What the papers say – January 15

Some optimistic news is mixed with the bleak in the UK’s fight against Covid-19 on the nation’s Friday front pages.

The Daily Mirror reports on chemists joining the push to vaccinate Britain against the coronavirus.

The Daily Mail heralds another upbeat angle with a headline of: “At last… Infection rates in retreat”.

The Daily Express follows suit, reporting the “tide is turning” in the coronavirus battle.

And the number of vaccinations will be more than doubled in the UK next week, the i reports, with a target of half a million jabs a day.

However, The Daily Telegraph splashes on a “shocking” rise in coronavirus outbreaks in care homes, with cases having “more than trebled in a month” due to delays in the vaccine rollout.

Metro and The Independent lead on a crisis concerning hospital bed availability, saying 4.5 million people are now on waiting lists across the nation.

And The Guardian says Boris Johnson’s plan to test millions of pupils every week are in disarray.

In other news, The Times says 150,000 arrest records have been wiped off police databases in a technology blunder, meaning some offenders might be allowed to go free.

The Financial Times says the 48-hour week is at risk due to plans to “tear up” the EU worker rights regime.

Katie Price has made the decision to put her disabled son Harvey into care, according to The Sun.

And the Daily Star reports on the American man who cannot cash in a Bitcoin fortune as he has forgotten a password.