day during the first wave of the pandemic. they are waving the red flag here, and calling for help. it could not come soon enough, as you said, in a matter of days we're expecting the oxford astrazeneca vaccine to be approved. the british government is excited about this. this is the home grown vaccine, the one made here in the u.k. there has been controversy about the efficacy of it. trials show it's 70% effective in immunizing against the virus but the researchers and scientists say they have an idea that could make it stronger. the second dose, we need two doses, if given as a half dose, scientists say it could raise the efficacy to 90% which is great news. and there are other benefits, it's cheap, $4, it doesn't need to be kept at those extra cold temperatures. this city, as well as several areas are dealing with a variant of t

we can speak to the chief medical officer ad london ambulance service. thank you forjoining us.ike at the moment? how are you coping? thank you and happy christmas to everybody. so this is a very different christmas for everybody, including everybody working in the nhs. i'd like to start by extending my nhs. i'd like to start by extending e nhs. i'd like to start by extending my huge thanks to everybody, staff and volunteers in the london ambulance service, who are just working tirelessly. what we have seen over the last week to ten days isa seen over the last week to ten days is a significant increase in 999 calls coming into the london ambulance service. we normally see around 5500. we are seeing about 7500. so what we really need is everybody to observe the government guidelines around social distancing, protecting themselves. and calling 999 and life—threatening emergencies. and using our fantastic 111 service for advice unless urgent things. just to reiterate, you are available there if people need to dial 999? we absolutely are. the nhs is open. so for patients with chest

the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest ever days in its history, with covidg to trust leaders overnight. they are under no illusion about how challenging this is. in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed, if there's a surge in cases, because of christmas. also tonight. the roll—out of the pfizer biontech vaccine begins for millions of people across the eu. borisjohnson promises big changes for the uk following his brexit trade agreement.

at the moment, the level of patient need is incredibly high. 0n boxing day, the london ambulance servicehat is up 50% on last year. the government says it is aware of the situation and keeping it under review. but i think that we are pursuing the right strategy, but the important thing to do to take into account the emerging scientific and medical evidence which can help us to reorient in the right way, in order to keep people safe, to protect the nhs, to save lives. in wales, nhs services there, say the welsh government, have been stretched to the limit. 0ne hospital tweeted for fully trained volunteers to support its critical care unit. the call was answered, the unit remains open. with much more mixing over christmas and the very high transmissibility of the new strain of covid would result in many more infections and therefore many more hospital admissions and, necessarily then, more admissions to intensive care unit and more deaths, sadly. meanwhile, in scotland, clinicians are issuing another warning that the nhs could be overwhelmed, and are appealing to the public to adhere to ti

the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest days in its history. rollout of the pfizer biontech covid vaccine begins for millions of people across the eu. british prime minister borisjohnson is promising big changes following his brexit trade deal. but his finance minister rishi sunak has sought to reassure the city of london that the post—brexit trade deal will not damage the financial services industry. storm bella brings gusts of more than 100mph — with roads in parts of wales and devon and cornwall blocked by falling trees. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the chief political commentatorfor the independent, john rentoul and the political writer and academic, maya goodfellow. lovely to see you both. the front pages... "volunteer army ready to distribute covid vaccine" reads the front page of the telegraph — the paper reports that the oxford covid vaccine could be approved as soon as tomorrow, and that more than 10,000 medics and volunteers have been recruited and trained by the

the london ambulance service is urging the public to use its 999 service wisely over the festive period ensure they reach the sickest patients first. the service had over 400 calls every minute yesterday. bosses say if you illness is not life threatening call the nhs111 number instead. for the second night in a row, a charity based in slough has organised hundreds of free meals for lorry drivers stranded on the m20. volunteers from khalsa aid, more used to working in disaster zones across the world, distributed a thousand free pizzas to those still stuck in their lorries. a baby boy who was born three months early and contracted sepsis and covid—19, is one of the youngest survivors of the virus. bbc london has been to meet his mother to see how they are getting on now. i would say it was stressful in the beginning, but in the end it's worth it. he's doing absolutely fine. so, we arejust looking forward to him having his first christmas with us. yeah, we are happy. and if you've got a story you want to share with us about how the pandemic is affecting you, please do get in touch with us.

we heard from the london ambulance service just yesterday saying the day after christmas was nearly as busy as the busiest day in march. 800 emergency calls, and a lot of this is due to a variant of coronavirus that the government here says is more transmissible, spreads more easily, and london and the affected areas are where this is prevalent, and they're certainly under a localized lock down right now. we're expecting more restrictions to be rolled out tomorrow when all of these regional rules are reviewed by parliament, so more rules, more restrictions, up ahead, and again, a health service that's absolutely overwhelmed, and warning that they just might be overcapacity next year. isa. >> and cyril, vaccination campaigns, we're starting to see them picking up steam in europe, and not without logistical challenges. talk me throw those, cyril. >> absolutely. we always knew that fanning out what is currently europe's only authorized coronavirus vaccine was going to be a major logistical challenge, and now we have seen that hundreds of thousands of doses of this pfizer biontech vaccine

you are looking at a london ambulance service that's saying they are receiving a huge volume of calls, thousands of emergency calls a day. essentially you're looking at a hospital system, a health care system that's feeling right on the edge. teetering on the brink. what's going to happen today in parliament is regional restrictions, we're under a regional system here across the uk, that regional system will be reviewed and the expectation is that more restrictions will be rolled out. so in london and the affected areas, these are the areas where that variant is common. that variant that's more transmissible that spreads more easily. these areas, london and the affected areas have essentially been under localized lockdowns. and that variant is spreading across the country. more areas will fall under tougher rules. but the challenge for the government is to get people to follow the rules. there's been a lot of controversy with prime minister boris johnson's handling of the government. i think experts will tell you that people, the public are lacking confidence in the authorities. it's

incidents have been declared in essex, london and buckinghamshire hospitals because of concerns that health services could be overwhelmed. these pictures show ambulancesither isolating or sick. and the doctor was telling me early this morning of a situation he faced yesterday where he had six patients in need of oxygen therapy. two of them were his own staff. he had to focus on the patients' needs, not the relationships that he may have with the individuals, and that's what he did. the police are asking londoners to stay safe this new year's eve by celebrating at home. the met says it will be paying particular attention to parts of london that are experiencing the highest covid infection rates. officers say they'll be focusing on finding those who are intent on breaching and ignoring the guidance. the queen's new year honours have been announced and amongst those recognised include london underground staff. sharon sear and mat sullivan have been awarded british empire medals, in recognition of their work protecting transport staff and customers. it's fair to say it's pretty quiet out there on the roads this morning. and there's a good service on the t

ambulances have been seen queuing outside hospitals in london due to a reported shortage of beds. a major incident has been declared in essex because of the increased pressure that covid—19 is putting on health servicesring the major incident enables the county to seek further support from the government to address the pressures. the wife of a human rights worker who was detained in egypt has has told the bbc she's over the moon he's been released. jessica kelly from bayswater had been increasingly concerned about his safety after her husband, kareem ennara, who is a human rights worker, was held on charges of spreading fake news and belonging to a terrorist organisation. suddenly, when he was released, it was just a wave of belief and also surprise because i wasn't expecting for him to be released as quickly. so, yeah, just a wave of emotion and hearing his voice was, you know, almost something kind of supernatural. let's take a look at the travel situation now. 0n the tube, the district line and piccadilly lines are part closed due to engineering works. no service on the london 0verground between surrey quays and clapham junction due to a track fault. no service on the london tramlink between reeve