A bone china teapot, a pair of leather brogues, a poetry book, a velvet coat, an embroidered tablecloth and a saucepan. These are just a few of the things I have recently bought from charity shops - where someone else's trash became my treasure.
Changes are being made to self-isolation rules in line with public health advice and testing requirements to help maximise testing capacity and ensure a speedier start to the process of contact tracing. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that anyone who tests positive for Covid-19, regardless of vaccination status, must still self-isolate for 10 days.
Long COVID continues to affect more than a million people. 6 January 2022 An estimated 1.3 million people (2%) in private households in the UK reported having long COVID in the four weeks to 6 December 2021.
In the week ending 31 December 2021, COVID-19 positivity rates continued to increase in all four UK nations. The estimated percentage of the community population that had COVID-19 in the latest week was.: 6.00% in England (1 in 15 people) 5.20% in Wales (1 in 20 people) 3.97% in Northern Ireland (1 in 25 people) 4.52% in Scotland (1 in 20 people) Headline infections figures were published on Wednesday 5 January 2022, but please note that some figures on this tool will be updated after official estimates are published on Friday 7 January 2022.
11,360 new cases of COVID-19 reported*. 57,217 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results* 23.1% of these were positive.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is waiving late filing and late payment penalties for Self Assessment taxpayers for one month - giving them extra time, if they need it, to complete their 2020/21 tax return and pay any tax due. HMRC is encouraging taxpayers to file and pay on time if they can, as the department reveals that, of the 12.2 million taxpayers who need to submit their tax return by 31 January 2022, almost 6.5 million have already done so.
Ensuring Afghans who stood side-by-side with us in conflict, their families, and those at highest risk who were evacuated, are supported upon arrival in the UK. Operation Warm Welcome is a significant cross-government effort, working with local authorities, NGOs and the commercial sector, and will continue over the coming months to ensure those evacuated from Afghanistan can settle permanently, contribute to their communities and rebuild their lives here in the UK.
The rate of reinfections was low in the UK between 2 July 2020 and 1 December 2021. People who received a second vaccine dose over 90 days ago were more likely to be reinfected than those who received it 14 to 89 days ago.
In the week to 2 January 2022, overall retail footfall in the UK was at 75% of the level seen in the equivalent week of 2019. This is lower than the previous week when overall retail footfall was at 86% of the equivalent week of 2019, according to this week's data from Springboard.
France's main power generator, EDF (Électricite de France), was forced to extend the outage of two nuclear reactors of its power plants and shut down two more due to maintenance and safety reasons. Traditionally, France exports electricity in Europe, however the unexpected halt has already led to a significant increase in imports to cover the internal demand.
Will 2022 be the year where the world economy recovers from the pandemic? That's the big question on everyone's lips as the festive break comes to an end. One complicating factor is that most of the latest major forecasts were published in the weeks before the omicron variant swept the world.
Projects aiding emissions reduction and tackling climate change in agriculture and food production have been selected as part of the last round of the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF). The chosen projects have a specific focus on resource efficiency, cutting emissions, environmental performance and sustainability of agricultural holdings, and are supported by just over £170,000 of funding through the KTIF.
Updated guidance to support fishers with under-12m vessels to get ready for the introduction of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems, has been published by the Marine Management Organisation. Updated guidance to support fishers with under-12m vessels to get ready for the introduction of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems, has been published today January 5 2022 by the Marine Management Organisation.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh on 5 January 2022. Presiding Officer, Firstly, I wish you, members and staff in Parliament, and everyone across the country a happy new year.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) has taken the decision to postpone its annual Supply Chain Event, because of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The event was due to take place on 3 February at The International Centre, Telford, and it will be rearranged when it's suitable to do so.
16,103 new cases of COVID-19 reported*. 69,327 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results* 26.9% of these were positive.
Testing and border measures are changing for fully eligible fully vaccinated travellers arriving in England. A lateral flow test can be used instead of PCR tests for eligible fully vaccinated travellers and over 5s to take on or before day 2.
Radio lovers will be able to enjoy the best of the UK's national commercial broadcasters' content through free-to-air digital radio for the next decade. Future of popular radio stations including Absolute Radio, Classic FM and Times Radio will be secured on digital for at least the next decade.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (January, 4th) sold 835 prime sheep. Old season lambs (628) averaged 258.9p (+1.3p) and sold to 290.2p and £140 gross.
Government to introduce tougher sentencing and improved police powers to tackle cruel practice of chasing hares with dogs. Plans to strengthen the powers and penalties available to tackle the barbaric practice of hare coursing were set out by the Government today (Tuesday 4 January 2022).
