‘I’m very fearful that we’re going to have another lockdown Christmas if we don’t act soon’
A Government adviser has warned about what will happen if we delay trying to get rising covid cases under control. reports
ATOP government adviser is urging the public to do all they can to reduce the spread of covid - amid fears that this year could see another ‘lockdown Christmas’.
Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), described the current level of cases and deaths as ‘unacceptable’.
He said measures such as working from home and mask wearing are ‘so important’ as part of efforts to control the spread of the virus.
The expert’s warning comes as the boss of the Royal Stoke University Hospital also voiced her concerns.
Stoke-on-trent currently has the 42nd highest infection rate in England at 525.3 per 100, 00 residents after seeing 1,348 cases in the seven days to October 17.
UNHM chief executive Tracy Bullock said: “It’s very worrying but explains why the NHS locally is overwhelmed.”
Despite the concerns, the Prime Minister has thus far resisted calls from health leaders for tighter restrictions despite the rising levels of infections.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last week that new cases could reach 100,000 a day but Downing Street insisted there was still spare capacity in the NHS and that Plan B - working from home and mandatory face masks - would only be activated if it came under ‘significant pressure’.
Prof Openshaw, of Imperial College London, told BBC Breakfast: “I’m very fearful that we’re going to have another lockdown Christmas if we don’t act soon.
“We know that with public health measures the time to act is immediately. There’s no point in delaying.
“If you do delay then you need to take even more stringent actions later. The immediacy of response is absolutely vital if you’re going to get things under control.
“We all really, really want a wonderful family Christmas where we can all get back together.
“If that’s what we want, we need to get these measures in place now in order to get transmission rates right down so that we can actually get together and see one another over Christmas.”
The professor also urged people to avoid public transport if possible, as ‘roughly one in 60 people in a crowded space will have the virus.’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak told
The Times the country could not return to ‘significant economic restrictions’ and that the vaccine rollout meant this was not necessary, while Boris Johnson also said on Friday that another lockdown was not planned.
UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls warned that businesses will not survive another winter of lockdown restrictions.
Asked on Times Radio if she thought businesses would survive if the Government goes ahead with Plan B, she said: “No I don’t, bluntly. We have already lost 12,000 businesses.”
She said that when restrictions are in place ‘consumers do stay at home, they don’t go out and socialise’.