Covid UK News – Live: Latest updates as Pfizer vaccine could be approved by “early December”

A Staffordshire hospital has declared a ‘major incident’ following a sharp rise in the number of critical coronavirus patients on ventilators.

Royal Stoke University Hospital raised the alert level of its intensive units from three to four, as 38 patients were on ventilators as of Friday evening, leaving only seven ventilators available.

Our journalist, Alessio Perrone, has the full story below:

Three people have been arrested for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions at King’s Cross station in London, Metropolitan Police said.

The arrests preceded a demonstration scheduled for Saturday by the Save Our Rights UK group.

Police urged people not to attend protests in central London over the weekend due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown this month.

The Met said a protest was not an authorized exemption from the ban on gatherings under England’s regulations and that those who attended would risk enforcement action by officers.

Labor’s shadow health secretary called on the government to produce a mass public health campaign calling for the adoption of the coronavirus vaccine, when approved by regulators, following the appointment of a minister responsible for deployment

Commenting on the decision to appoint Nadhim Zahawi as Minister of Vaccine Deployment, Jonathan Ashworth said: “Just days ago Labor called in a Minister of Vaccines to oversee the enormous logistical challenge of widespread immunization.

“We now need a mass public health campaign to encourage uptake of the vaccine, while ensuring that the resources are in place for GPs and other healthcare professionals to deploy it quickly as soon as possible. . “

Boris Johnson has appointed Nadhim Zahawi as Minister of Health responsible for the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine, Downing Street has announced.

As a number of reporters have noted, Mr Zahawi earlier this week criticized the government’s decision to place his constituency of Stratford-on-Avon under level 3 restrictions.

Leading rail operator Avanti West Coast has announced that the last two weeks of December will be considered ‘off-peak’ travel times, cutting costs for some or more users by half.

From December 18 until New Year’s Day, the intercity operator will remove peak fares in an attempt to give customers “greater flexibility” and help maintain social distancing on trains.

Our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, has the full story below:

With families due to reunite for Christmas next month, experts have started sharing their suggestions for reducing the risk of the coronavirus spreading during the holidays.

Scientists advising the government have laid out a number of general tips to consider when mixing households for any type of family, religious or cultural celebration.

The basic recommendations from the Environmental and Modeling Group (EMG) and the Pandemic Influenza Behavioral Scientific Group (SPI-B), dated November 26, can be found below:

– Host an online gathering, postpone the event to a later date, or go for an outdoor meeting (like a walk)

– Limit time spent together as much as possible, children meeting vulnerable older parents outside

– Avoid overnight visits, but if this is not possible, limit people from different households sharing rooms

– Limit the number of people who meet and choose the largest possible space

– Open the windows to improve ventilation inside

– Ditch board games with shared objects in favor of a quiz

– No festive singing or dancing as both have been linked to higher risk of transmission and higher outbreaks

– Make sure tissues, wipes and disinfectant are easily accessible

– Greet people with bumps in the elbow rather than hugs to avoid face to face contact