A GOVERNMENT crisis meeting discussed plunging Birmingham into a Tier Four lockdown before Christmas, says a report.
It comes amid soaring cases of a mutant coronavirus strain currently tearing through the South East of England.
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Birmingham could be plunged into a Tier Four lockdown before Christmas, says a reportCredit: PA:Press Association
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The Daily Mirror reports that government officials at today s Gold Command meeting discussed plans to put Birmingham, currently in Tier 3, into the harshest category of restrictions.
The possible move means that households in the region would no longer be able to mix on December 25 as part of a festive bubble.
Tier 4 – More areas in England plunged into strict lockdown as soon as BOXING DAY as mutant Covid strain causes chaos thesun.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesun.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Staff shortages leave London s Nightingale hospital without intensive care beds
Royal College of Emergency medicine says a bed requires nurses, doctors, pharmacists, anaesthetists in some cases, porters, cleaners
23 December 2020 • 8:00pm
Staff shortages have left London s flagship Nightingale hospital empty without any equipment or its 4,000 intensive care beds, despite Covid cases doubling in the capital.
One of seven built at the start of the pandemic at a cost of £220 million, the Nightingale hospital, at the ExCel Centre, was shut and placed on standby soon after, although 90 per cent of the building has returned to how it was previously.
The Nightingale at Birmingham s NEC and the one in Sunderland are also empty but on standby, while Manchester s was open for non-Covid care , with those at Exeter and Harrogate being used as specialist diagnostics centres and Bristol s deployed for local NHS services .
Stranded Brit truckers on the move again as shamed Emmanuel Macron is forced to reopen French border
Updated: 23 Dec 2020, 7:21
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STRANDED truckers were ready to roll again last night after shamed French leader Emmanuel Macron was forced to reopen his country’s border with the UK.
He caved in after pressure from Britain and the EU to end a 48-hour blockade imposed amid fears over the new Covid strain.
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Staff wearing fluorescent jackets bearing the NHS Test and Trace logo arrived in Dover this evening ahead of a huge testing operationCredit: ITV News
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French leader Emmanuel Macron has caved in after pressure from Britain and the EU to end a 48-hour blockadeCredit: AFP - Getty
Doctors say temporary hospitals can t open because there are not enough staff to adequately service them
Enormous structures were hailed at start of pandemic as a solution to growing crisis in UK hospital capacity
But many are still lying empty as crisis continues to spiral amid concerns over whether they will ever open
London, Birmingham and Tyne and Wear all on standby while Manchester is only open for non-Covid care
Exeter and Harrogate open as specialist diagnostics centres while Bristol is only for local NHS services