Today my daughter held her clinic and of the nine patients she treated three had family members that had confirmed omicron results. Each of those she saw had negative tests before their appointments and all nine were fully vaccinated. Earlier the hospital supplied staff with LFT kits that they are to use twice a week, but for some unknown reasons they now have to apply to the government website as individuals for them. As soon as the government runs out, the staff are not supposed to go into work without testing, throwing more stress on them as if they needed a bit more.
Not sure that you can, but do know that the granddaughters have been sent to the lab to get PCR tests when a LFT in school has shown up as a positive. The local lab and the pharmacy at the supermarket both have facilities to test people, and there is a regular queue at both of them. It seems a bit more controlled, and the messages from government don't seem to be so confusing.
Research from Germany suggests that the Omicron variant has been present for longer than the official statistics suggest. Strains of this variant were found in analysis of the waste water in Munich on the 7th of December. This suggests that at the beginning of this month the variant was much more active than had previously been supposed. On the 13th of December the RKI (Robert Koch Institut) measured the Omicron variant as being 0.6% of the registered infected whereas the waste water samples from that date measured 3% - suggesting that the real figures are much higher than the official statistics in this respect. Of course both statistics would be much higher now. It appears that most of those infected with Omicron (and Delta) secrete gene material with their faeces. This allows for mass testing of whole areas in contrast to performing thousands of individual tests.
Although the report is correct it should say third country citizens rather than British. It is causing real problems for some who have residency in Holland, Belgium, or further afield as they cannot use the quickest and cheapest routes to get home. It makes it clear that having control of your border has always been possible within the EU.
My quickest route would be through France as well Frenchie. The easiest route for me would be the train from Cologne to Brussels and then the Eurostar from there to St Pancras (which stops at Lille), but I guess this only applies to travellers by road. I can't for the life of me think why a British citizen living in Belgium or the Netherlands would need a car for this journey.
It would seem that Eurostar is not affected so you would be ok. Many people however do use the shuttle in the same way that I use the ferry. I go to Dieppe that is a five hour drive, whereas to go up to the tunnel is about seven - eight hours. Using the tunnel for Holland or Belgium means just a short drive when they arrive in France. Cost comes into this as well as time. Much cheaper for me to use the ferry, although flying can be cheaper still.
Get tested before you go out in England to a NYE party has been the advice from government, and now this has come out. The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has warned MPs he may need to “constrain” the Covid testing system over the next fortnight, as demand for lateral flow kits surges. Ministers have repeatedly encouraged members of the public to test themselves using a lateral flow device (LFD) before attending gatherings or meeting vulnerable relatives. However, test kits have repeatedly been unavailable online in recent days, and many pharmacies have complained of being unable to secure them. Yet there is this. Our company have millions of LFTs available in the UK. All PHE and DHSC approved for self testing. Ultra competitive prices. We can start deliveries this week. Trying to engage again with the Government but it is proving more challenging than it should. This sounds like a repeat of the scam over PPE when UK suppliers who didn't know a cabinet minister were given the cold shoulder.
For me using the Eurostar is quicker than flying Frenchie. From central Cologne to central London (St Pancras) with a short stop in Brussels - it takes about 4 and a half hours and I arrive centrally as opposed to Heathrow, Gatwick or Stanstead, so no transfer times to be considered. Also there isn't the same amount of check in time required.
Little old Wales coming to the rescue again by lending England a further 4M covid tests, making a total of 10M now. Mark Drakeford said, "Wales has a significant stock of lateral flow tests, sufficient to meet our needs over the weeks ahead."
Looks like BoJo has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code for a second time, for the same offence, and by the same guy - Lord Geidt - who he appointed himself t̶o̶ ̶c̶l̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ to investigate. With the Tories seemingly having a Monopoly on political corruption, you might be tempted to say that he has been handed a 'Geidt out of jail free card'... https://www.nationalworld.com/news/...ision-has-he-made-about-boris-johnson-3511350
Sometimes you read something and you despair about what is going on with some people. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-covid-advisers-enduring-tidal-waves-of-abuse
Just what this government wanted: they interfered behind the scenes and now the public backlash is against the scientists.
Yes, very concerning. It is without doubt underplayed in terms of its seriousness, and the government’s priorities very questionable.
And there are far too many members of the public comparing the symptoms to those of a cold, and dismissing it as no worse than one. Those hospitalisation figures, which seem to be ignored by the media, say otherwise - I've never heard of anyone being admitted to hospital because they have a cold.
