According to the latest REACT-1 study by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI, coronavirus cases have levelled off after falling during the second lockdown in England.
Swab tests of over 160,000 people between 13 November and 3 December showed around 1 in 110 people were infected.
Cases had fallen by around 30% during the second half of November - when the nation was in lockdown - but stopped their downward trend in the final days of the study.
Experts believe this has been driven by clusters of cases in some regions, such as London and the South East, and in age groups such as schoolchildren.
Rates of infection have been rising in the capital, which now has the highest seven-day infection rate in England.
Boris Johnson determined to let families meet at Christmas, but urges self-isolation beforehand
No 10 was concerned that if Christmas plans were cancelled, it could lead to lower compliance with the rules later
15 December 2020 • 9:30pm
Credit: Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street
Boris Johnson is determined to push ahead with plans to allow families to meet this Christmas, but will urge people to self-isolate before joining up with other households, The Telegraph understands.
The Government is expected to issue stronger guidance about what people can do over the festive period in the coming days, but stop short of changing the rules which say three households can meet for five days from December 23 to 27.
Welsh brewer SA Brain up for sale Welsh brewer and pubco SA Brain has put itself up for sale after grappling with a slowdown in trading and rising costs.
According to
The Sunday Times, Brains, led by chief executive Alistair Darby, has hired advisers from Evercore to invite offers for an investment or sale to a trade buyer.
The Cardiff-based brewer has been owned by the same family since it was founded in 1882.
In March this year, prior to the onset of the pandemic, Brains said it would sell 40 of its 200 pubs to pay off debts and help it to navigate uncertain economic times created by Brexit and rising wage costs.
Huge equality leap as partial ban on gay and bisexual blood donors lifted sky.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sky.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
All secondary schools and colleges in Wales will physically close from Monday and pupils will be told to return to online learning in a desperate attempt to reduce the spread of coronavirus.