COVID news live: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out more restrictions before Christmas, as Omicron spreads at rate 'never seen before' – Sky News

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Coronavirus latest as Boris Johnson refuses to rule out more restrictions before Christmas; all adults in England will be offered booster vaccines this month; Manchester United match in doubt after positive COVID tests.
We’ll be back with all the latest tomorrow from 6am.
But before you go, here are Monday’s biggest stories:
Boris Johnson has provided an update after thousands flocked to COVID vaccination sites across England today.
Aside from walk-ins, the PM says half a million boosters were booked online in 24 hours.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised Americans against travel to Italy, Greenland and Mauritius.
Monday’s update is due to concerns over the coronavirus. 
The CDC now lists 84 destinations at “Level 4: Very High” classification, including nearly all of Europe. 
The latest comes after the US imposed new rules requiring international arrivals to obtain a negative COVID test within one day of travel.
Hundreds of people have waited in hours-long queues to get their booster jabs on Monday after Boris Johnson lowered the age limit once again.
Martha Hampson, of south London, claims in her line for the jab, 100 people voted to “let a woman with a tiny baby at the back zoom to the front”.
She added that a policeman from the queue pushed the woman’s buggy into the vaccination centre “making neenaw noises”, presumably to imitate a siren. 
In case you missed it, Sajid Javid earlier told MPs the Omicron variant is causing 200,000 new coronavirus infections per day.
He added that the new variant accounts for 20% of all cases in England and at least 44% of all infections in London.
Confirming the numbers following confusion in the media, the UK Health and Security Agency told the Guardian that Mr Javid’s statement meant “the current number of daily infections are around 200,000”.
Thus, it is currently estimated that 200,000 people are being infected with Omicron each day.
However, the UKHSA added Mr Javid was “referring to the number of new infections today based on modelling, not the number who are currently infected”.
We reported earlier (see 7.34pm post) as the NHS set out lengthy guidance for how trusts in England should go about accelerating the booster jab scheme.
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said the new guidance “gives an indication of what a monumental effort this will be”.
He said: “It will be vital in the coming weeks to maximise COVID-19 treatment for patients at highest risk, and to ensure sufficient capacity in hospital and community settings.
“We note and welcome the new discharge task force, the prominence given to ambulance services, and the emphasis on maintaining access to community-based mental health, learning disability and autism services.
“It is also right to maintain a relentless focus on patient safety, while doing all we can to support our staff.”
Stricter rules will be imposed in schools under the latest coronavirus curbs, while Norway’s vaccination drive will be accelerated.
The latest restrictions were confirmed by PM Jonas Gahr Stoere on Monday.
“For many this will feel like a lockdown, if not of society then of their lives and of their livelihoods,” he said.
We reported earlier as First Minister Mark Drakeford prepared to provide a statement on the current COVID situation in Wales.
You can now watch his address below, as he warns cases of the Omicron variant will likely rise “quickly and very steeply”.
Around a million expired COVID vaccines will be destroyed by Nigeria, it has been revealed.
The news was confirmed by Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), on Monday.
Last week, Nigeria’s health minister warned that some COVID doses donated by Western countries only had a remaining shelf life of week.
This only adds to the country’s challenges in vaccinating its population in the face of the new Omicron variant. 
Mr Shuaib said the country had been accepting vaccines with short shelf lives from international donor nations under plans to use them quickly.
However, he said Nigeria – which has only vaccinated 4% of its population – will no longer accept vaccines with a short shelf life.
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