Covid: Honours for top UK medics and pub singers ‘out of pocket’on January 1, 2022 at 6:44 am

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday morning. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow.

The New Year Honours list has recognised some of the key officials who have been advising ministers in Whitehall and across the UK during the coronavirus pandemic. Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer and his deputy Prof Jonathan Van-Tam have been knighted, while Dr Jenny Harries of the UK Health Security Agency and Dr June Raine of medicines regulator the MHRA are made dames. The chief medical officers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also knighted.

The health secretary has said we must look to “live alongside” Covid as he insisted any further restrictions in England would be a “last resort”. Writing in Saturday’s Daily Mail, Sajid Javid said the government would do “everything in our power” to avert new curbs but accepted it was “inevitable” that the NHS would see a big increase in the number of people needing hospital treatment. On Friday UK daily Covid cases reached another record high of 189,846, although a leading statistician who advises the government said the number could be closer to 500,000. Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter said the UK was facing an “unprecedented wave of infection”.

Fireworks, light and drone displays have marked the arrival of the new year in London, despite many events being cancelled as the Omicron Covid variant continues to spread. Instead of people packing the banks and bridges of the River Thames to take in the show, a number of landmarks were used across the capital for a series of displays broadcast live on TV. In Scotland, restrictions meant Hogmanay events were cancelled. But the start of the New Year did see Big Ben’s bongs return for the first time in almost four years.

Restrictions on hospitality venues in Wales has left pub singers thousand of pounds out of pocket, according to the founder of the Porthcawl Elvis Festival. Peter Phillips told the BBC that New Year’s Eve is traditionally a big payday for the performers. But changes to the rules mean indoor events are limited to 30 seated individuals, which has led many venues to cancel their events. Singer Dave Riley from Porthcawl said he had lost over £2,500. The Welsh government says freelance performers can apply for money from its resilience fund or from local authorities.

A woman who made personal protective equipment for the NHS during the first coronavirus lockdown has been awarded a British Empire Medal. Lianne Al-Khaldi, 38, from Stafford, ended up working with a group of 35 women across the town sewing thousands of sets of scrubs and masks. Getting the New Year Honour was “quite overwhelming”, Mrs Al-Khaldi said. As well as sewing, they acted as a support group as many of the women involved were shielding due to ill-health or older age.

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While the NHS says people should still look out for the classic Covid symptoms of a new, continuous cough, a fever/high temperature and a loss or change of smell or taste, for some people the illness can feel “more like a bad cold”. Find out more about what constitutes Covid or a cold here.

You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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