Covid news - live: Omicron wave ‘compromising’ NHS care, leader warns as Wales eases restrictions
NHS Confederation chief executive warns UK is ‘far from out of the woods’
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Your support makes all the difference.The Welsh government is to set out a two-week plan to ease coronavirus restrictions brought in over the Christmas period to slow the spread of Omicron.
The move was announced on Thursday night and Mark Drakeford, the first minister, will set out further details at a press conference in Cardiff on Friday.
Wales has been on alert level 2 since Boxing Day, which includes measures such as mask-wearing in all public venues, the two-metre rule and the rule of six in hospitality settings. Nightclubs have also been forced to shut.
However, current data shows falling case numbers and a decline in the number of patients in critical care beds.
The move to alert level 0 is expected to be phased, with restrictions on outdoor activities being removed first.
Elsewhere, an NHS leader has warned that the Omicron wave in England has “compromised” NHS care.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, warned that, while there are positive signs in the data, the country is "far from out of the woods".
Italy lifts COVID entry ban on eight southern African states
Italy lifted on Friday an entry ban on people who had visited any of eight southern African states which it imposed in November as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 began to spread.
"Health Minister Roberto Speranza has signed a new order lifting the special restrictive measures for South Africa and neighbouring countries," a ministry spokesman said.
Omicron wave has caused shortages of paracetamol and ibuprofen
Shops have been suffering from shortages of paracetamol and ibuprofen during the Omicron wave, new data has revealed.
Paracetamol is the scarcest item on shop shelves, according to the Office for National Statistics, with low or no stocks at three in 10 stores as the new variant spread.
My colleague Laurie Churchman reports:
Omicron wave has caused shortages of paracetamol and ibuprofen
Toilet rolls also in short supply during Omicron wave, ONS data shows
Bhutan reports first cases of Omicron coronavirus variant
Bhutan has reported its first 14 cases of Omicron coronavirus variant, a health official said on Friday, amid a surge of the pandemic in the Himalayan kingdom that has so far been relatively successful at keeping the disease at bay.
Sonam Wangchuk, chief of the Royal Centre for Disease Control (RCDC), said all cases were samples collected from quarantine facilities where travellers from abroad stay.
"We have not detected any case of Omicron in the community yet," Wangchuk said.
The nation of about 750,000 people has vaccinated more than 93% of people aged over 12 with a second vaccine dose and provided booster shots to more than 98% of the priority group - frontline workers, people with medical conditions and elderly people, officials said.
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