Covid news live: England moves to ‘plan B’; three Pfizer shots can ‘neutralise’ Omicron, lab tests show

Hello I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be taking you through all the Covid developments this Thursday.

We start with the news that England will be implementing a raft of plan B measures to combat a surge in Covid cases in the lead-up to Christmas.

British prime minister Boris Johnson made the announcement at a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday night amid fears of an exponential rise in the Omicron variant. Johnson said people must work from home where possible from Monday and that face masks would be a legal requirement in most public indoor areas such as theatres and cinemas from Friday, with exemptions for eating and drinking in hospitality venues.

The move comes as government experts warned Omicron infections could rise to 1m by the end of the month with up to 2,000 hospital admissions a day.

In more promising news, three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are likely to protect against infection from the Omicron variant but two doses may not, according to laboratory data.

Tests using antibodies in blood samples have given some of the first insights into how far Omicron escapes immunity, showing a stark drop-off in the predicted protection against infection or any type of disease for people who have had two doses. The findings suggest that, for Omicron, Pfizer/BioNTech should now be viewed as a “three-dose vaccine”.

Here’s a snapshot of the latest coronavirus stories from around the world:

• The WHO said early data indicates the Omicron Covid variant may more easily reinfect people who have already had the virus or been vaccinated than previous variants, but could also cause milder disease.
• In the UK, Boris Johnson rushed forward new Covid restrictions amid fears of an exponential rise in the Omicron variant. “It’s now the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan B.” From Monday people must work from home.
• Omicron cases in the UK could exceed 1 million by the end of this month on the current trajectory, Sajid Javid has told MPs.
• Denmark will again impose restrictions aimed at curbing the rapid spread of Covid including the new Omicron variant, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday.
• France has reported 93,071 coronavirus deaths in hospital, up by 129. It reported that 2,426 people were in intensive care units for Covid, up by 75 on the previous day’s figures.
• Slovakia will on Friday reopen non-essential shops and some services for those vaccinated against Covid-19 while at the same time extending a lockdown for others and closing some schools, health minister Vladimir Lengvarsky said.
• South Africa has approved Pfizer’s coronavirus booster shots for over-18s, as the Omicron variant dominates rising new infections.The South African Health Products Authority said in a statement that it was authorising a third vaccine dose “in individuals aged 18 years and older, to be administered at least six months after the second dose”.
• Italy has reported 17,959 Coronavirus cases, up from 15,756 on Tuesday.Elsewhere, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia continue to see an increase in cases, while Ecuador, Chile and Argentina saw a drop.
• UK figures show 51,342 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported on 8 December 2021.Between 2 and 8 December, 339,861 people had a confirmed positive test result, an increase of 11.3% compared to the previous week.
• BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their Covid-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test and they could deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022 if needed.