there's growing pressure on the four
home nations of the united kingdom
to make changes to the covid rules
agreed for the christmas period
further talks will take place tomorrow
amid concerns that the guidelines as
they stand
will lead to a very significant rise in
cases
two leading medical journals have joined
forces to warn that easing the rules for
a five-day period over christmas is rash
and will cost many lives labor has
called today for the guidelines to be
much clearer
and tougher we start tonight with this
report by our health editor
hewpen christmas mixing will be a big
mistake
that's the bleak message from two
publications representing health and
medical leaders
if the rules agreed by the uk's
administrations which allow some
household mixing aren't changed
they argue that virus cases will
escalate and the nhs will be overrun
the real striking stark truth of the
matter is that
our health system is not going to manage
if we allow
the current trend to continue out on top
of uh the super spread event that will
be these five days of christmas with
households
three or more households meeting people
will find it hard to stick to those
rules
but ministers were sticking to the line
that people should make their own
decisions within the rules set out
we've got to trust the british people to
act responsibly to do
the minimum that is necessary for them
within their family situation
but we should recognize it has been a
very difficult year for many families
many families will want to come together
but the government at westminster is
facing calls to look again at the
planned easing of restrictions over
christmas
i say to everybody look at the evidence
as it is the last two or three days have
seen
a spike in infections going up
notwithstanding the tiered system
we can't stand back and ignore that this
needs to be reviewed
needs to be done pretty urgently now and
scotland's first minister suggested
there might need to be a rethink
it's important that we have that
discussion across the four nations given
family patterns
across the uk but i do think there is a
case for us looking
at whether we tighten uh the
flexibilities that were given any
further both in terms of duration
and numbers of people at meeting the
politicians will have to gauge public
opinion
spending time together was not going to
be the best thing
joe has already cancelled a christmas
trip to see his sister
i think people just have to be sensible
this year and really think
deeply about what really matters to them
but others have made plans they say will
be hard to change
the turk is on order 15 pound turkey
if there's only jill and i for christmas
dinner that's a hell of a lot of turkey
to eat you know
so you're happy to have your injection
today yes
vaccination centers are now up and
running including this one at barnet
football club
where they're hoping to get through 350
jabs each day
starting with the over 80s and the first
appointments today
vaccination centers like this may have
got underway
but it'll take at least four weeks and
two jabs to build up protection
and the process of getting through the
most vulnerable patients
will take time and doctors in this north
london area are very concerned about the
rising case numbers they're seeing now
it is a phenomenal threat it is very
very worrying the number of cases the
results that we're coming in with
patients being copied positive
and actually unwell especially at this
time of year
um when we had the easing of the
lockdown people are mixing with each
other mixing with families
you know it's rising some european
countries are tightening up in response
to higher infections
but allowing a little leeway over
christmas the uk's governments will
continue
talks tomorrow on how to strike the
balance hugh pim
bbc news let's go live to westminster
and talk to our political correspondent
chris mason chris as we know the talks
to take place tomorrow
are you detecting any signs there that
there could be change to these christmas
rules
i think this will be a change to you in
tone but perhaps not a
change in the law it's been the central
dilemma for political leaders here in
the uk
and he did around the world throughout
this pandemic to manage that balance
between
robbing us of the liberties that we take
for granted and protecting us from the
virus and
what to do over christmas is the
ultimate example of that political
leaders are really conscious
that they don't want to robbers of that
precious chance to see loved ones
that would be a cruel end to a cruel
year and yet
we heard there the warning from the
medics that frankly this relaxation
could cost life so what on earth did the
government surround the uk do they met
earlier this evening there seems to be
an agreement that they will
shift the tone the messaging that we
will hear from them so they will say
that the rules are a limit they're not a
target if you're going to see
vulnerable people over christmas elderly
people or those who are clinically
vulnerable
change your behavior now restrict how
many people you're meeting if you live
in an area with a lot of the virus about
think carefully about leaving that area
stay local if you can so that will be
the emphasis
in the coming days the new approach
isn't yet signed off there'll be another
meeting
tomorrow involving the government here
and the governments around the
uk but expect that to be what we hear
from the prime minister in the coming
days
and for the from the devolved leaders as
well chris once again many thanks chris
mason there our correspondent at
westminster well now under the christmas
rules as they currently stand agreed by
the four home nations
families will be able to travel across
the uk and three households will be
allowed to gather under one roof
but as we've heard many experts believe
that these guidelines will provide
the perfect conditions for a significant
rise in cases
our science editor david chuckman
examines why
it's a precious time of year for
restoring morale
and scientists researching the virus
recognize that
but they also know that spending long
hours in packed rooms
is the most effective way to spread it
on the one hand
schools will be closed over the
christmas break along with most
workplaces
and that should help to reduce
infections but on the other hand
having more people gather indoors is
bound to increase transmission
this animation by an industrial modeling
company
simulates someone infected researchers
are worried
i think there's a big risk over
christmas of essentially a transfer of
infection
from younger groups with more contacts
into
older age groups who might not usually
have this level of mixing especially
in this kind of year and even in normal
years we do see an increase
in in hospitalizations for things like
pneumonia after the christmas period
the rule across the uk is that three
different households can form what's
called a bubble
over the christmas period and shouldn't
be mixing with people
outside it now scientists say that it's
within homes
that the virus spreads most easily
because people are so close together
on average someone infected may pass the
virus
to three others so the more people in a
bubble
the greater that risk and another worry
is after christmas
when people who are newly infected
return home
to other parts of the country and start
mixing with friends and family there
after the american holiday of
thanksgiving last month
with 4 million people traveling health
officials are watching for signs
of a new surge in infections british
scientists say
that their studies show keeping
gathering small will make a big
difference
it's easy to imagine a kind of terrible
scenario but actually when you start
modeling it
you can then start thinking about how
you would balance these
increase the increased risks somewhere
else
and how if um people who don't need to
form a christmas bubble
decide not to how that actually
improves the overall situation and if
you do get together
open the windows this animation shows
how fresh air
helps to disperse the virus no one can
be sure of the impact of the christmas
break
but there are ways to reduce the risks
david shukman bbc news