UK coronavirus LIVE: Oxford vaccine ‘should work on new Covid strain’ as variant spreads across world

The London Ambulance Service said Boxing Day had been one of the “busiest” days.

“Like NHS organizations across the country, the demand for our services has increased dramatically in recent weeks and we are now handling up to 8,000 999 calls a day compared to 5,500 on a typical ‘busy’ day.

“This year’s Boxing Day was one of our busiest days,” said a statement.

Vaccines against the coronavirus in England continued on Christmas Day and over the weekend, NHS England has confirmed.

Hospitals have seen “a real increase in pressure” in Level 4 areas, including London and the South, in recent days, said NHS Providers Deputy Executive Director Saffron Cordery.

Speaking on the BBC, he said: “We are seeing a real increase in pressure for hospital services, but also other types of NHS services… Ambulance trusts in particular are under extreme pressure, as are community and health services. mental health …

“Part of the problem is that many more people enter the door with Covid, but also people who enter the door with other conditions as well.”

She added: “We are seeing real pressure, particularly in London and the South, and that comes from this additional demand, but also from a lack of staff.

“It’s localized right now, but we could see that that’s growing, and I think it’s very important to remember that what’s happening in the community is happening in healthcare settings as well.”

Ms Cordery said that the spread of the coronavirus between communities “has a huge impact” on staffing levels across the NHS.

Europe launched a massive Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday with retirees and doctors lining up to receive the first vaccines to stop a pandemic that has paralyzed economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives worldwide. .

“Thank God,” said Araceli Hidalgo, 96, as she became the first person in Spain to receive a vaccine at her nursing home in Guadalajara, near the capital, Madrid.

“Let’s see if we can make this virus go away.”

In Italy, the first country in Europe to register a significant number of infections, 29-year-old nurse Claudia Alivernini was one of three medical staff to lead the injection queue developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

“It is the beginning of the end … it was an exciting historical moment,” he said at the Spallanzani hospital in Rome.

The region of 450 million people is trying to catch up with the United States and Britain, which have already started vaccinating with the Pfizer injection.

Here are the latest Covid-19 case rates for each local authority area in England.

The figures, for the seven days to December 23, are based on tests conducted in laboratories (pillar one of the government’s testing program) and in the community at large (pillar two).

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days (December 24-27) have been excluded because they are incomplete and do not reflect the actual number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 282 (90%) have seen an increase in case rates and 33 (10%) have seen a drop.

Brentwood in Essex has the highest rate in England, with 1,111 new cases registered in the seven days to December 23, the equivalent of 1,442.5 cases per 100,000 people.

This has risen sharply from 886.8 in the seven days to December 16.

Epping Forest, also in Essex, has the second highest rate, from 971.2 to 1,388.1, with 1,828 new cases.

Thurrock, back in Essex, ranks third, where the rate has gone from 1,066.9 to 1,330.7, with 2,320 new cases.

Italy added another 305 victims to its official death toll from coronavirus on the same day it joined the rest of the European Union to launch a mass vaccination campaign.

Another 8,913 people tested positive Sunday, far fewer than in recent days. But with the Christmas holiday weekend, far fewer tests were done.

Italy leads Europe in the official death toll from COVID-19 with 71,925 victims, although authorities say the actual number is much higher due to early undetected infections and testing limitations.

Italy began on Sunday administering the first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to healthcare workers who have been on the front lines of the pandemic since Italy in late February became the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe.

Professor Nirmal Kumar, an otolaryngologist (otolaryngologist) surgeon, said that this “very strange and very unique” long-term symptom, known as parosmia, appears to be affecting young people and healthcare workers in particular.

Officers were called to vacant flats in the Shudehill area of ​​the city around 4:20 a.m. Sunday after reports of a large gathering and loud music.

Greater Manchester police patrols attended an address on Hanover Street and dispersed about 100 people, seizing music equipment.

The two adolescent boys, ages 17 and 18, each received the four-digit fixed penalty notice.

A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order crime and remains in detention.

He was also given a £ 200 notice.

Chief Inspector Colin MacDiarmid of the force’s City of Manchester division said: “The blatant violation of Covid legislation that took place here last night cannot be denied, and investigations are underway to ensure that the organizers of this meeting are responsible for their unacceptable behavior.

“Most of the people in Manchester have made tremendously difficult sacrifices during the Christmas period and have followed the rules that we all must follow; however, it is the minority of people who attend events like this that run the risk of undoing the hard work of everyone else. “

Independent Sage member Dr. Zubadida Haque said the scientific advisory group was “very concerned” about an increase in the number of deaths from coronavirus and the number of patients hospitalized with the virus.