Newspaper headlines: Hospital patients ‘sent to hotels’ and jab rollout concerns

image captionThousands of hospital patients are going to be discharged early and sent to hotels in order to free up beds, the Guardian reports. The paper says the early discharges in England will be on “a scale never seen” and is an urgent measure to stop parts of the NHS from collapsing. The hotel group that owns the Best Western chain has already started taking some coronavirus patients from a south London hospital and is in talks with other NHS trusts, the paper adds.

image captionThe vaccine rollout also leads several papers. The Daily Telegraph reports that doctors delivering the vaccine in some areas have been ordered to pause jabs, to allow other parts of the country to catch up. The paper says the move comes amid questions over the speed of the national rollout – but adds that government sources have confirmed plans for the pilot of a 24/7 vaccine centre.

image captionThe i newspaper says official figures suggest the government is not on track to meet its target to vaccinate everyone in the most at-risk group by the middle of February. It says to do that, the daily number of jabs needs to hit 350,000, but in the latest 24-hour period just over 145,000 people received a vaccine.

image captionThe Financial Times says Boris Johnson has clashed with NHS chiefs over how fast the rollout is going. According to the paper, officials say the PM was frustrated by what he saw as excessive bureaucracy and a lack of data with the NHS plan, leading to some “tough” exchanges last week. No 10 has denied there were tensions between Mr Johnson and the NHS England boss.

image captionOn its front page, the Sun promotes its own campaign to recruit volunteers to help with the UK’s vaccine rollout. It reports that broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson has issued a “rallying call” urging people to join the Jab’s Army campaign. “Get on with it,” he said at a vaccination centre in Oxfordshire. The Sun is aiming to recruit 50,000 volunteers, and says it has already reached 35,000.

image captionThe Times reports on retailers tightening up their rules to help stop the spread of the virus. It says John Lewis has become the first big retailer to close their click and collect services, with the chain saying it was doing so after a “change in tone” from the government. Several supermarkets have also said they are banning shoppers without masks.

image captionThe quality of some food parcels being sent to children on free school meals makes the front of the Metro. Footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford has backed parents who have complained about the unappetising and meagre portions provided to children, the paper says. It says some parents received half a tomato and slices of cheese wrapped in cling film.

image captionThe Daily Mirror also leads with the story about free school meal packages. It says parents have told of their fury after receiving the “paltry” parcels, which the paper describes as “barely enough food to feed hungry kids”. The Mirror quotes Rashford as saying it’s “not good enough” and Labour’s Angela Rayner as saying: “Into whose pockets is the money for free school meals going?”

image captionThe Daily Express leads with comments made by Home Secretary Priti Patel who led the government’s daily coronavirus briefing yesterday. Ms Patel backed a tough crackdown on Covid rule-breakers, the paper says – with police under strict orders to hand out fines to anyone flouting the rules.

image captionThe Daily Mail reports that the Earl of Strathmore Simon Bowes-Lyon – the Queen’s first cousin twice removed – has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at his ancestral home. He forced his way into the sleeping woman’s room during a weekend event he was hosting at Glamis Castle.

image captionThe Daily Star reports on how sales of Viagra fared in recent weeks, suggesting that demand for the erectile dysfunction drug “shot up” in the eight weeks before Brexit. The paper suggests that people were concerned about shortages in the case of a hard Brexit, since Viagra is produced in Ireland.