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The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has risen by 53,285, with 613 more deaths on record.
The figures are lower than those announced on New Year’s Eve, when the UK recorded 55,892 new cases, the highest number on record, and 964 deaths were confirmed.
Total number of UK cases rises to 2,542,065 and the total number of deaths with 28 days of positive test to 74,125.
COVID-19 updates live from the UK and around the world
The Nightingale hospitals in England are being prepared for use, but the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that the expectation of a massive deployment of staff for the sites is “misplaced”.
Mike Adams, director of RCN in England, told Sky News: “If we have to cancel the license for staff in these areas, the obvious question is where will the staff come from to open the Nightingales?”
“I have real concerns that the expectation that this massive deployment of capacity could happen is misplaced because there are no staff to do it.”
Meanwhile, UK medical directors have warned that a vaccine shortage is likely to cause problems for “several months.”
More than a million people have received their first coronavirus vaccine in the UK.
However, a joint statement by England professor Chris Whitty and Scottish, Wales and Northern Ireland medical directors said the public would “understand” and “appreciate” a plan to deliver the first hits as a priority, delaying vaccination. of follow up. for others.
Roll-out of the newly approved Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine will begin on Monday, nearly a month after the launch of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, but second doses of either one will now take place within 12 weeks instead of the two. 21 days as initially planned.
The medical chiefs said: “Currently, the main barrier to this is the availability of vaccines, a global problem, and this will continue to be the case for several months and more importantly during the critical winter period.
“The vaccine shortage is a reality that cannot be ruled out.”
