Covid news — live: UK deaths pass 80,000 as anti-lockdown protesters arrested amid calls for stricter rules
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen past 80,000 as the total number of fatalities attributed to the virus increases by more than a thousand for the fourth day in a row. The government said a further 1,035 people had died within 28 days of a positive test as of Saturday, while 59,973 cases were confirmed.
However despite surging case numbers and widespread support for lockdown measures designed to stem their growth, officers in the capital were forced to break up an anti-lockdown protest as around 30 people marched down Clapham High Street on Saturday afternoon. The Metropolitan Police confirmed 12 people were arrested as the crowd was dispersed.
Meanwhile The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have received their coronavirus vaccinations at Windsor Castle today, joining more than one million people in the UK who have been given their jab so far. It is understood that Buckingham Palace decided to make the Queen’s vaccination public to prevent inaccuracies and speculation around when she would receive the jab.
And Susan Michie, who sits on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), has warned that the combination of the winter season and the faster-spreading variant meant tougher rules were necessary - telling the BBC that current measures are “too lax” and that the latest restrictions should be stricter than March’s lockdown.
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Bez gets lockdown fit
Happy Mondays star Bez is launching his own online fitness classes to rival those of Joe Wicks.
The maraca-shaking dancer, famed for his onstage antics as part of the Madchester-era band, hopes to lose his lockdown weight and help motivate others.
The 56-year-old, whose real name is Mark Berry, will be sharing videos on YouTube under the title Get Buzzin' With Bez. But unlike fitness coach Wicks, Bez will be following the orders of a personal trainer as well as visiting a psychologist, learning yoga and trying hypnotherapy.
He said: "I'd like to think I'm somewhere between Joe Wicks and Mr Motivator.
"I've started this new year seriously unfit, with a fat belly and creaky hips, and I can't stop eating chocolate.
"Last lockdown I got unfit, fat, lazy and into some seriously bad eating habits.
"This year, this lockdown, I need to sort it out sharpish."
California experiencing a ‘mass fatality event’ as the state buckles under Covid
Meanwhile in the US California health authorities on Saturday reported a record high of 695 coronavirus deaths as the Los Angeles coroner’s office said it was being forced to use temporary storage units for corpses.
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California experiencing a ‘mass fatality event’ as the state buckles under Covid
A surge of cases following Halloween and Thanksgiving means now the most seriously ill of those patients are dying in unprecedented numbers
Police arrest more than a dozen protesters at anti-lockdown march in London
Sixteen protestors have been arrested after attending an anti-lockdown march in south-west London in defiance of legislation designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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Police arrest more than a dozen protesters at anti-lockdown march in London
Rally comes a day after major incident declared by city’s mayor
Priti Patel defends police crackdown on Covid rule-breakers
The Home Secretary has defended the “need for strong enforcement”of Covid rules by the police after criticism that even minor breaches were being met with the full force of the law.
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Priti Patel defends police crackdown on Covid rule-breakers
Home Secretary’s hardline stance comes as force pledges to reconsider fine for pair found walking 10 minutes from their hometown
16 arrests at anti-lockdown protest
Sixteen people have been arrested for breaching Covid-19 restrictions during an anti-lockdown protest in south-west London, the Metropolitan Police said.
A crowd of about 30 people marched down Clapham High Street on Saturday afternoon chanting "take your freedom back" while being heckled by members of the public.
The Met said 16 people were arrested for suspected breaches of coronavirus regulations and taken into custody. Officers also issued 22 fixed penalty notices following the event.
Pope to be vaccinated next week
Pope Francis has urged everyone to get a coronavirus vaccinated as he revealed he expects to get the jab next week.
"I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine," the pontiff said in an interview with TV station Canale 5. "It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others."
Vatican City, the smallest independent county in the world, has said it will shortly launch its own vaccination campaign for its 450 residents.
"Next week," the Pope said, "we will start doing it here, in the Vatican, and I have booked myself in. It must be done."
Pope Francis, 84, had part of one lung removed during an illness when he was a young man in his native Argentina, making him potentially vulnerable to the disease.
Record daily death toll in California
Health authorities in California have reported a record high of 695 coronavirus deaths, bringing the state death toll to 29,233.
A surge of cases following Halloween and Thanksgiving produced an increase in hospitalisations, and many hospitals in Los Angeles and other hard-hit areas have warned they may need to ration care due to a shortage of intensive care beds.
Lockdown rules need to be tougher, warn scientists
Government scientific advisors have urged Boris Johnson to strengthen lockdown measures to stop the new strain of coronavirus spreading across the UK.
Professor Robert West, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPIGB) warned that current restrictions were “still allowing a lot of activity which is spreading the virus”.
Lockdown rules are too lax, government scientific advisors warn
Boris Johnson urged to strengthen lockdown measures
The people who started antidepressants during lockdown
The pandemic has seen record numbers of people accessing support for mental help. Joanna Whitehead speaks to three people who have started taking medication to cope
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The people who started antidepressants during lockdown
The pandemic has seen record numbers of people accessing support for mental help. Joanna Whitehead speaks to three people who have started taking medication to cope
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