Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
British troops are to take up postings in London to support a National Health Service faced with growing staff shortages because of Covid-19, the Ministry of Defence said.
About 200 armed forces personnel are being made available to hospitals across the capital, which has been the centre of the Omicron outbreak with a surge in case numbers.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that ministers hoped to “ride out” the latest wave without the need for further restrictions in England.
Despite the deployment of the military personnel, there were signs this week that the Omicron wave sweeping across Britain could be slowing.
On Thursday the UK announced 179,756 new cases, a drop from the record 218,000 infections announced on Tuesday.
Thursday’s figures marked the second day of falling numbers and offered hope that the winter surge of Covid may be starting to tail off.
The ministry said personnel being made available to hospitals include 40 military medics and 160 general duty personnel to help fill gaps caused by NHS staff being unable to work because of illness or isolation.
They will be sent in 40 teams of five — one medic and four support personnel — and will go to areas where the need is greatest.
It is expected they will be “on task” for the next three weeks.
Thirty-two military responders are also being provided to support the South Central Ambulance Service, working alongside paramedics until the end of March.
“The men and women of our armed forces are once again stepping up to support their dedicated colleagues in the NHS as they work hand-in-hand to protect the nation from Covid-19,” said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
“They have shown their worth time and again throughout this pandemic, whether driving ambulances, administering vaccines or supporting patients in hospital, and they should be proud of their contribution to this truly national effort.”
But the Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, said sending in the military meant the government could no longer deny there was a “staffing crisis” in the NHS.
“The prime minister and others can no longer be dismissive of questions about the ability of NHS staff to deliver safe care,” Ms Marquis said.
“Once the military has been brought in, where does the government turn next in its bid to ‘ride out’ the wave rather than deal with it?”
About 1,800 service personnel are already posted across the UK to support civil authorities in their response to the pandemic.
They include 313 people who have been made available to the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust and 96 to the Scottish Ambulance Service.
More than 1,000 service personnel are supporting the vaccine booster programme.
The Mod said troops would also be sent to hospitals in the north of England to help them cope under the strain of the Omicron wave.
James Heappey, minister for the armed forces, said the troops would help hospitals cope with “an extraordinary situation that has put the NHS on a war footing”.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the Omicron crisis is “moving up the country” and said it is essential for NHS staff to have access to tests so that they can return to work.
“We’ve suggested that as a very short-term expedient we should think about clinical students working at the front line — we don’t want that to happen for long, but that’s something again we’ve done in the past,” he said.
“We are in a very, very difficult set of circumstances — we all hope this will last a few weeks, but in those circumstances we have to do everything we can, and we as the public have to understand the pressure the health service is in.”
The latest data from NHS England shows 39,142 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England were absent for Covid reasons on January 2, up 59 per cent on the previous week (24,632) and more than three times the number at the start of December (12,508).
In north-west England 7,338 NHS staff at hospital trusts were absent due to the virus on January 2, up 85 per cent week-on-week from 3,966, while in north-east England and Yorkshire there were 8,788 absences, more than double the number a week earlier.
In London, absences were up 4 per cent week-on-week, from 4,580 to 4,765.
Overall, there were 82,384 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England who were absent for all sickness reasons on January 2, including self-isolation and mental health reasons, up 21 per cent on the previous week (68,082) and up 37 per cent from the start of December (60,136).
NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said rising number of cases were “piling even more pressure” on hospital trust workers.
“Omicron means more patients to treat and fewer staff to treat them,” he said.
“In fact, around 10,000 more colleagues across the NHS were absent each day last week compared with the previous seven days and almost half of all absences are now down to Covid.”
As of Friday morning, there were 16 hospital trusts in England that were in critical measures.
On Wednesday evening there were more than 20 hospitals which had announced critical incidents, which are declared when a trust believes it may not be able to provide priority services to patients, such as emergency care.
Small business minister Paul Scully reiterated the prime minister’s view that additional restrictions were not needed at this stage to tackle the crisis.
He said ministers would review the Plan B package in place before January 26 and decide whether to impose tighter restrictions.
Asked about the economic damage caused by millions of people working from home, Mr Scully said the government’s move was the “right thing to do” but also said: “We’ve said we are sticking to Plan B at the moment … but clearly we’ve got to get that difficult balance right.”
Mr Scully was also pressed about reports suggesting cabinet members were at odds about what direction the country should take.
The Times reported that Health Secretary Sajid Javid was strongly opposed to the decision to ease some travel testing measures and believes more lockdowns could be on the horizon.
Mr Javid is understood to have argued in a Covid-O cabinet committee meeting this week that removing the PCR pre-departure test requirement for travellers could lead to “having to shut down the entire economy”.
But Mr Scully rejected the notion that full nationwide shutdowns were necessary, telling Sky News: “I don’t believe at this stage that we need any more lockdowns.
“What we are doing today is announcing the fact that the money for hospitality, retail, leisure and accommodation is available now for those businesses who have been hard pressed throughout this pandemic, and especially that Christmas period when Plan B came in, for those businesses to be able to approach their local authorities and get the financial support they need,” Mr Scully said.
“But what we’ve got to do is make sure we can balance the needs of everybody in what is an incredibly difficult situation — the pressures on the NHS, but also the pressures on the economy, the pressures on households, jobs, livelihoods, and indeed money that is coming in to pay for the public services in the first place.”
He said vaccination “remains our best weapon against the pressures on the NHS” and urged people to come forward for boosters.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said just days after children returned to classrooms that schools were “teetering on the edge” with considerable staffing shortages.
Meanwhile, the Welsh government has said that Alert 2 measures introduced after Christmas — including limits on people mixing — will remain in place for at least another week.
After the latest review of the regulations, First Minister Mark Drakeford said the country was facing a “difficult month ahead” as case numbers, which have risen to their highest levels yet, look likely to surge further.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
Company%20profile
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
MORE FROM CON COUGHLIN
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
