Drakeford doubtful of ‘return to normal by christmas’
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson’s prediction that the UK could return to normality by Christmas is a “pretty sunny view of circumstances”, Wales’ First Minister said yesterday.
Mark Drakeford warned it may not be possible to continue relaxing measures into the winter months, referring to reports that have predicted a “worse experience” than in the spring due to colder and darker conditions.
His warning came after Mr Johnson announced – for England – the easing of work-from-home guidance and plans for sports stadiums and theatres to reopen as he set out his blueprint for a “signficant return to normality” there from as early as November.
Mr Johnson said: “It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November, at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas,” he added.
But Mr Drakeford told the Welsh Government’s final Covid-19 daily press briefing: “In relation to the Prime Minister’s view that everything might be back to normal by Christmas, I must say I do think you have to take a pretty sunny view of circumstances to think that might be true.
“We’ve just been talking about the Academy of Royal Colleges report that said we could be in for a worse experience in the winter than we had in the spring because of the way that this virus circulates and operates.
“Where we are able to, we will go on unlocking lockdown measures in Wales and return us to something that looks a bit more like things were before the virus hit.
“Can we be confident that in the depths of winter we’ll still be in a position to go on doing that?
“I think you have to take a pretty optimistic view of the advice we have had to think that is a realistic proposition.”
Mr Drakeford said Wales would prepare for the “reasonable worst case scenario” of a resurgence of the virus later in the year, with work to take place over the summer months to prepare field hospitals, care homes, as well as the difficulties posed by the flu season.
There would also be discussions with doctors and nurses who returned from retirement about taking a break over the summer, he said, with the possibility of recalling them “if we head back into more difficult times in the autumn”.
In the meantime, he said the Welsh Government’s advice to workers was to “stay at home and work from home” if they are able to do so.
“I positively don’t want people to be returning to offices in the way that we did before coronavirus happened,” Mr Drakeford said.
“Coronavirus has been an awful experience but one of the positive things we have learnt is just how possible it is for people to work very effectively from home without the need for large numbers of people to be travelling at peak times of the day to the office locations.”
This counters the Prime Minister announcement that it will be up to employers in England to discuss with their workers whether it is safe to return from August 1
Mr Drakeford also confirmed it was not until March 23 that the UK Government’s Cobra meeting recommended a “full lockdown”, after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed it had “truly started” on March 16, seven days before it was formally announced by the Prime Minister.
“My memory of those Cobra meetings is that in the week before March 23, we discussed a wide range of issues – whether schools needed to be closed, whether mass gatherings could go ahead – but it wasn’t until the 23rd that we were advised that a full lockdown was required across the United Kingdom,” Mr Drakeford said.
“We took the decision on that day to follow that advice.”
Mr Johnson also announced yesterday that – in England – most remaining leisure centres will reopen and indoor performances with live audiences can resume on August 1 if pilots are successful, while trials will begin for sports stadiums to reopen from October.
Mr Johnson also immediately scrapped the advice to avoid public transport in England and detailed plans to extinguish local outbreaks of coronavirus to avoid another national shutdown.
The PM’s easing of the work-fromhome guidance also potentially pits him against his chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, who earlier said there is “absolutely no reason” to change the advice.
But the PM told his Downing Street press conference: “It is not for government to decide how employers should run their companies and whether they want their workforces in the office or not – that is for companies.”
In response to a question from the public, the PM said it “may conceivably be possible” to depart from social distancing measures “by November at the earliest”.
Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty has previously warned that social distancing measures will need to stay in place until the discovery of a vaccine or highly effective drugs to reduce Covid-19’s severity.
Mr Johnson said Sir Patrick and Prof Whitty had taken part in a Cabinet discussion before the relaxation was announced but said “in the end decisions are taken by the elected politicians”.
He also set out his plans to prepare the NHS for a potential second spike in Covid-19 cases coinciding with the flu season this winter, saying the nation must be “hoping for the best, but planning for the worst”.
An extra £3bn funding for the NHS in England, and extra cash for the devolved nations, will allow Nightingale hospitals to remain open and for private hospital capacity to be used until the end of March, he said.
His pledges come after a report commissioned by Sir Patrick, his top scientific adviser, warned there could be 120,000 hospital deaths in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”.
■ Johnson sets out plan – page 14
BORIS Johnson eased the work-from-home guidance and paved the way for theatres and sports stadiums to reopen as he set out plans for a “significant return to normality” in England from as early as November.
The Prime Minister said that it will be up to employers to discuss with workers whether it is safe to return from August 1, as he detailed new measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
From that date, he said, most remaining leisure centres in England will reopen and indoor performances with live audiences can resume if pilots are successful, while trials will begin for sports stadiums to reopen from October.
Mr Johnson also immediately scrapped the advice to avoid public transport in England and detailed plans to extinguish local outbreaks of coronavirus to avoid another national shutdown.
“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November, at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas,” he added.
But the relaxation of the strict rules will bring the nation into a new normal, with mask-wearing and social distancing remaining essential parts of life for now.
The PM’s easing of the work-from-home guidance potentially pits him against his chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, who earlier said there is “absolutely no reason” to change the advice.
But the PM told his Downing Street press conference: “It is not for government to decide how employers should run their companies and whether they want their workforces in the office or not – that is for companies.”
In response to a question from the public, the PM said it “may conceivably be possible” to depart from social distancing measures “by November at the earliest”. Chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty has previously warned that social distancing measures will need to stay in place until the discovery of a vaccine or highly effective drugs to reduce Covid-19’s severity.
Mr Johnson said Sir Patrick and Prof Whitty had taken part in a Cabinet discussion before the relaxation was announced but said “in the end decisions are taken by the elected politicians”.
From next month, wedding receptions for up to 30 people can resume in England, and bowling lanes, skating rinks, casinos and beauticians can reopen as long as they have measures in place to reduce Covid-19 transmission.