UK lab-confirmed cases pass 1.5m – as it happened

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The Palestinian health ministry has recommended strict limits on Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Celebrations in the biblical town revered by Christians as Jesus’ birthplace are usually attended by thousands of people from around the world, but this year the ministry has recommended the upcoming tree lighting ceremony in Manger Square be limited to 50 people, throughout the festive season.

The lights of the tree would be turned off by 9pm each night, with restaurants closing at the same time. Religious services on Christmas Eve should also have limited attendance, the recommendations said, with Palestinian officials expected to make a final decision in the coming days.

Israel’s international airport — the main entry point for foreign travellers — has been closed to tourists for months, limiting the potential numbers of pilgrims in any case, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier today (see 1.07pm) , public health advisers warned that sharply rising coronavirus infections in the Gaza Strip could overwhelm the Palestinian enclave’s meagre medical system by next week.

Gaza, where the dense and poor population of two million is vulnerable to contagions, has logged 14,000 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths, mostly since August, Reuters reports.

Seventy-nine of Gaza’s 100 ventilators have been taken up by Covid-19 patients, said Abdelraouf Elmanama, a microbiologist who is part of the enclave’s pandemic task force.

Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers have so far imposed one lockdown. A long-standing Israeli blockade, which is supported by neighbouring Egypt, has crippled the Gazan economy and undermined its public health apparatus. Israel says it is trying to keep weapons from reaching Hamas.

Officers carrying out arrest at an anti-lockdown protest in Liverpool, UK, have been criticised after footage emerged apparently showing a member of the public being punched and pepper-sprayed at close range while restrained.

The Northern Police Monitoring Project said it was “a very concerning incident, and yet another abuse of police power” after footage of the incident went viral.

A spokesperson added: “The recent video of police violence in Liverpool is yet another example of an appalling abuse of power. How many more scenes like this do we have to witness before the police in this country are held to account?”

Merseyside police said: “A 36-year-old man from Kirkby was arrested on Church Street during an ongoing gathering in Liverpool city centre yesterday on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker after allegedly pushing an officer and resisting arrest.

“He has been released under investigation. Merseyside Police has received a complaint relating to the arrest and enquiries are ongoing into the matter.”

The force had put in a dispersal zone for Liverpool city centre over the weekend, giving police the powers to move people out the area for 48 hours. Thirteen arrests were made in total and 25 fixed penalty notices were issued after many flouted coronavirus restrictions.

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has confirmed that it will publish recommendations on the use of vitamin D as a potential way to prevent and treat coronavirus before the end of the year.

It comes after health secretary Matt Hancock asked government health advisers to produce new guidelines on its use amid reports that the government is planning to give four months worth of vitamin D supplements to more than 2 million vulnerable and elderly people, following the lead of Scotland.

However, following news about the free supplement rations two weeks ago, there has been no update from the government and there have been suggestions from those involved in the discussions that some within the Department of Health may oppose the proposals.

Italy has reported 562 Covid-related deaths, down from 692 on Saturday and 699 on Friday, the health ministry said, with 28,337 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours, down from 34,767 the day before.

There were 188,747 coronavirus swabs carried out in the past day, the ministry said, against a previous 237,225.

Italy has the second highest toll in Europe after the UK. It has also registered more than 1.4m cases. While Italy’s daily death tolls have been the highest in Europe over recent days, the increase in hospital admissions and intensive care occupancy has slowed.

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 34,279 on Sunday, a rise of 216 from the day before, Reuters reported, compared with a daily increase of 106 on Saturday.

The number of patients in intensive care rose by 43, following an increase of just 10 on Saturday, and now stands at 3,801.

When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast, until around a week ago, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.

Spain will begin a comprehensive coronavirus vaccination programme in January and expects to have covered a substantial part of the population within six months, prime minister Pedro Sanchez has announced.

He said Spain and Germany were the first European Union countries to have a complete vaccination plan in place. “The campaign will start in January and have 13,000 vaccination points,” Sanchez told a news conference after a two-day online summit of G20 leaders.

“A very substantial part of the population will be able to be vaccinated, with all guarantees, in the first half of the year.”

Spain will implement a single national strategy, starting with “priority groups”, Sanchez said, adding that he would present the plan to the cabinet on Tuesday. He also said more health professionals would be recruited.

“We have a tough few months ahead of us but the road map has been drawn up,” Sanchez said.

Another 139 people in Turkey have died after contracting Covid-19 deaths, taking the country’s total to 12,358, the health ministry said.

It comes as a record number of people were confirmed as having the virus, with 6,017 new symptomatic patients documented. The number of new daily cases are now running at higher levels than the outbreak’s previous peak in April, though testing capacity figures were not reported.

Evening lockdowns were introduced over the weekend in the country between Europe and Asia for the first time since June, with businesses such as restaurants and bars ordered to close.

The ministry said a total of 446,882 patients with symptoms had been identified since the country’s first recorded case in March.

A video has gone viral of a confrontation at a coronavirus lockdown protest in Hannover, Germany, where a young woman compared herself to a famous Nazi resistance fighter and then was accused by a security guard of “trivialising” the Holocaust.

The Associated Press reported that the woman spoke on stage and told fellow protesters “I feel like Sophie Scholl, since I’ve been active in the resistance, giving speeches, going to protests, distributing flyers.”

Scholl fought the Nazis with her brother and other members of the resistance group White Rose. After distributing flyers at a Munich university, she was convicted of high treason and was executed aged 22 by the Nazis in 1943.

While the female protester was talking, a security guard approached the stage, saying repeatedly that “I’m not going to be a security guard for this kind of idiocy.” and calling her speech “a trivialisation of the Holocaust.” He was ushered away and she threw down the mic.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas tweeted that the comparison with Scholl “mocks the bravery that was needed to take a stand against the Nazis.” He wrote: “Nothing connects the corona protests with the resistance fighters. Nothing!”

There have been just over 14,000 coronavirus-related deaths in Germany, about a quarter of those in the UK.

US president-elect Joe Biden will have a scaled-down version inauguration due to the coronavirus pandemic, the incoming White House chief of staff has said.

Ron Klain said: “I think it’s going to definitely have to be changed ... Obviously, this is not going to be the same kind of inauguration we had in the past.”

Its worth remembering here that Donald Trump, the outgoing president, had something akin to a scaled-down inauguration in 2017 due to remarkably low attendance, though his then press secretary Sean Spicer falsely claimed it was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe”.

Presidential inaugurations traditionally featur a swearing-in and speech by the new president before crowds backed onto the national mall, as well as lunch with lawmakers and a parade to the White House.

Biden’s team is consulting with leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate on details and best practices, said Klain. The result will likely be a “scaled down versions of the existing traditions,” he told ABC.

“We know people want to celebrate. There is something here to celebrate. We just want to try to find a way to do it as safely as possible.”