Church in lockdown
England’s church leaders welcomed permission for communal worship under new lockdown. Pray that God will help congregations to take care, and for His shield of protection and wisdom to be around the vulnerable. Cardinal Vincent Nichols said, ‘The regular practice of our faith in God is a well-established source of personal resilience and dedicated service to those in need - vital in these difficult times. I am glad no measures have been introduced to obstruct or curtail this essential source of energy for the common good.’ Pray for God’s blessings to pour over all serving the needs of local communities. Meanwhile in Scotland all places of worship will be banned from hosting physical gatherings throughout January. The only in-person services allowed are weddings, limited to five people, and funerals, where 20 will be allowed. The Bishop of London, who chairs the CofE's Covid recovery group, said the new measures ‘underline the severity of the situation for the country’.
NI Nightingale hospital expanded
Belfast’s Nightingale hospital will be expanded to increase the number of intensive care beds from 24 to 32. Currently 20 Covid-19 patients are receiving intensive care at the facility and four beds are available. The Nightingale will deal with patient surges due to rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks. There are 126 nurses providing round-the-clock one-to-one nursing cover for all 24 beds. The BBC also revealed plans to increase the number of ward beds from 21 to 36. All six NI main hospitals are operating at full capacity or beyond. There is an expected peak during the last two weeks of January.
Call for new law on non-fatal strangulation
Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, said that data showed non-fatal strangulation was dangerous, prevalent, and often ignored. Current legislation minimises the seriousness of ‘domestic terror tactic’, and so a change to the law is urgently required. A push to make such strangulation a criminal offence is being led by the former victims’ commissioner Baroness Newlove, who is campaigning for the change via an amendment to the domestic abuse bill when it returns to the Lords on 12 January.
British EU residents in post-Brexit ‘travel chaos’
Days after a ‘mutant’ coronavirus strain ruined Christmas plans of holidaymakers on both sides of the Channel, red tape and confusion have raised hurdles for Britons attempting to return to their homes in several European countries. They are now regarded as ‘third-country nationals’, and some were barred from boarding flights bound for the countries where they live. Others have complained of difficulties accessing the social benefits to which they are entitled. Most complaints involved flights to Spain, home to the largest number of registered Britons in Europe, though the Spanish authorities claimed that the issue had been resolved by mid-Sunday. Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands all experienced travel problems for UK residents trying to return home, and there were reports of violations of the withdrawal agreement guaranteeing their rights.
