ten months into the pandemic the uk has
passed another grim milestone with the
number of people dying within 28 days of
a positive covet 19
test now over 80 000. the figure was
released to scientists advising the
government warned of the need for even
stricter lockdown measures than in march
because the new variant of the virus is
much more infectious
as the vaccine continues to be rolled
out for vulnerable groups
buckingham palace made it publicly known
that the queen and prince philip have
been vaccinated here's our health
correspondent
catherine decosta one two three
another dark day in this pandemic and
still the pressure builds for those on
the front line
hospitals across the country are
treating 50 percent more kobe patients
now
than during the first peak in april and
with 4 000
new admissions today nhs staff say this
year's winter pressure
is off the charts it really is
unprecedented um in terms of the
the the numbers of patients that require
intensive care
uh being put on a ventilator at one time
and
um most hospitals have uh reached
not have expanded their intensive care
capacity to somewhere in the region of
three times their normal capacity
some trusts are urgently trying to
discharge patients to free up extra beds
this hotel in south london is working
with king's college hospital
providing a stop gap for homeless or
vulnerable patients while they wait for
emergency housing
once more we must all stay home a simple
clear message in this new government
campaign reinforcing just how critical
it is to keep your distance
wear a mask wash your hands and
ventilate indoor spaces
because even with the uk wide lockdowns
experts warn the new variant spreads
more easily
which is likely to make the virus much
harder to control the sort of
transmission that perhaps we were seeing
during lockdowns last year
uh that level of transmission will now
be 40 or 50 percent higher so we're
going to have to work
that much harder to achieve the same
effect
so the race is on to protect the most
vulnerable this the home of bristol city
football club
now one of seven mass covered
vaccination centers in england
from monday trained volunteers will
begin offering immunizations
joining hundreds of gp sites and
hospital hubs around the country
they have been working genuinely day and
night and they're working all through
weekends as well
to make sure that their populations get
vaccinated and it's not like
flu clinics this has been hugely complex
today the queen and the duke of
edinburgh both in their 90s received
their first doses at windsor castle
vaccinations will eventually help to
relieve pressure on the health service
but with new infections still at record
levels hospital admissions and deaths
are expected to continue rising for
several weeks to come
catherine de costa bbc news
well let's look now at the latest
government figures in detail
there were 59 937 new coronavirus cases
recorded in the latest 24-hour period
the average number of new cases reported
per day in the last week is now 59
660 there were on average 29
630 covert 19 patients in hospital in
the last week
and there were 1035 deaths that's people
who died within 28 days of a positive
covid19 test
it means on average in the past week 894
deaths were announced every day
and it takes the total number of deaths
so far across the uk to 80
868.
under the national lockdown people in
england must stay at home and only go
out for essential reasons
and there are similar measures in place
across most of scotland
in wales and in northern ireland but the
guidance in england has come under
scrutiny as derbyshire police said they
would review their decision to issue
200-pound fines to two women who drove
five miles for a walk
john donason reports the pandemic may be
yet to peak
but on a beautiful winter's day london's
parks were busy
a stroll and a coffee as good as
entertainment gets for many in these
challenging times
but is the government's message to stay
home being heard
it does feel very different to the first
lockdown
where everything was sort of closed and
quiet so i think in general it feels
the vibe is different i think people are
kind of a little bit
over it now i don't know that's what
that's what i feel like as in
i get the vibe that it's it's less
restrictive i'm happy with the rules
that and i know it's for the better for
the good of the population i'm not sure
what more they could restrict
from people's lives realistically
but are even tougher restrictions needed
some scientists say
the vast majority of people are actually
sticking to the rules the problem they
say
is that the lockdown is still two lakhs
in particular
too many people they say are categorized
as critical workers
meaning schools and public transport are
still busy
in snowdonia hikers have been turned
away
after the authorities closed the car
parks
uk government sources say there will be
more focus on getting the police to
enforce
existing lockdown restrictions but some
scientists
including those advising the government
say it's the wrong approach
they're not providing the kind of
support that's needed for people to feel
that they're
able to do the sorts of things that the
government is now
saying we're going to punish you if you
don't do it so they've got it all the
wrong way around it's really
much much more about support
and in a long winter with things almost
certain to get worse before they get
better
people may well need it john donason
bbc news political correspondent ian
watson is here with me and ian downing
street is going to try to reinforce this
stay-at-home message isn't it in the
coming days
it is because the prime minister
certainly thinks that recently that the
situation is more serious more stark
than it was in the spring during the
first lockdown and we've just heard of
course more than 80 000 people have died
but also actually the number of people
who've had a positive covert test has
now exceeded
three million since the pandemic begun
now
basically dentistry isn't looking to
impose more restrictions despite what
some scientists are calling for but they
are worried
about compliance so yes we are going to
go with public campaigns
reinforcing the state home message but
there is also going to be a tougher line
on enforcement
and tonight the home secretary pretty
patel said the police will not
hesitate to act against rule breakers
i'm told what she's actually looking for
them to do is to move much more quickly
from engaging with the public from
explaining to actually issuing fines
issuing penalties
would have been no new powers for the
police they wouldn't be allowed to for
example enter people's homes
and there is still some confusion over
exactly what you can and can't do
so for example government guidance would
say that you can travel a short distance
if necessary for exercise
but this is not written into law there's
no precise definition in law and some
rank and file police officers today have
been calling for far more clarity
okay ian many thanks our political
correspondent ian watson there