Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary for England, has responded to calls to tackle the school staffing crisis by asking former teachers to sign up with supply agencies.

In recent weeks school leaders have complained of difficulties finding cover for absent or sick teachers, with supply teachers hard to find because many themselves have been hit by Covid or are working for the government’s national tutoring programme.

In an end-of-term letter to head teachers, Zahawi confirmed that the Department for Education was “looking at what steps and measures we can put in place to boost supply capacity”. He continued:

We will work with sector leaders and supply agencies over the coming days to offer advice to ex-teachers who want to provide support to schools and colleges. We will help them to register with supply agencies as the best way to boost the temporary workforce available to the sector.

Senior DfE officials have already begun to discuss this with key stakeholders. From now, you can support this effort by using your own professional and personal networks to encourage others to sign up to offer temporary help.

Labour was quick to deride Zahawi’s downbeat announcement as “a sticking plaster” over a much larger problem.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he welcomed anything that might help overcome the staff shortages, but added:

This is all coming very late in the day for a situation which is already critical and has been so for some time, and the initiative will need to be well publicised, promoted and supported in order to have any degree of success.

It is also important to emphasise that even then it is very unlikely to be enough to solve a problem at such a scale as this.

Unions are calling for immediate support for workers in the hospitality and entertainment industries amid warnings of a jobs “crisis”, PA Media reports.

The Omicron variant has caused a growing number of theatres and live events to cancel performances, alongside reports of a downturn in bookings, with pubs and restaurants facing similar problems.

Sharon Graham, leader of the Unite union, said:

The government must bring forward a package of support for hospitality workers today. The uncertainty the prime minister is causing is devastating – workers don’t know if they will even have a job to go to next week. This is an appalling position to put people in. Hospitality workers did not cause this crisis and they should not be the ones who pay for it. They still have rent to find and bills to pay but are seeing their incomes disappear before their eyes. They need help now.

Bectu, the theatre workers union, has written to the chancellor, urging him to provide urgent support for the industry to prevent a “jobs crisis”.

Head of Bectu, Philippa Childs, said:

We now face a New Year theatre crisis with a lack of leadership from government, a rising wave of Omicron cases and an anxious public. This started as a public health crisis but it could quickly become a jobs crisis as well. With the recent tightening of Covid restrictions, there has been little commentary on the significant impact these will have on self-employed workers working in theatres and live events. Bectu is concerned that self-employed workers again appear to be at the back of the queue when it comes to planning for any further financial disruption to our everyday lives. We need to give business stability and the support for the creative industries to be open and trading safely, but we must also contemplate what happens if the government imposes restrictions that actually or effectively closes them.

Transport Salaried Staffs Association general secretary, Manuel Cortes, said:

The government must bring back furlough to protect jobs at Eurostar and elsewhere as we suffer the effects of Omicron. Measures to tackle the virus, such as travel restrictions, must come with financial support for businesses, including our travel trade, to prevent thousands of job losses. Eurostar has already suffered from plummeting passenger numbers since the start of the pandemic, but as our only green link to Europe it must be a strategic priority for government to sustain the route. The government has refused to provide anything other than furlough support since the beginning of the pandemic.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said:

Eurostar has taken an absolute hammering financially since the pandemic hit. We are calling on the government to recognise the importance of Eurostar to the future of UK transport infrastructure and to meet in tripartite talks with ministers, the company and the unions to ensure a safety net is in place to prevent any risk of the operation tipping over. With the loss of revenues over Christmas and into the New Year, the situation at Eurostar is deadly serious and the government cannot be allowed to just wash their hands and walk away.

Thousands of hospitality firms across the UK could go bust by January because of a “fear campaign” and a lack of financial support following the surge in the Omicron variant, the boss of a leading pub chain has warned.

Young’s chief executive, Patrick Dardis, said a surge in cancellations for Christmas bookings would be dire for the hospitality sector, which relies heavily on the holiday season for its earnings.

He said the mixed messaging from government about risks and restrictions was leaving patrons “terribly confused” about whether to keep their bookings at a time when restaurants and pubs were already “hanging on by their fingernails”.

While the prime minister, Boris Johnson, struck an upbeat note about the rollout of the booster programme, England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, sent a clear message on Wednesday that people should cut back on socialising in the runup to Christmas, despite a lack of formal restrictions on group gatherings.

“Unfortunately, with the latest fear campaign that’s being run, it’s damaging so many businesses that could have possibly survived, and as a consequence, thousands and thousands of businesses will now collapse in January”, Dardis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“There are a lot of individual owner-operators who’ve been running their businesses for years and have thrown the kitchen sink – people have lost their marriages, they’re losing their livelihoods, and this is the last straw. This is the bit that they were desperately clinging on to and it’s been taken away from them without any support from government,” he added.

More on this story here: Thousands may go bust amid UK Omicron ‘fear campaign’, says pubs boss

The rising wave of Omicron infections could lead to daily hospitalisations from Covid exceeding the peak of last winter when more than 4,500 people in the UK were admitted on a single day, England’s chief medical officer has said.

The staggering speed at which Omicron is spreading means large numbers of vulnerable people may need hospital care over a very short space of time, Prof Chris Whitty told MPs on Thursday, with daily admissions potentially peaking above that seen last winter at the start of the vaccine programme.

The highest number of Covid hospitalisations in a day in the UK was 4,583 on 12 January, when the Alpha variant – first spotted in Kent – was dominant. Omicron is now the dominant variant in London and is expected to become the most common in England within days or weeks.

“Even if it is milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day. That is entirely possible,” Whitty told the health and social care committee. “The whole point about this is it’s going to be really concentrated in a very short period of time, very possibly.”

More on this story here: Omicron could lead to record daily Covid hospitalisations, MPs told

Here is my colleague Amelia Hill’s story on what is understood to have been a precautionary decision taken by the Queen to cancel her pre-Christmas family lunch at Windsor.

She was expected to host 50 or so members of her extended family, including Prince Charles and Camilla. But on Thursday, the Queen agreed that it would be irresponsible to go ahead, with a source suggesting the party could put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk.

Here is a summary of some of the main points from this afternoon’s lobby briefing with No 10:

• Downing Street denied the government was sending out mixed messages on social contacts following the emergence of the Omicron variant. On Wednesday, the chief medical officer for England, Prof Chris Whitty, urged people to cut back on social contacts to help curb the spread of the disease whereas Boris Johnson had previously said people did not need to cancel Christmas parties. The prime minister’s official spokesman said:

Both the prime minister and the CMO were making the point that given the current infection rate, the prevalence of this variant, people should be cautious and think carefully before mixing with others. The prime minister was clear that this is a personal choice and people should do what is right for them.

• Family visits over Christmas will be down to “individual circumstances and judgment”, No 10 said.
  The spokesman said:

I think the public recognise that those deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable are most at risk and they would want to do everything possible, using the guidance we’ve put out available and the mitigation such as testing and vaccinations, to protect their loved ones at a time of high prevalence. But it will be down to individuals to decide what is right for them.

• No 10 said the government was not seeking to cancel things on the public’s behalf. The spokesman said:

Hospitality remains open, businesses remain open to trade. We recognise that the prevalence of this variant and the high transmissibility is leading to further challenges for the hospitality sector in particular, and that’s why we want to hear their concerns and that’s something the chancellor and chief secretary will be doing today.

• The government is not telling football fans not to go to matches, Downing Street has said. Following comments from the medical director for primary care at NHS England, Dr Nikki Kanani, that if anyone was visiting a football stadium this weekend it should be to get a jab at a pop-up clinic, the spokesman said there was “no guidance or restrictions in place”. He said:

Like Professor Whitty and the prime minister, she’s not being prescriptive. We understand it’s a personal choice for the public. And there’s no restrictions on those sorts of events, obviously, apart from the use of the Covid pass which provides a level of reassurance and protection.

Asked whether the government was telling fans not to attend matches, the spokesman said: “That is not our advice.”

• Downing Street said the capacity for posting out lateral flow tests was increasing. The spokesman said 649,000 orders for tests were received on Wednesday. But he said reports that distribution could be restricted to one pharmacy per town was not something he recognised.

• No 10 insisted there were enough PCR tests available for those who needed them. The spokesman said:

There is sufficient PCR capacity for those with symptoms, 150,910 PCR test kits were dispatched yesterday, over half a million processed the day before on Tuesday. I believe our PCR testing capability is among the highest in the world and we are indeed going further, increasing booking slots at physical test sites by more than 100,000 and we’ve secured an increase in PCR testing capacity of a further 200,000 a day and are going beyond that procuring additional lab capacity.

He said turnaround times of PCR test results were also improving.

Given the massive upsurge in testing, which is to be welcomed, we know that will be a challenge for our laboratories. And I think the public will understand that, but we are further ramping up capacity to help mitigate that and we urge everyone to come and get a PCR test as required, as needed, because we do have sufficient capacity.

• No 10 was asked why the government was not putting out stronger messaging to protect the NHS, amid fears of staff shortages. The spokesman said:

I think we are taking steps to that end through the introduction of plan B and massively increasing our booster programme. As we said when we announced we were bringing forward the target, this is because we know that without this sort of action the pressure on the NHS can become unsustainable. Obviously, the NHS has well-established measures in place to cope with staff sickness and absence, including via the use of staff banks, digital staff passports – which allow them to move between hospitals more easily – and we already have existing prevention and control measures in place and PPE for example. We will continue to make sure our NHS has what it needs in the coming weeks and months.

• Downing Street signalled there were no plans to ban French travellers from the UK after restrictions were imposed by Paris. The spokesman said the UK had been made aware of the announcement in advance, and the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, had spoken to his French counterpart. When asked if there were any plans for measures at UK borders, the spokesman said:

I mean we think, given the rising Omicron cases around the world, a red list and sort of tighter border measures wouldn’t be effective or proportionate in slowing the import of Omicron from abroad.

• Downing Street dismissed a claim by Tory MP Joy Morrissey that Prof Chris Whitty is acting as if Britain is a “public health socialist state”. [see 9.57am.]. Asked if Boris Johnson agreed with her comment, the spokesman said:

No. Professor Whitty is a hugely respected and trusted public servant who provides independent, evidence-based advice. I think he himself has been clear that he provides advice and it is right for ministers and elected politicians to decide. He has been a hugely trusted and valued part of our pandemic response and continues to be so.

• Downing Street said Rishi Sunak’s visit to California was a “long-planned trip”. The spokesman was asked why the chancellor’s trip was not on the list of government engagements for the week, and he said:

I don’t know, I’d have to refer to [the] Treasury on that for when it was finalised, but I believe my understanding is a long-planned, long-standing trip.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “The chancellor is in the US on a long-planned trip conducting government business. He is in constant contact with staff back home and will be speaking to UK hospitality businesses today to hear their concerns.”

• Downing Street said it was likely the prime minister’s audiences with the Queen would move to being virtual. Asked whether Boris Johnson would continue to meet the Queen in person, the spokesman said:

That will be a matter for the royal family. I’m not aware of them not being… I think they will probably be moved virtually but that’ll be a matter for the palace.

Away from Covid for a moment, Boris and Carrie Johnson, have named their baby daughter Romy.

Speaking at a vaccination centre in Kent, the prime minister revealed the name. And posting on Instagram, Carrie announced the pair’s second child’s full name as Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson.

She said Romy was picked after her aunt Rosemary, Iris for the Greek word for rainbow, and Charlotte after the prime minister’s late mother.

The couple announced the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital on 9 December.

The return to school for pupils in Wales will be delayed by at least two days to give teachers time to plan for the possibility of a move back to remote learning.

Schools will be asked to use the time to look at whether they will need to bring in further Covid mitigation measures to deal with the Omicron surge and contingency plans to make sure pupils taking exams are prioritised. Heads will also be allowed to operate staggered start and finish times.

The health minister, Jeremy Miles, said:

I am providing all schools with two planning days at the start of the spring term. This will allow time for schools to assess staffing capacity and put the necessary measures in place to support the return of all learners.

Schools will be asked to make use of the planning days to ensure they have robust plans in place to move to remote learning if required – this could be for individual classes/year groups or possibly for the whole school.

Schools will be asked also to use this opportunity to revisit contingency plans, ensuring exam years are prioritised for onsite provision should there be a need to restrict in-person learning at any time and consider what arrangements might need to be in place for vulnerable learners and the children of critical workers during any periods of disruption.

Greg Clark asks whether we are now in a phase of giving broad advice rather than imposing restrictions, and if this is the right way to be thinking about Covid now.

Whitty says it’s where we are now, but if we were in a situation where, for example, it looked as if the boosters were not going to be as effective against the disease and transmission, then ministers would clearly need to consider what else needs to be done.

The further you go up the ladder of intervention the more damage you’re going to do in other areas, he says, so it needs to be balanced.

Clark also asks what would trigger a scenario where we can de-escalate the advice being given.

Whitty says there are multiple exit points and they depend on what happens next.

It could be that with vaccinations and boosters and a milder variant, we could de-escalate quite quickly, he says.

An alternative scenario could be a very sharp wave that decreases quite quickly. Another exit, albeit a longer one, would be an Omicron-specific vaccine, he says.

However, again he says, there are so many unknowns at the moment.

Back to the committee, on the link between case numbers and hospitalisations, Whitty says medics don’t yet know how many Omicron hospitalisations there will be.

But we can say the new variant is not more dangerous than Delta, he says.

In comparison to the last big wave, the hospitalisation rate prior to the vaccination programme was 22% with Delta, he says.

After two doses of the Covid vaccine, that dropped to just 6%, he says.

There isn’t evidence that Omicron is intrinsically milder, he says, and it is very critical to wait for more data before predicting what will happen.

He says medics are taking the new variant extremely seriously as the NHS will be impacted by a shortage of staff as more people isolate with Covid.

Whitty is asked how we deal with the 5-10% of the population who are unvaccinated.

He says although those who aren’t vaccinated are very noisy the numbers are also small.

He says that due to weird conspiracy theories and all sorts there are people who won’t get vaccinated.

Unless these people work in places with lots of vulnerable people, the view is fine, he says, and this has to be accepted.

However, he says of the percentage of unvaccinated people, some simply haven’t got round to getting their jabs, rather than being anti-vaxx.

There are four things people want to know, Whitty says:

1. The disease is a big enough threat
2. The vaccines actually work
3. The side effects are proportionate to the benefits the vaccines are giving them
4. It is convenient to get vaccinated

We have to make sure people’s fears are politely and scientifically addressed, and making it as convenient for people as possible, he says.

Whitty is asked how the combination of restrictions is decided.

He says the first layer in deciding measures is looking at things that have no downsides to the British public, such as wearing face masks, washing hands and opening windows.

Do all of them because they protect you from different elements of risk, he says.

Then he says ministers decide whether to enforce things that have more impact – socially and economically – such as advising working from home.

And then you go up a ladder of intervention, and each step further makes more of an impact, he says.

Back at the committee, Whitty says he strongly believes that we should be maximising the number of vaccines in lower to middle-income countries.

It’s a humanitarian need and is a matter of self-interest as well, he says, adding there is absolutely nothing to be lost and everything to be gained.

He says in Africa and resource-poor parts of Asia, there are good vaccination systems for vaccinating children under five, but there is not a good system in place for vaccinating older adults who need it more.

It’s not just a product problem, it’s a system problem, he says.

Back to the committee. Whitty says data from South Africa and the UK suggest it’s too early to be sure but for now we can stick to the view that Omicron is much milder in children than in older adults.

Whitty says scientists and the government are trying to navigate how to keep people from spending Christmas alone while curbing the spread of Omicron.

On staff shortages in social care affecting the Covid crisis, Whitty says there is a serious issue with recruitment in social care, which is longstanding over many years.

He says there have been several attempts to look seriously at what can be done to improve the situation, but that he isn’t the right person to answer how it can be done.

Whitty is asked about how mistakes made earlier in the pandemic can be avoided this time around.

He says there were several mistakes made, including not being fast enough on cutting down on people working between care settings, and not spotting the effects of people not having adequate sick pay quickly enough.

Those mistakes haven’t been repeated this time round, he says.

The most difficult decision with Omicron is balancing the needs of family being able to see those in care, with reducing the risk of spread over Christmas.

We’re trying to navigate a route between those two, he says.

Hunt asks if Whitty has advised the government to do more to reduce the spread of Omicron, that is another lockdown.

Whitty says the only formal advice is what comes from Sage.

To make tough social and economic decisions, there is a lot of information we don’t yet have, he says, and there is a wide range of possibilities where this will go.

Ministers will take constant reviews of restrictions if vaccines prove less effective than expected, he says.

Because of the steepness of this, a lot of people will simultaneously fall ill across the whole economy, which we will need to take quite seriously, he says.

Whitty says he is extremely cautious about hospitalisation projections.

We don’t yet know the level Omicron will peak at, nor do we know the effects, in terms of hospitalisation, of two doses of vaccine, or prior infection, and of a booster dose, he says.

Hunt asks about the previous peak in hospital admissions of 4,583.

Whitty says that even if Omicron is milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day.

However, two caveats are how long people stay in hospital and that being vaccinated will provide some protection, he says.

The doubling rate will slow down as people continue to take more precautions, including prioritising social interactions that matter most to them and working from home, Whitty says.

This will buy us time to get boosting and slow it down, he adds.

He estimates that Omicron will peak incredibly fast and it could come down faster than previous peaks, he says.

I’m trying to avoid making people’s choices for them, but people should prioritise the things that matter to them and cut down on the things that don’t, Whitty adds.

Anybody who has something that really matters to them, concentrate on that one, rather than accepting every invitation, Whitty says.

That also applies to work – work from home if you can, he adds.

Prioritise the things that really matter to you, he reiterates.

But if you wish to not end up self-isolating or unwell at a time you really don’t want to be, you really want to be doing fewer other things, he adds.

The committee chair, Jeremy Hunt, asks what prioritising social interactions over Christmas means in practical terms.

This is moving very fast, it’s highly transmissible and rates are going up, Whitty says.

People have plans that are most important to them at this time of year, and that means it’s sensible to cut down on work or social interactions that are less important to them, so this is a period to prioritise, he says.

Housebound elderly people are having to wait weeks