| - | tonight dismissed the prospect of more Covid curbs as he warned people to brace for a stormy few weeks - but insisted the country can ' ride out' the wave.<br> At a press conference, the PM said that he would be recommending to Cabinet tomorrow that the ' balanced' Plan B restrictions stay unchanged.<br>He stressed that despite the going on a 'war footing' and daily cases hitting an eye-watering new high of 218,000, there should be no need to 'shut down our country again'.<br>'We have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again,' Mr Johnson said.<br> <br>He was backed by chief medic Chris Whitty, who confirmed that there is no sign of a 'surge' in mortality rates and said boosters offer 88 per cent protection against needing hospital treatment.<br>Although he said he could not 'rule anything out ' completely and much will depend on how quickly Omicron peaks, the premier made clear he intends to rely on people to 'implement Plan B carefully and to behave carefully with other people'. <br> However, Mr Johnson stopped short of making any changes to self-isolation rules that are threatening to bring core services to a standstill. <br>Today' s new infection number represents a 58 per cent rise compared to last week but includes several days of backlogged cases in Wales and Northern Ireland.<br>Hospitalisations also continued to rise today with England recording 1,819 on January 1, the latest date with data, marking a 42 per cent rise on the previous week. <br>But the statistics do not differentiate between patients that were admitted primarily for Covid and those who were admitted for a different illness and tested positive after admission. So-called ' incidental' admissions now make up about a third of all Covid inpatients, and fewer patients primarily sick with Covid are needing to be hooked up to ventilators. <br> Explaining his position, Mr Johnson said that anyone thinking the pandemic is over would be ' profoundly wrong' and it was a 'moment for the utmost caution' .<br><br>In the event you loved this post and you would want to receive more information concerning [ https:// slotcomment. com/slots-try เว็บสล็อตทดลองเล่น] generously visit our own web page. The NHS is doing an 'amazing job' under 'huge pressure', he said. <br> But he stressed the situation was different from earlier in the crisis in key respects, and it was possible to rely on booster jabs and the health service - including a ' territorial army' of retired medics and nurses - while keeping society running. <br> 'First, we now know that Omicron is milder than previous variants, so while hospital admissions are rising quickly, with over 15,000 Covid patients now in hospital in England alone, this is not yet, thankfully, translating into the same numbers needing intensive care that we saw in previous waves,' he said .<br>'Second, thanks to the fantastic national effort to get Britain boosted, we now have a substantial level of protection, higher than any of our European neighbours, with over 34million boosters administered, including in England reaching more than 90 per cent of the over 70s and 86 per cent of the over 50s.<br>' And so, together with the Plan B measures that we introduced before Christmas, we have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again.<br> 'We can keep our schools and our businesses open and we can find a way to live with this virus.'<br>He said 100,000 essential workers in areas such as nuclear and air traffic control will get daily tests to try to catch cases early before they spread. <br> In other developments today:<br> Mr Johnson said it is 'absolutely crazy' that people are not taking up booster appointments, amid claims two million are still available this week;The PM has rejected calls to cut the Covid isolation period again to five days, saying doing so could make the staffing crisis even worse;Hospital admissions for Covid in London fell for the first time since before Omicron took off, spurring hopes that the worst of the wave may have peaked;Britons shouldn't be offered a fourth Covid jab until there is more evidence, according to the head of the country's vaccine body, who warned dishing out vaccines every six months was 'not sustainable';Pre-return Covid international travel tests are expected to be scrapped tomorrow. more videos <br><br> DM.later('bundle', function()<br> DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-17', 'channelCarousel', <br> "activeClass" : "wocc",<br> "pageCount" : "3.0",<br> "pageSize" : 1,<br> "onPos": 0,<br> "updateStyleOnHover": true<br> );<br> );<br> At a Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson said that he would be recommending to Cabinet tomorrow that Plan B restrictions stay unchanged<br> <br> The empty concourse at Victoria train station, central London, today as rail passengers are hit by disruption on the first working day of the year in England and Wales due to a combination of faults and coronavirus-related staff shortages<br> The West Park recycling centre in Long Eaton has seen dozens of fly tippers litter the floor with waste as people desperately tried to empty their homes of leftover materials following the festive period over New Year's weekend<br> A person walks past Christmas trees discarded on the pavement, in west London, Britain, January 3, 2022.<br> <br>Many people are simply throwing their Christmas trees outside to rot<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Road congestion levels in London were at 22 per cent in the 8am to 9am slot this morning (far right) according to TomTom<br> more videos <br><br> DM. later(' bundle' , function()<br> DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-40', ' channelCarousel' , <br> "activeClass" : "wocc",<br> "pageCount" : "3.0",<br> "pageSize" : 1,<br> "onPos": 0,<br> "updateStyleOnHover": true<br> );<br>);<br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol- 1223b420- 6d4a-11ec- 95d9- 274687643895" website says NO new Covid curbs as country ' ride out' Omicron wave | + | will use his central role at Westminster Abbey as a springboard to support his mother at a service at St Paul' s Cathedral in June and is not bothered if ' public opinion is against him', it was claimed today.<br> The Duke of York is said to have been ' emboldened' by ' s decision to travel with him from Windsor and to let him walk her to and from her seat on Tuesday at an event watched by millions. <br> It came amid reports of a rift between palace aides over the decision and explosive claims that senior members of the Royal Family only found out the night before.<br> The Duke of York is said to be determined to be at the service at St Paul' s on June 3, viewing it as a tribute to his mother in the same way Tuesday' s service was a tribute to his father . <br> The shamed royal is also disinterested in 'the weight of public opinion' against him, according to The Sun, especially after the Queen is reported to have overruled and to allow her disgraced son to [ http:// istanbulclass. net avcılar escort] her.<br> 'While he accepts that he no longer has a fully participatory role as a core member of the firm, there will be family events where he will want to be present,' an insider said. <br> Prince Andrew accompanied the Queen to and from Windsor in a decision by his mother said to have emboldened him to do more<br> The Queen held onto Andrew' s elbow with her left hand and had a walking stick in her right at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.<br><br>He is said to be emboldened to support her again at the Platinum Jubilee <br> The Queen goes to take her seat as Andrew goes towards his for Prince Philip's service at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday<br> The Queen is pictured on the left, and Prince Andrew on the right during the service of thanksgiving for Philip on Tuesday <br><br> RELATED ARTICLES <br><br><br><br> Share this article<br> Share<br><br><br> is trying to become a replacement for Prince Philip as 's unofficial adviser and confidante, it has been claimed.<br> The Duke of York is to be the most regular visitor to the Queen at Windsor Castle.<br><br> He has no official royal duties left and lives just three miles away at his seven-bedroom Royal Lodge home.<br>But royal aides have no involvement in discussions between the Queen and her so-called 'favourite son' after he was effectively kicked out of the Royal Family by the Queen in January, reported the .<br> And their recent conversations would have come at a time when Prince William was out of the country with Kate Middleton on a royal tour in the Caribbean last week, while Prince Charles was on tour in Ireland with Camilla.<br> During March, before Tuesday's service, Andrew has been pictured driving or horse riding in Windsor nine times - on March 28, 26, 25, 24, 22, 21, 15, 14 and 8 - but it is not known whether he saw the Queen on all of these days.<br> The Queen clearly still values Andrew as a family member - and there are concerns within royal circles that he could use his role at Tuesday's memorial to put in an appearance over the Platinum Jubilee weekend this June.<br> While [https://pixabay.com/images/search/Prince%20Charles/ Prince Charles] and Prince William feel Andrew should play no part in any royal events, speculation is now mounting that the Queen could invite him to the service at St Paul's Cathedral on June 3 to mark her jubilee.<br> His appearance walking down the aisle with her at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday was a surprise to many - including Royal Family members who only found out when it was happening, according to the Telegraph.<br> One insider claimed: 'They didn't know until it happened.<br><br> The plan changed.' The idea that he was positioning himself as her ' plus one' - and that this only emerged last minute - has been denied by sources close to Andrew.<br> The Duke of York' s presence at the service had been known for weeks in advance, but his central role was only revealed hours earlier by royal expert Robert Jobson who said Andrew ' may play a prominent role than we think' <br> Prince Andrew watches as his mother the Queen gets into a car following the service at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday<br> The Queen and Prince Andrew leave by car after attending the service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip on Tuesday<br> Andrew goes horse riding at Windsor Great Park in Berkshire on Monday, one day before the service for Prince Philip<br> Prince Andrew drives into Windsor Castle in his Range Rover covered in Saharan dust earlier this month on March 22<br> The disgraced royal, who just weeks ago paid millions out of court to settle a civil sex assault case with a woman he said he had never met, accompanied the Queen almost the whole way to her seat in a shock move on Tuesday.<br> Andrew had been banished from royal life, first bowing out of royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous BBC Newsnight appearance over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.<br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news floatRHS" data-version="2" id="mol- e62b6500- b1c5-11ec- 8bbe- 6b328fd0cebc" website Andrew ' is keen to attend Queen's St Paul's Cathedral service' |
