Tougher lockdown rules in parts of UK

New tougher restrictions have come in force from Sunday in Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland under devolved powers in a bid to curb rising coronavirus cases across the United KingdomPrime Minister Boris Johnson and his Cabinet is expected to review the latest data and advice from experts on Monday to decide if further restrictions need to be brought in for England as well The region is currently under Plan B measures which call for working from home compulsory face masks and COVID19 vaccination certificates for entry to large venuesIn Wales nightclubs will close from Sunday and a maximum of six people will be allowed to meet in pubs restaurants and cinemas Up to 30 people will be allowed at indoor events while at outdoor events the limit is 50In Scotland social distancing of one metre will now be required at large events and attendance will be limited to 100 people at indoor events where people are standing or 200 for seated events inside For outdoor events the limit is 500 people From Monday nightclubs will be forced to close for three weeks table service will be required in settings where alcohol is being served ndash and the onemetre rule will apply to hospitality and leisure settingsNorthern Ireland has also shut down nightclubs while indoor standing events and dancing in hospitality settings will be banned From Monday a limit of six people ndash or 10 people from a single household ndash will be allowed in indoor hospitality settings But children will not be counted in the total and weddings or civil partnership celebrations will be exemptDaily coronavirus figures are not being reported over the Christmas and Boxing Day weekend but Friday saw another high of 122186 UK cases The UKrsquos Office for National Statistics ONS estimated ndash using its weekly random testing programme ndash that as many as 174 million people or one in 35 had coronavirus seven days agoLab sends false results in AustraliaA major laboratory in Sydney in New South Wales said 400 people who had been informed a day earlier they had tested negative for COVID19 had in fact tested positive The labrsquos medical director said those people were being contacted and informed of the errorNew restrictions in BelgiumNew stringent measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic came into effect in Belgium on Sunday amid fears of the rapid spread of the Omicron strain Belgian authorities decided there will be no relaxations to current restrictions such as masks and working from home Cinemas theatres concert halls will close while sports events will have no audience Most Christmas markets will close earlyFrench virus infections spikeFrance has recorded more than 100000 virus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic struck and COVID19 hospitalisations have doubled over the past month as the fastspreading omicron complicates governmentrsquos efforts to stave off a new lockdown More than 1 person in 100 in the Paris region has tested positive in the past weekIsraelrsquos Bennett selfisolatesIsraeli PM Naftali Bennett went into isolation at home on Sunday and awaits results of a PCR test after his 14yearold daughter tested positive his office saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever