UK

People forming “Christmas bubbles” are being told it is “vital” that they minimise contact with others from outside their household from today. In a message on his Twitter account, which included a link to government guidance around the easing of COVID-19 rules over the festive period, Boris Johnson said: “If you are forming a Christmas

Northern Ireland will enter a six-week lockdown on Boxing Day amid rising COVID-19 infections, Sky News understands. The new restrictions, due to come into force at 00.01am on 26 December, are expected to include the shutting of all non-essential shops as well the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants apart from takeaway services. It comes after

The health secretary will today outline which, if any, regions in England will change tiers before the relaxation of COVID rules over the festive period. Matt Hancock will also explain plans to extend mass community testing to Tier 2 areas with high rates of coronavirus. Currently, only Tier 3 areas are eligible for the localised

Boris Johnson has warned “a smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas” as he urged people to see festive bubbles of three households as “maximums” and not “targets to aim for”. The prime minister confirmed that Christmas COVID rules would not be changing in law, but he admitted that the “overall situation” is

For the first time UNICEF has launched a domestic emergency response in the UK to help feed children hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide has likened the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on youngsters to that of the Second World War. Since the

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove will speak with the devolved nations later this afternoon about next week’s relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas, Sky News understands. The call is expected to take place at around 5pm, it is believed. Sky News understands that potential alternative options that could emerge include: Keeping the rules as they

The number of drug deaths in Scotland has reached the worst level on record. Figures from the National Records of Scotland show that in 2019, 1,264 people died from drugs misuse – 77 more than in 2018, which is a 6% rise. It was the largest number ever recorded in Scotland, more than double that

London will move into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions imminently, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs from the capital. The move will see thousands of bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants close in the capital, except for takeaway, delivery and click and collect services. Under Tier 3 measures, people must not meet socially indoors,

Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to consider asking schools and colleges across London to close early and reopen later in January because of “significant” coronavirus outbreaks among 10 to 19-year-olds. In a letter to the prime minister, the mayor of London said “urgent consideration must… be given to closing secondary schools, sixth form

Another 18,447 coronavirus cases and 144 related deaths have been reported in the UK. Last Sunday, the figures were 17,272 cases and 231 deaths. Today’s deaths are made up of 138 in England, four in Northern Ireland and two in Scotland. All the latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world The official

Boris Johnson has been warned that a further relaxation of restrictions over Christmas could trigger another wave of coronavirus infections. NHS Providers, which represents health trusts in England, has told the prime minister in a letter to exercise “extreme caution” when making the decision to move any areas into a lower COVID-19 tier. The coronavirus

Police have issued an urgent appeal for information after a newborn baby was found dead in Somerset. The body of the baby boy was found by a member of the public in a private garden in Victoria Quadrant, in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Avon and Somerset Constabulary said they had been called at 8.50am

The first wave of Tier 3 areas in England to receive the government’s community testing have been announced. From Monday, a total of 67 local authorities can begin enhanced testing support programmes to drive down COVID-19 transmission rates. When combined with existing measures, the government hopes the testing initiative will lead to an easing of

Those who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus will have to self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14, starting from Monday. Those required to quarantine after returning from countries which are not on the travel corridor list will also see their isolation period reduced the same, in an approach

A three-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl have died following a fire at a house in Eynesbury, Cambridgeshire Police have said. The blaze broke out at a three-storey property in Buttercup Avenue at around 7am on Thursday. Both children were pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old woman was taken to hospital with life-changing injuries while

Mass testing will be rolled out for secondary school children in coronavirus hotspots across London, Essex and Kent, the health secretary has announced. Matt Hancock said he was “concerned” that the number of COVID-19 cases in those three areas was “rising and in many areas already high” and that “by far the fastest rise” is