CARRY ON CHRISTMAS!
Despite mounting calls for U-turn, relaxation of Covid rules for festive break set to stay ++ BUT ministers will warn: Keep local... and think twice about seeing granny
Christmas gatherings were again given the go-ahead last night despite warnings they could ‘cost many lives’.
Government sources said up to three households will still be able to get together under a five- day easing of coronavirus restrictions.
But there will be ‘tough’ warnings to think twice before celebrating Christmas with elderly or vulnerable relatives.
Families will also be advised to ‘stay local’ amid fears of giant traffic jams and packed ‘Covid carriages’ on trains.
However the UK-wide policy approach was at risk last night with Nicola sturgeon considering different rules for scotland.
These could see the five-day period – and the number of households – reduced to just two north of the border.
Boris Johnson’s decision to press ahead with the Christmas plans followed a crisis session last night involving official representatives of all four UK nations. Among the options they discussed was postponing the festive amnesty until next year.
Two leading medical journals had warned keeping to the five- day plan was a ‘major
error that will cost many lives’. But ministers decided it would be unfair to penalise the whole country because of concerns about surging cases in London and the South East.
And there were warnings that any attempt to ban Christmas would be impossible to enforce, with police chiefs already warning officers would not get involved in ‘policing people’s Christmas dinners’.
Michael Gove, who chaired last night’s Cabinet Office meeting, will hold further talks with Miss Sturgeon and the leaders of the administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland today in a bid to agree a UK-wide approach. But sources said the rules in England would not change.
As ministers prepared to confirm that most parts of the country will
‘Dropping their guard’
remain in their current Covid tier until the New Year:
Official figures showed that Covid cases are rising in three-quarters of local authority areas just two weeks after the second lockdown ended;
New documents revealed that the PM’s lockdown-busting former aide Dominic Cummings received a pay rise of up to £50,000 this year;
A YouGov poll last night found that 57 per cent want to see the Christmas amnesty scrapped, with 31 per cent thinking it should go ahead as planned;
Treasury sources ruled out providing additional financial help for hospitality businesses in London, which enters Tier Three today;
Mass testing in secondary schools from January will reduce the number of children and teachers sent home;
A report revealed 819,000 jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic, with hospitality hit hardest;
Experts said a new virus strain which may have driven a spike in cases was likely to have originated in Britain;
Health Secretary Matt Hancock was under pressure to publish details on the coronavirus vaccine rollout;
A report revealed that NHS England was working on the assumption that less than half of the population will get the injections in 2021;
The five-day travel quarantine system was in chaos as two testing providers pulled out after being swamped with demand.
The Government’s Christmas ‘wobble’ came amid stark warnings from experts.
In a hard-hitting joint editorial yesterday, the British Medical Journal and Health Service Journal called for the ‘rash’ decision to relax social distancing rules to be reversed.
They warned the Government was ‘ about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives’.
They added: ‘Members of the public can and should mitigate the impact of the third wave by being as careful as possible over the next few months. But many will see the lifting of restrictions over Christmas as permission to drop their guard.’
The British Medical Association also urged ministers to think again on the Christmas regulations.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer yesterday tried to pressure the Government into scrapping the amnesty. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir said: ‘The tiered system has not kept the virus under control and has left us with precious little headroom. If you take the wrong decision now, the ramifications for our NHS and our economy in the New Year could be severe.’
But Tory grandee Sir Desmond Swayne said ministers were right to trust families to celebrate safely.
He added: ‘As a Conservative, I fundamentally believe that individuals make better decisions on behalf of themselves, their families and communities than Government or medical journals can. The health and scientific lobby has to be put back in its box.’
ONE of the few bright spots in this dismal Covid-wrecked calendar was the prospect of joining loved ones for turkey at Christmas.
To give hard-pressed families respite, Boris Johnson and the leaders of the devolved administrations agreed to relax draconian curbs over the festive period.
Today, that grand political gesture is under pressure. thanks to rising infections, the four nations face calls to ban households from mixing in temporary ‘bubbles’.
This plan, the Prime Minister was warned, would trigger a third virus spike, costing ‘many lives’. Failure to scrap it would prove he cared nothing about protecting the NHS. talk about emotional blackmail!
Leave aside the fact that in its desperation to beat the disease, the Health Service has turned a blind eye to too many non-Covid patients. it’s also worth pointing out that, nationally, hospitals still have more beds free than at this time last year.
We believe Mr Johnson should stick to his guns and trust the public to behave sensibly. People have acted selflessly to fight Covid’s spread and, admirably pragmatic, they surely won’t wish to put others at risk.
With many having already splashed out on preparations for family reunions, scrapping the festive easing might result in mass disobedience. and how would any ban be policed? roadblocks on the motorways?
Moreover, the relaxation of Covid curbs is necessary to tackle social isolation among the elderly and those living alone.
The PM should heed these issues more frequently when battling the pandemic.
The current restrictions are a soup of absurdity. too many people either don’t understand them or find them illogical – meaning compliance ebbs.
It’s insanity to place all of London, the economy’s engine room, in tier three, futilely ruining the hospitality and leisure industries which have spent thousands becoming Covid-secure only to become a scapegoat for the surge in cases. instead, millions will cram dangerously into shops.
With a jobs bloodbath looming, Boris must remember that to protect the country’s health he must also protect its wealth. after the constantly shifting and complicated regulations, has not the time come for the rule of common sense?