data produced by imperial college london indicates that a single dose of covid vaccine is 56% effective at preventing children from catching the virus. uk health security agency data for the period up to 14 november indicates covid cases in england are now highest among children aged 5–9. 19 november travellers from england become eligible to add their booster vaccine status to the nhs covid pass, enabling them to avoid having to quarantine in countries such as austria, croatia and israel where vaccination status is time sensitive. a report produced by the national audit office concludes the uk government was not prepared for the pandemic and had made insufficient planning. plans were in place for a serious flu outbreak or an outbreak of ebola, but these were prioritised over infectious diseases with similar characteristics to covid, the report says. 20 november a university of nottingham study will look at how to boost covid vaccination protection in people with suppressed immune systems due to drugs; around 1.3 million people in the uk are in this situation. 21 november health secretary sajid javid orders a review into whether medical devices are equally effective regardless of race after research suggests oximeters, which are clipped to a person's finger to measure levels of oxygen in the blood, can produce overstated readings in people from ethnic minorities. 22 november people aged over 40 in england become eligible to book their covid booster vaccination. holidaymakers are urged to use £132m in credit notes issued by travel companies during the pandemic before they lose financial protection. a bronze sculpture dedicated to covid heroes and victims is unveiled in barnsley, south yorkshire. the charity help musicians estimates that one third of musicians were earning nothing during the summer, even after the lifting of covid restrictions allowed the return of live performances. 23 november covid advice is updated for england, where people are urged to take a lateral flow test if they expect to be in a “high risk situation” that day, such as spending time in “crowded and enclosed spaces” and where “there is limited fresh air”. the northern ireland executive announces it is "strengthening" its advice to people in northern ireland to work from home whenever possible as a way of tackling rising covid infections. people are also advised to limit their social contact and to wear face coverings if meeting up indoors. scottish first minister nicola sturgeon announces that scotland's vaccine passport scheme will not be extended to cover cinemas, theatres and other hospitality venues following a slight fall in the number of cases, while from 6 december people will no longer need to provide proof of vaccination to enter venues already covered by the scheme, and provide a negative lateral flow test instead. pascal soriot, the chief executive of astrazeneca tells bbc radio 4's today programme that the oxford–astrazeneca vaccine may be helping to keep hospital numbers lower in the uk. 24 november the commercial rent (coronavirus) bill, which aims to create a legal process to settle disputes between commercial tenants and their landlords for rent arrears accrued during the pandemic, gets its second reading in the house of commons. in a letter to transport secretary grant shapps, the wine and spirit trade association (wsta) warns of a shortage of wines and spirits at christmas because of rising costs and supply chain issues. research carried out by the audience agency indicates theatre ticket sales in october were down a third on pre-pandemic levels, sparking concerns the ongoing impact of covid on theatres. a man who sent a suspicious package to a wrexham factory manufacturing the astrazeneca vaccine in january is sent to prison for 27 months. a bbc news article cites covid and brexit as contributing factors to smaller christmas markets in town squares this year, with 10,000 stallholders having left the industry during the pandemic. 25 november the number of recorded covid cases in the uk surpasses 10 million, as a further 47,240 cases taking overall the total to 10,021,497. health secretary sajid javid confirms that six countries from southern africa − south africa, namibia, zimbabwe, botswana, lesotho and eswatini − will be added to the uk's travel red list from midday the following day amid concerns of a new covid variant that may be more transmissible than previous variants and have the ability to evade the protection offered by vaccination; flights from the countries are also suspended. no cases of the variant have been discovered in the uk, while 59 have been discovered in south africa, hong kong and botswana. data from england analysed by the uk health security agency indicates covid vaccinations are safe for pregnant women, reinforcing international data. figures produced by the office for national statistics indicate a 27% rise in people dying in england while in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction during the pandemic. relatives of a woman in her 50s left with brain damage and paralysis after contracting covid are told they can appeal against a ruling that she should be allowed to die. 26 november naledi pandor, south africa's foreign minister, criticises the uk's decision to impose a temporary halt on flights from southern africa as a "rushed decision" made before the world health organization (who) had made any announcement on the variant, while the country's health minister joe phaahla describes the measures as "unjustified". the who subsequently declared the new variant to be "of concern", and gives it the name omicron. as it is confirmed that people returning from southern africa will be required to quarantine in england for 10 days from sunday 28 november, health secretary sajid javid tells the house of commons that no cases of the new omicron variant have been found in the uk, but that it is likely to spread. england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty voices his concern that people may not accept further curbs on their activities. the ftse 100 index closes down 3.7% amid concerns for economic recovery following the discovery of the omicron variant. 27 november health secretary sajid javid confirms two cases of the omicron covid variant have been found in the uk. microbiologist and sage adviser professor calum semple says the omicron covid variant is "not a disaster" and some people may be "hugely overstating the situation". at a downing street press conference, prime minister boris johnson announces the reintroduction of some measures for england as a result of the discovery of the omicron variant. these include the requirement for anyone arriving into the uk to take a pcr test and isolate until they receive a negative result, the mandatory wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport, and the requirement for all contacts of suspected omicron cases to self-isolate for ten days. however, the government is not moving to its full plan b of measures and people are not being asked to work from home. johnson describes the measures, which will be reviewed in three weeks, as "temporary and precautionary", and also says he is "confident" christmas 2021 will be better than christmas 2020. it is also announced via twitter that malawi, mozambique, zambia and angola are to be added to the uk's red list as of sunday 28 november at 4:00 a.m. switzerland adds the uk to its "at risk" list along with other countries with cases. 28 november after a doctor treating the new omicron covid variant says its symptoms are mild and there has been unnecessary panic about it, health secretary sajid javid describes the government's response as being "in a proportionate way". professor anthony harnden, deputy chairman of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation tells bbc radio 4's broadcasting house that adults aged 18 and over "will have an offer of a booster earlier than we had previously envisaged". the british retail consortium asks people to "respect" the rules regarding mandatory face coverings, but says it will be up to the police to enforce them. a third case of omicron variant covid has been detected in the uk, but the individual concerned, having travelled from southern africa, is no longer in the uk. 29 november the reintroduction of some covid measures for england is formally announced to parliament. the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation recommends all adults over the age of 18 should receive a booster vaccine. furthermore, children aged 12–15 will be offered a second vaccine, and the gap between second vaccines and a booster will be shortened from six to three months. secondary school pupils in england are "strongly advised" to wear face coverings in communal areas. on the eve of the reintroduction of compulsory face masks for shops and public transport, shopkeepers fear the impact the rules could have on business, particularly as violence and verbal abuse against retail and hospitality staff is at an all-time high. welsh first minister mark drakeford announces changes to covid rules for secondary schools, requiring pupils to wear face coverings in classrooms. the changes go further than england, where they are only required in communal areas. 30 november rules regarding face coverings in england and pcr tests for travellers arriving into the uk come into force. the uk government announces that all adults in england over the age of 18 will receive a booster vaccine by the end of january 2022. scottish first minister nicola sturgeon confirms that all nine cases of the omicron covid variant found in scotland are linked to a single event on 20 november. all nine people tested positive on 23 november and have been self-isolating since then. the royal college of veterinary surgeons holds an urgent meeting in which it highlights the problem of an increasing number of animals needing treatment coupled with a decline in the number of veterinary surgeons. at a court hearing in swansea, anna redfern, owner of cinema & co is ordered to close the business by a district judge for refusing to implement covid passport checks. she is also fined £5,265 in costs. prime minister boris johnson tells welsh first minister mark drakeford that whoever leads a uk-wide covid inquiry will want the investigation to be "visible and properly accessible to the people of wales". jenny harries of the uk health security agency, advised all people in the uk to reduce social contact while fears increase that current vaccines will work less well against omicron than against other variants. harris recognises that people socialise more over christmas but advises cutting down on unnecessary socialising. she also wants people to get vaccinated as booster vaccination provides some degree of protection. 1 december the uk government signs a contract for the supply of a further 114 million doses of covid vaccine for 2022 and 2023. the number of cases of omicron variant covid in the uk rises to 32. health secretary sajid javid says the possible impact of omicron variant covid could be known in a fortnight. javid says there is no need for people to call off their christmas party plans, in spite of the emergence of the omicron covid variant. following a report in the daily mirror that covid rules were broken in 10 downing street in december 2020 when a number of christmas parties were held in the premises, prime minister boris johnson tells prime minister's questions that no rules were broken. the scientific advisory group for emergencies suggests that pre-travel covid tests for anyone returning to the uk would be "useful". the co-op joins tesco, aldi, lidl and iceland in deciding not to challenge customers over the wearing of face coverings, citing abuse of their staff as a reason. the scottish government apologises after some people over the age of 40 reported being turned away for their booster vaccines, and says updated guidelines have been issued to all of scotland's health boards. 2 december the covid-19 bereaved families for justice group says it is "sickened" by news of a party held at 10 downing street on 18 december 2020 during the height of covid restrictions when such gatherings were banned. prime minister boris johnson says no restrictions were broken at the party. technical problems that led to some people being turned away for the covid booster vaccinations in scotland have been resolved, first minister nicola sturgeon confirms. sotrovimab is approved in the uk as a covid antibody treatment; tests have found