How a ‘Plan B’ could see return of Covid lockdown
LEAKED DOCUMENT SHOWS HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS
A LEAKED document has suggested that Brits could be forced to return to working from home, wear mandatory masks and carry Covid certification until March 2022 under the Government’s winter Plan B.
The papers from the Cabinet Office’s Covid-19 task force and the Treasury show that ministers have been seriously considering the move to Plan B with it being in place throughout winter until the end of March next year.
The documents, obtained by London Playbook, also show that Boris Johnson has been warned that the move would cause £18bn of damage to the UK economy.
Work-from-home directives and vaccine passports have been judged to have a potential “high impact” on the economy and may even make some current issues such as the supply chain crisis even worse.
In recent weeks the government and the Prime Minister have faced increasing pressure from public health leaders to take action to curb a rise in coronavirus infections across the country.
The “Plan B” measures that are being considered according to recent reports from a raft of leaked government documents include a return to mandatory mask wearing, another work-from-home directive and the introduction of Covid-19 certification and “vaccine passports”.
The latest leak suggests that ministers are currently working under the assumption that if Plan B is activated, it will remain in place for five months until the end of March next year.
The report produced by the Covid19 taskforce suggests that Covid certification for big events would reduce transmission of the virus by between 40 and 45 per cent.
The report does warn that only two to 13 per cent of transmissions actually happen at venues and events and certification would only have a small impact on overall community transmission.
Vaccine passports are judged to have a “high impact” on the economy in the report with no accurate conclusion on their effect in reducing transmission.
The suggested cost of the vaccine passports in the events sector is estimated at between £1.4bn and £2.3bn.
Looming within the report is the threat of the so-called Plan C, which would be a return to even stricter measures and possibly another lockdown situation. If the taskforce documents are to be believed then it is clear that the government is weighing the economic impact of Plan B against its effect in reducing infections.
The Government has been presented with the estimate that Plan B would cost the UK economy £800m a week to implement for five months.
A government spokesperson told Politico: “We knew the coming months would be challenging, which is why we set out our autumn and winter plan last month.
“Plan B ensures we are ready, should we need to act, to avoid an unsustainable rise in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.
“The presumptions put forward do not reflect government policy.
“The data does not currently show that Plan B is necessary — and there is no planned five-month timeline.”