is suggesting, but also sage's job sunak to challenge what sage is suggesting, but also sage'sjob ishe government can make _ the governments of the government can make a — the governments of the government can make a decision based on what the worst—case scenario could be, doesn't _ the worst—case scenario could be, doesn't mean they have to do everything that sage says, that is not the _ everything that sage says, that is not the role of sage, that is for the government to decide. in the government are the ones who are being _ government are the ones who are being unclear. to be fair to the government, i think the situation is unclear— government, i think the situation is unclear so— government, i think the situation is unclear so they are still waiting for cruciat— unclear so they are still waiting for crucial data about how much the booster— for crucial data about how much the boosterjabs, how well for crucial data about how much the booster jabs, how well the for crucial data about how much the boosterjabs, how well the booster 'ob boosterjabs, how well the booster job works — bo

independent sage and saae, of restrictions? independent sage and sage. we _ of restrictions?ly the same thing that we need to have some restrictions now, and picking up some restrictions now, and picking up on your last guest, he was talking about targeted support and people that need the support are low paid workers mainly because if you test positive but you are not feeling terribly ill, can you afford to self—isolate? probably not, and there are lots of people who if you wanted to slow the spread, the first thing to do was to make sure that if you test positive, you can of phage to stay off work and that is really important. i think we need to have some protections in place now because already lots and lots of people are making their own decisions and they are not going to hospitality venues and theatres, it is disastrous for those industries, so we need are some rules in place so we need are some rules in place so people can't be compensated. but we also need some rules in place to try to help people be... people are being sensible, so that we restrict our mixing. at the

sage scientists say working _ the health service. home _ the health service. sage scientists say working from home will - the health service. sage scientists say working from home will have l the health service. sage scientists l say working from home will have the biggest impact within plan b and limiting viral spread. but there are still huge uncertainties about omicron. ., ., , omicron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the — omicron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the presence _ omicron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the presence of _ omicron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the presence of delta, - omicron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the presence of delta, and l uk, in the presence of delta, and second, _ uk, in the presence of delta, and second, how serious the disease is, particularly — second, how serious the disease is, particularly in a well vaccinated population. we have to wait until those _ population. we have to wait until those people with infection have gone _ those people with infection have gone

when you say that eo - le what sage is advising.ould hunker down i what sage is advising. when you say | that people should hunker down over christmas, are you suggesting people go into self—imposed lockdown or that that is what the government needs to impose? i that that is what the government needs to impose?— needs to impose? i think that is what the government _ needs to impose? i think that is what the government needs i needs to impose? i think that is what the government needs to l needs to impose? i think that is i what the government needs to do. i note that it is probably not a popular choice but it is very clear that the sort of exponential spread we are seeing, and with the real possibility people will not be able to access life—saving emergency care in a few weeks' time, that is what sage is saying, you need to act now and if you do that you will save many lives and also the duration of restrictions will be less. the reason we need to interlock that is because the government did not act three weeks ago when the nature o

800 patients with covid are being admitted each day in england, but minutes from scientists on the sage suggest without further stringent measures very soon we could see a surge of 1000—2000 a day by the end of the year and a possible peak of around 3000 a day, similar to levels injanuary. my similar to levels in january. my view is that _ similar to levels in january. my view is that a _ similar to levels injanuary. ij�*i view is that a short, similar to levels injanuary. m: view is that a short, sharp similar to levels injanuary. m; view is that a short, sharp two—week rate right now would be useful and making sure people are socially distancing, limiting contacts and going back to see some of the rejections we had earlier in the year. testing for the virus is also crucial. the vaccines minister was at a royal mail depot in derbyshire this morning. deliveries of pcr and lateral flow kits are being ramped up to 900,000 a day to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one. lateral flow devices are very effective at picking up the omicron variant, as well as other variants, and it's

_ be off the table we are told the sage committee which we hear quite a lot about _ sage committee whichy have heard on — lot about and we certainly have heard an awful lot about it in the past 20 — heard an awful lot about it in the past 20 months or so haven't actually— past 20 months or so haven't actually met for seven weeks or so. there _ actually met for seven weeks or so. there is_ actually met for seven weeks or so. there is some encouragement there. they still— there is some encouragement there. they still go — there is some encouragement there. they still go back to the world health organization last week which was optimistic that this variant might— was optimistic that this variant might well be more easily dealt with then some _ might well be more easily dealt with then some have earlier suggested. just picking up on what it says on the front of the i, sage has met for seven weeks. i suppose you could argue that it doesn�*t need to meet to get advice everyone can fit in independently. i don�*t know. it�*s interesting, no one yet of the 336 is ended up in hospital. the story f

sage has modelled _ to model certain outcomes.y have modelled other outcomes. i think— have modelled other outcomes. i think what's happening now as people are beginning to look in a more holistic— are beginning to look in a more holistic way at the impact of the pandemic. whereasjohnson holistic way at the impact of the pandemic. whereas johnson and holistic way at the impact of the pandemic. whereasjohnson and other members _ pandemic. whereasjohnson and other members of his cabinets are instinctively more liberal about this _ instinctively more liberal about this they— instinctively more liberal about this. they want to come as you pointed — this. they want to come as you pointed out, jacob reese mike saying perhaps— pointed out, jacob reese mike saying perhaps people should be making up their own _ perhaps people should be making up their own minds as to how they operate — their own minds as to how they operate in _ their own minds as to how they operate in light of not actually having — operate in light of not actually having

ministers have been given a stark warning by sage, the scientific advisory group on emergencies, thatther intervention, the scale of hospital admissions due to omicron would almost certainly lead to unsustainable pressure on the nhs. the scenarios for curbing omicron are an echo of lockdown controls from earlier this year, including closing indoor hospitality and limits on mixing of households. i think the longer we wait, the more problematic this is going to be. we have learned from previous experience, surely, that if we dither and delay, we get ourselves into more trouble. the problem here is, of course, we don't fully understand the implications of the omicron pandemic and infection in this country, in terms of severe disease. and that is the dilemma for ministers — do they wait until the threat from omicron becomes clear and hope to avoid lockdown measures, or act now as a precaution and risk the wrath of many in their own party and beyond westminster? fergus walsh, bbc news. some breaking news. the uk government has announced who is going to replace lord frost as the brexit nego

some action is necessary, sage have been clear about that. they were clear on thursday.ince then, we've seen nothing, heard nothing from the prime minister. germany bans british travellers and the netherlands goes into full lockdown — as europe ramps up its fight against the spread of omicron. the uk's brexit minister, lord frost, resigns — citing concerns about what he called the government's "direction of travel." richard rogers — the architect behind buildings including the pompidou centre, in paris, and the lloyds building, in london, has died at the age of 88. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the health secretary, sajid javid, has urged us all to be cautious in the run up to christmas and says he can't rule out further restrictions as the government continues to battle the fast—spreading omicron variant. mrjavid said seven people have now died after contracting omicron and it was already the dominant strain in england as well as in scotland. sanchia berg reports. # driving home for christmas...# to the sound of christmas songs, people queued this morning forj

yates, a member of the independent sage group of scientists, we appreciate your time tonight. we hope for the best as we join you. thank you. germany's new health minister says people may need another booster shot early next year. he says with a vaccine that has been tweaked to cope with the omicron variant. many germans are waiting for their first booster shot. the campaign will have to speed up quickly. >> we have reserved a large tranche of biontech pfizer vaccine which we will buy. for the most part, this will be vaccines already adapted to the omicron variant. i expect we will see some of these 80 million doses in the first few months of next year. >> that was the new german health minister there. and now to olaf scholz. he is tackling his first major foreign policy challenge. this is amid growing concerns over russia's military buildup with ukraine. the ukrainian president is calling on the european union to slap even more sanctions on russia. the kremlin insists the troops are inside its own territory. crites as we gather for the last time this year, looming large -- >>

bees have come from sage, the group of independent i sage, the group of independent scientists who haveut the government are reliant on them. when we saw the minutes from the meeting that the thing that the decision—makers are grappling with our hospitalisations. possible hospitalisations from the emma crown variant. if it spreads more quickly that is one thing and it affects more people. the key thing is, do more people need to go into hospital? give the nhs be affected? the advisers have stressed the fact this is still very early date and they don't know exactly what is going to go on. they are to this stuff together but they are saying that they think the number of people needing hospital treatment from 0ma crown in the uk could reach 1000 a day in england if more restrictions and not put in place and then the concern is keep rising from there. they expect to have some kind of peak injanuary, they probably think, which is likely to be higher than the one 2000 and the cron admissions today that rules to slow these infection so if you compare what seeing at the moment. missing 700 a da

sage had been clear about that, they were clear on thursday.hen, we have seen nothing, heard nothing from the prime minister. this morning, sajid javid gave an interview on the andrew marr programme that effectively made him like a hostage to his own party. conceding on one hand that action is necessary but behaving as if he is somehow a bystander rather than health secretary. and the reason for that is because he has over 100 conservative mps holding him to ransom, saying they will not even vote for the most mild restrictions that we voted on in parliament this week. and so the government is paralysed because of the conservative party's political problems and the prime minister's weakness and that is a very worrying situation for the country to find itself in. governments around europe are imposing tight restrictions in reaction to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. the netherlands has announced a stringent christmas lockdown, in an attempt to prevent a new wave of cases. all non—essential shops, bars, restaurants and other public places

the uk, the person who runs the biomedical research charity the wellcome trust, a former member of sageitical of the government in the past, threatening to resign from sage because he did not think that government was acting fast enough but he has been on the radio saying it is reasonable for the government to wait 2a or 48 hours saying it is reasonable for the government to wait 24 or 48 hours to wait for the data, particularly on hospitalisation rates in london which has become the omicron epicentre. so i think ministers will be relieved that something that might have looked like indecision yesterday is now getting the thumbs up yesterday is now getting the thumbs up from a scientist and not giving anything was a decision, rather than indecision. ., ~' , ., anything was a decision, rather than indecision. ., ~ , ., . ., indecision. thank you so much for that clarity- _ omicron now makes up nearly three—quarters of new coronavirus cases in america. president biden will be outlining plans to tackle the variant later today. outside the us, more countries have introduced restrictions to d

sage have been clear about that, they were clear on thursday. since then were clear on thursday.we have seen nothing, heard nothing from the prime minister and this morning sajid javid gave an interview on the andrew marr programme that effectively made him look like a hostage to his own party. conceding on one hand that action is necessary but behaving as if he is somehow a bystander rather than the health secretary. the reason for that is because he has over 100 conservative mps who are holding him to ransom, saying they will not even vote for the most mild restrictions that we voted on in parliament this week and so the government is paralysed because of the conservative party's political problems and the prime minister's weakness and that is a worrying situation for the country to be in. so what you would do, you said he would have conversations with scientists later to inform your position. stuff has emerged about the scientists thinking pretty clearly and that is basically there are scientists within sage saying that based on current modelling, hospitalisations could peak b

then we have this depressing sage model, which are spiking _ depressing sage model, which are spiking the legitimacy of those raised which are of the _ legitimacy of those raised which are of the very— legitimacy of those raised which are of the very important. yes, it looks like we _ of the very important. yes, it looks like we could well be heading into another— like we could well be heading into another christmas lockdown. lizzie, take us to the _ another christmas lockdown. lizzie, take us to the front _ another christmas lockdown. lizzie, take us to the front page _ another christmas lockdown. lizzie, take us to the front page of - another christmas lockdown. lizzie, take us to the front page of the - take us to the front page of the daily telegraph and the paper talks about three options possibly being drawn up by officials. the prime minister risking a row with his cabinet. , ., , , cabinet. yes. the telegraph points to the fact that — cabinet. yes. the telegraph points to the fact that the _ cabinet. yes. the telegraph points to the fact that the prime - cabinet. yes. the tele

labour has already hinted at, and they have asked for the government to publish all its advice from the sage of the data to make sure the government is definitely following the science on this. health officials in the us have halved the recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic covid—i9 from ten to five days. the centers for disease control says this must be followed by five days of wearing a mask around others. the measure is expected to alleviate disruptions caused by staff shortages in many areas because of infections. new restrictions come into effect in germany today. demonstrators took to the streets in towns across eastern germany overnight to protest against the new rules. they include a limit on private gatherings to ten vaccinated people and the closure of all nightclubs. students of all ages will have to wear masks in school, and sports competitions will be held behind closed doors. unvaccinated people are already banned from much of public life and only two are allowed to meet in private. countries across europe are tightening restrictions as infections rise and the

papers from the expert sage committee seen by the bbc suggest that covid hospital admissions could doublee end of this month. scotland's first minister, meanwhile, said her prediction of a tsunami of cases was now coming true with 0micron the dominant strain of the virus. she warned people again to limit social mixing. if what matters most to you is spending time with your loved ones on christmas day — and i think that's what matters right now to most or many of us — don't risk that by going out before then and possibly catching covid, because the reality is if you are mixing with others just now, getting this virus is a real and increasing risk. the spread of 0micron in the uk has led to a french government travel ban on british tourists from 11pm tonight. visitors will need a compelling reason to enter france. the virus is already putting pressure on the french health system with a new wave of cases. translation: the hospital icu is currently at full capacity - as patients have been coming in for the past 20 days. 70% of the icu patients are positive covid cases. concerns are growing ar

it comes as scientific advisers on the sage committee suggest without further stringent measures veryadmissions a day in england in a fortnight, up from around 800 a day now, and there could be a peak of 3000 admissions a day or more, similar to levels injanuary. when it comes to extra measures, sage government advisers say the earlier they are introduced the last time they may be needed. they argue the biggest risk factor is crowded indoor mixing between many different groups and suggest limiting how many people can mix indoors and some social distancing measures could be considered. timing is crucial, they say. delaying until next year could make the restriction is less effective and less likely to prevent considerable pressure on health in on health and care settings. my view is, i don't know this is something the government are going to have to seriously think about this weekend, is that a short, sharp two—week break now would be extremely useful. and what that means is making sure people are socially distancing, is limiting contacts, and going back to some of the restrictions we

the government advisory group sage say that, without intervention, it is highly likely to lead to moreound 700 now with delta. back injanuary, the alpha wave was causing around 4,000 daily hospital admissions. most people will get mild illness, but some people will be seriously ill, some people will be hospitalised. if the case numbers rise substantially above where they are at the moment, then that small proportion being hospitalised could still put substantial pressure on the health service. sage scientists say working from home will have the biggest impact within plan b on limiting viral spread. but there are still huge uncertainties about 0micron. how it will transmit in the uk, in the presence of a lot of delta, and second, how serious the disease is, particularly in a well vaccinated population. we have to wait until those people with infection have gone through the whole course of disease before we can really work that one out. there is some positive news. 10,000 patients at high risk from covid are to test a life—saving antiviral pill to take at home after testing positive. mol

documents from the expert advisory committee sage, seen by the bbc, suggest that extra measures wouldrthern ireland, the rules for testing close contacts of people with covid are being tightened. and coronavirus cases are also surging in other parts of europe, as our health editor hugh pym reports. it was a record day for boosters, and unlike many other sites this week, there was no queueing at this walk—in centre in barnsley, set up yesterday. we have got a lot of vaccinators on site and a lot of admin support, so patients are getting a really good experience. they are in, they are out and away. but there is a warning that to slow the spread of the virus, the vaccination effort on its own may not be enough. papers from the expert sage committee seen by the bbc suggest that covid hospital admissions could double by the end of this month. scotland's first minister, meanwhile, said her prediction of a tsunami of cases was now coming true, with 0micron the dominant strain of the virus. she warned people again to limit social mixing. if what matters most to you is spending time with your

which is doom—mongering. —— invented by sage.here, so if the prime minister wanted to bang through parliament harsher regulations without the data, that would be a very big as for him. i don't not restaurateurs _ a very big as for him. i don't not restaurateurs and - a very big as for him. i don't i not restaurateurs and publicans in leicestershire are saying, they are certainly saying the sum of the people in london and other parts of england have been saying that they have already seen eight falling off of demand, they have had cancellations, they have had people deciding they will not go out for a meal, they have had people deciding that the meal they booked months ago for christmas is being cancelled. they are already paying a business cost. hasn't the public already shown not that they don't take the data seriously but that they take it very seriously? arguably more seriously than you and your colleagues? ii seriously than you and your colleagues?— colleagues? if there is a pandemic _ colleagues? if there is a pandemic that

business world, do you want to bank that takes your money or a bank that takes your money seriously. sage need bank bigger picture business banking. ah ah. not you deserve with me. so robin and devil reminder of all topped you stories. rescue operations are underway in parts of the philippines that have been hit by one of the strongest storms in the world. a sheer that tens of thousands of people are being moved to emergency shelter in the southern and central parts of the country. officials say about 10000 villages are in the projected path at the typhoon, drill and duke and has more from the capital manila, thousands of already been evacuated and placed in temporary shelter. you have made landfall about a little over 2 hours ago in an island called shirt guy, which is a known to a nation. a port have been closed thought there are. those have been your 4 digit been stranded and life has been cancelled classes. although some of them will be turned to face to face class and even those online have been completely cancelled over the next few days. if you actually look at the map, type the ti

lemonis: so you have a sage tree because i don't think that's enough sage. here because there would be no business. lemonis: alright, so i'm gonna summarize for you guys real quick. lilia: okay. lemonis: 2019, the business does $898,000, makes $105,000 with 32% gross margin. 2020, it drops to $673,000, 25% reduction. it loses $128,000 -- a 16% gross margin. 16%. i'm guessing this is the first time that the two of you have actually looked at these financials together... thomas: mm-hmm. lemonis: ...which is really wonderful that partners don't do that. lilia: yeah. lemonis: clearly, there's a food-cost problem. clearly there's a leadership problem and clearly there's a neglect of facility problem. thomas: big time. lemonis: okay. i don't know what happened today, but clearly you guys have a good dynamic when nobody else is around and a really bad dynamic when other people are around. i don't need to go back there, but that's a fact. is that a fair statement? thomas: yeah, i love lilia. lilia: i love him, and i want him to be happy. ♪♪ thomas: it's very hard to

, thatis measures recommended by sage, that is why the hospitality industry has done since reopeningand it means levels of infections within the sector are incredibly low and that should give customers reassurance to maintain their bookings and continue christmas plans as both the health secretary and prime minister encourage them to do yesterday. some very welcome messages sent from government to offset some more confusing messages coming from the health community. but havin: from the health community. but having said _ from the health community. but having said that, if new restrictions are imposed on hospitality, especially now, some will not withstand that, will they? we will see further closures, won't we, of key parts of the hospitality sector? i parts of the hospitality sector? ., , , sector? ithink, given this is not any normal _ sector? ithink, given this is not any normal period - sector? ithink, given this is not any normal period of. not any normal period of trading, christmas is the time between halloween and new year's eve, it's the golden quarter and we make 40% of pro

is the very start advice from - this is the very start advice from the scientific advisory group, sagewho say that unless action is taken beyond plan b in england there will almost certainly be unsustainable pressure on the nhs, at least 3000 hospital admissions per day but perhaps many more and it produced a range of daily deaths from 600 per day up to 6000. that is a huge range of numbers there and that is because we still do not understand, firstly how serious omicron will be, it has not overwhelmed the health service in south africa, and we do not understand yet how well vaccinations, two or three doses will hold up against protection against severe disease. they should give very strong protection. what sage has looked at is potentially reverting to the situation we were in in the first months of this year, when there was the rule of six, there was the ban on outdoor, indoor hospitality, there were restrictions on the number of people who could enter your home, but that is really unpalatable for the government, which has struggled to get through the plan b measures and looking beyo

are included in leaked minutes from a meeting of the scientific advisory group for emergencies, or sagement's cobra committee will meet this weekend, to discuss the spread of the omicron variant. professor neil ferguson — who sits on the group — told bbc radio 4 that the situation looks precarious the epidemic of 0micron is in london, very obviously now, but it is not obvious in every region, so we think 0micron is doubling in case numbers every three days or so at the moment and that will become more apparent across the entire country in the coming week. the thing we are most anxiously looking at and analysing is what is happening to hospitalisation numbers, because that is really the key indicator in terms of how well we are coping with this epidemic. and we see quite a significant surge of hospitalisations in london, the region which is most ahead, but less of an indication in other regions. 0ne bit of good news is that the booster programme really has accelerated this week. we were up to nearly 900,000 boosters given yesterday and that has almost doubled in the matter of the few day

minister, they lack credibility and the need to treat the public as adults, public the advice and the sagedvice so we can see all of the evidence that is. they have not been doing that and i think the government needs to level more with the british people and then they will take them with them. i am very supportive of the announcement tonight. we do need to treat this as an emergency. you want to make sure that people's christmases are not ruined, and i talk to people around the country they are worried they will not be able to see their families and parents are worried that if this gets out of hand, schools may not openin gets out of hand, schools may not open injanuary. the government really has to get a group of this. it has moved too slowly, it has not treated people like adults by publishing one of the advice, but i just hope that people actually listen to the prem minister and i think it is in the national interest that everybody gets boosted. fin think it is in the national interest that everybody gets boosted. on the auestion of that everybody gets boosted. on the question of omicro

on the back of that we have the latest set of minutes from the expert advisory committee, sage, who metons in london and hospital numbers. that is clearly an issue they say. at the moment it is quite concentrated in lower age groups. the worry is if it spreads to older groups who are more vulnerable. the minutes do repeat the severity of omicron is seen as less than delta and that means that is something thatis and that means that is something that is going to be a factor that may be puts a little less pressure on the health service, but when you add in the speed of acceleration of the virus, that still means a lot of pressure on the nhs and a lot of uncertainty about the weeks ahead, say sage. hugh pym, thank you. the queen is expected to give a very personal christmas message tomorrow — her first since the death of her husband, prince philip. she will speak beside a framed photograph of the couple taken during their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007, and will wear the same sapphire brooch that she wore on her honeymoon. a warning — our royal correspondent nicholas witchell�*s report

sage are focusing here on what has the best way to reduce infections.ests, will people do free tests? you could have people do free tests? you could have people say, not doing any test at all because the requirements are too stringent. you have to think what other advice you're getting at is what we can see at the moment. but they certainly raise marks about the decisions that have been taken and i am sure the government will need to answer them. am sure the government will need to answer them-— answer them. separately there is more evidence _ answer them. separately there is more evidence of— answer them. separately there is more evidence of this _ answer them. separately there is more evidence of this morning i answer them. separately there is - more evidence of this morning about the impact of covid on care for other illnesses and health conditions, particularly cancer stop you there is. there have been the national audit office looking at hospital services including cancer and routine treatments. fin hospital services including cancer and routine tre

business world, do you want to bank that takes your money or a bank that takes your money seriously. sage need bank bigger picture business banking. ah ah no challenges there with me. so robin into her reminder of all top you stories. rescue operations are underway in parts of the philippines that have been hit by one of the strongest storms in the world. a sheer, now tens of thousands of people are being moved to emergency shelters in the southern and central parts of the country. officials say about 10000 villages are in the projected path of the typhoon drill and duke and has more from the capital manila.

what do you make of the leaked minutes from the sage meeting that talked about the fact that restrictions in in england very soon? i think that is a reasonably sound judgment. i think professor chris whitty said this the other day, one of the things about epidemics is that there is evidence to go up quite quickly often go down quite quickly at the other sides of the peak. so having a balance of not having a peak that threatens the integrity of the health service and throws a lot of other essential services into disarray, at least same time as trying to ensure we get over this fairly quickly is not going to be easy. rising concern about the rapid spread of the 0micron variant in london has prompted mayor sadiq khan to declare a major incident in the capital. gfx he said "the 0micron variant has quickly become dominant, with cases increasing rapidly and the number of patients in our hospitals on the rise again" in the past seven days, the number of covid patients in london hospitals has gone up by 29% a major incident is described as an event or situtaion with a range of serious consequence

his resisted calls for tied to restrictions as grown of ice case is sage to record highs. though the time for buying presents is theoretically running out. there is still a wonderful thing, you can give your family and the whole country that is to get that job, whether it's your 1st or 2nd, or your booster. so that next year's festivities are even better than this years. and in the meantime, i thank you. i wish you all a very merry christmas in other news gambit. truth and reconciliation commission has recommended that former president e. i, john may stand trial for murder, torture, and rape. the commission began its inquiry in 2017, when jammy fled into exile after refusing to accept defeat in the presidential election. at least 13 migrants have drowned after their boat capsized in greece is a j n. c. the 3rd disaster in as many days, coast guards managed to rescue dozens of others. smugglers have been increasingly using the dangerous route from turkey to italy to enter europe. lebanon's president michelle, our own says his country needs 6 to 7 years to emerge from its cu

ruled out restrictions in england in the new year and as you say we've had some scientists today from sagep saying this is on the more optimistic end of the data being interpreted by ministers, but we did have a message from the environment secretary george eustace and he said while obviously at the moment they do not think any further interventions in england are necessary, the date it would need to be kept under review of hospital admissions start to rise. ~ ., . ., ., of hospital admissions start to rise. ~ ., . ., . . , rise. we note the infection rate has been rising. — rise. we note the infection rate has been rising. we _ rise. we note the infection rate has been rising, we always _ rise. we note the infection rate has been rising, we always predicted i rise. we note the infection rate has been rising, we always predicted it| been rising, we always predicted it would. _ been rising, we always predicted it would. we — been rising, we always predicted it would, we have known that for weeks, the key— would, we have known that for weeks, the key question is how many of those _ the key q

christina pagel is a member of independent sage, a independent group of scientists who at times have thank you very much for coming back on the programme. what, in yourjudgment, has changed as a result of the omicron variant now? what is it that medically gives you the most cause for concern? just to speed with — the most cause for concern? just to speed with which _ the most cause for concern? just to speed with which it is _ the most cause for concern? just to speed with which it is increasing. i speed with which it is increasing. we�*ve not seen these growth rates ever, really, every two days. we havejust ever, really, every two days. we have just not seen that, notjust means that even if most people are totally recovered fine, just by having the sheer numbers, you could overwhelm health services, and in a really short period of time, because things are in worse rapidly. and really short period of time, because things are in worse rapidly.- things are in worse rapidly. and a su ose if things are in worse rapidly. and a suppose if you — things are in worse rapidly. and a suppose if

timing point, sage met last week and again _ going back to the timing point, sage met last week anded to do— watch it spreading rapidly, you need to do something _ watch it spreading rapidly, you need to do something. and _ watch it spreading rapidly, you need to do something. and that- watch it spreading rapidly, you need to do something. and that isn't- watch it spreading rapidly, you need to do something. and that i5n'tju5t| to do something. and that isn'tjust the boosters. — to do something. and that isn'tjust the boosters, the _ to do something. and that isn'tjust the boosters, the boosters - to do something. and that isn'tjust the boosters, the boosters are - the boosters, the boosters are incredibly— the boosters, the boosters are incredibly important _ the boosters, the boosters are incredibly important but - the boosters, the boosters are incredibly important but it - the boosters, the boosters are incredibly important but it is l the boosters, the boosters are . incredibly important but it is also about— incredibly important but it is also about trying _ incredibly importa

as the sage entirely possible that the proximity to scandinavian nations is a factor. micron is very dominant there. so the virus may be traveling over the border. i think everyone understands that a virus will not stop at borders. i think he's just the was fun again finish. i had my over federal and state officials in germany a do to meet on the 7th of january, to map out a strategy to combat the spread of the virus. earlier we spoke to epidemiologist, eric final dang and asked him why so many countries are seeing record numbers despite a broad rule out of booster shots booster shots work. but booster shot role as you know is very inadequate. is incredibly slow. many places they take time for to work, and con, increases exponentially. well, you can only roll them out. logistically feasible, as you can. but this is a virus is $5.00 to $6.00 times more contagious than delta, which was already twice contagious in the strength of last year. so we're talking about strain potentially 10 times more contagious than before. nothing we do right now is enough to keep up unless you think of som

to avoid significant pressure, sage advisers say... that is the major concern.o be more certain about that scenario and exactly what we are heading into in the next few days, i think, with the increasing amount of data coming in. but it is a real concern we will be heading into something which has the risk of overrunning the health service. testing for the virus is also crucial. the vaccines minister was at a royal mail depot in derbyshire this morning. deliveries of pcr and lateral flow kits are being ramped up to 900,000 a day to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one. lateral flow devices are very effective at picking up the 0micron variant, as well as other variants, and it's the best way to make sure that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas or go to large events. the government at westminster has said current plan b measures in england are appropriate, but would go further if new data suggests that's needed. wales and scotland have already tightened some restrictions. representatives from all uk nations

minutes of a meeting of the expert sage committee yesterday, say that with the speed of growth seen,tly to reduce transmission if the aim is to reduce the likelihood of unsustainable pressure on the nhs. this referring to any possible new measures, the minutes say adherence is likely to be higher if messaging and policy have clear rationales and are consistent. covid numbers in hospital are much lower than injanuary, but any increase will add to the intense strain being felt now on the front line. the health and care system is already facing a winter emergency and it is really very, very difficult to see how we can cope with that increase in covid patients so the government is right and the public is right to want to do everything it can to minimise the risk of this virus spreading more quickly. a central part of the plan has been accelerating the booster vaccine programme. maria has just become eligible and she booked up for herjab at this centre in preston this morning. it's not just about yourself, . it's about everybody, isn't it? yeah, really important, _ and i kind of can't und

but sage, the u-rou busy. merry christmas! but sage, the a-rou of busy. merry christmas! group of scientists _ busy. merry christmas! but sage, the group of scientists who _ busy. merry christmas! but sage, the group of scientists who advised - busy. merry christmas! but sage, the group of scientists who advised the i group of scientists who advised the government on the pandemic, would like to see tighter restrictions in england, like banning indoor mixing of households. 0therwise england, like banning indoor mixing of households. otherwise they want coded cases could soon reach 3000 per day. —— they warn. but with many customers already staying away, that would be a devastating blow for hospitality. would be a devastating blow for hospitality-— would be a devastating blow for hositali . ., , . ., , ., hospitality. coded restrictions are havin: a hospitality. coded restrictions are having a significant _ hospitality. coded restrictions are having a significant impact - hospitality. coded restrictions are having a significant impact on - having a significant impact on bus

sage have to use the best modelling they can.ontinue to do, and we will continue to give the best advice we can. i will continue to give the best advice we can.— will continue to give the best advice we can. , . . , advice we can. i understand that but ou 'ust advice we can. i understand that but you just said — advice we can. i understand that but you just said we _ advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't _ advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know - advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know how- advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know how bad it will be and what i'm asking is why are we modelling on the very worst case scenario, and why are we not also modelling on a much better scenario? because it seems to me that we are only fitting towards politicians in cabinet the armageddon scenario, and that has direct implications for everybody in the country. direct implications for everybody in the country-— the country. that's not remotely wha

[applause] 2000 years ago, the great sage taught us the way to light.e start with one candle and we increase the light each night adding one more candle, a little more light night after night. until the eighth night when we have built a mesmerizing glow in the dark. our charge is not to keep the light only for ourselves and we know that ted we don't keep it -- we know that. we don't keep it trapped. we don't keep it privatized. we don't save it for the few. we are told we should place it in our windows or even outside of our doors for the sake that we may publicize this miracle and share its light. let us grow, share and be inspired by these lights together and let us build back better. [applause] it is now my honor to call up leader schumer, to call up rabbi dr. glatt and susie stern. we will first let the seamus and we will say the blessings. please say them together with me. [singing] [singing] happy hanukkah. thank you all so much for being here and the thank you to our incredible hosts. -- and thank you to our and credible hosts. -- our incredible

he sits on the government's sage environmental modelling group.ining us. it seems potentially good news if 0micron is a bit less severe. do you think overall, we need more restrictions in england and across the uk? i think overall, we all need to be cautious and do what we can collectively, so it isn'tjust about whatever restrictions may be imposed by the government, it is actually about what we do as individuals. there is a collective responsibility and therefore it is taking precautions. the most important is getting a jab and the practical things like lateral flow testing before you see people, limiting contact and if you are socialising, do so in sensible manner such as adequate ventilation.— do so in sensible manner such as adequate ventilation. what does that mean, how adequate ventilation. what does that mean. how many _ adequate ventilation. what does that mean, how many people _ adequate ventilation. what does that mean, how many people in _ adequate ventilation. what does that mean, how many people in a - adequate ventilation. what does

some action is necessary, sage have been clear about that. they were clear on thursday.er. germany bans british travellers and the netherlands goes into full lockdown — as europe ramps up its fight against the spread of omicron. the uk's brexit minister, lord frost, resigns —