'Covid loves a crowd': Britons urged to stay home on New Year's Eve
Scientists, police and the prime minister are urging people to welcome in the new year in their own home, with an NHS chief warning it is “absolutely vital” to avoid meeting family and friends because “Covid loves a crowd”.
Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, told Wednesday’s No 10 press conference that the new UK coronavirus variant was fuelling a steep rise in infections, and said any plans to meet with those from other households should be postponed.
“Its absolutely vital that this year everybody continues to follow the guidance by staying at home and not mixing,” he said. “Covid loves a crowd so please leave the parties for later in the year.”
The prime minister, Boris Johnson, also instructed people to follow local restrictions and see in the new year at home.
“That means not meeting up with friends or family indoors, unless they are in the same household or support bubble, and avoiding large gatherings of any kind,” he said.
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, told the briefing: “I know new year is coming up, I know it is normally a time of great festivity and enjoyment, but you have just got to play your part now in bringing us back from this very dangerous situation that we find ourselves in.”
The UK reported another 981 Covidrelated deaths on Wednesday, the highest daily toll since April, and a further 50,023 infections in the last 24 hours. The number of patients in hospital with Covid in England is higher than recorded during the peak of the first wave.
Prof Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London, a member of the UK’s Sage scientific advisory sub-group Nervtag, said the situation was very worrying.
“The new variants of Covid in the UK and in [South] Africa show that the virus is on the move. We have to get rates of infection down, keep them there and vaccinate as many people as possible,” he said. “Every transmission is another chance for the virus to mutate: the more virus there is around, the more it will evolve.”
He added that the impact of Christmas mixing was expected to become apparent in case numbers and the death toll in the coming weeks.
Prof Kamlesh Khunti, of the University of Leicester, who sits on Sage and is also a member of the Independent Sage group of experts, said the virus was rampant and the situation severe.
“The number of admissions is similar to [where] we were in April, and that is without the infections we are going to get because of the Christmas Day mixing,” he said, adding that admissions from other illnesses, typical over the winter months, would add further to the pressure on hospitals.
Khunti added that no one should be complacent, noting Covid had also affected young people, and urged people to forgo meeting up in person to welcome in 2021.
“Please do not go out and celebrate,” he said. “Some people have managed really well having celebrations virtually. There is a way to do this,” he added, noting that technology meant people could chat, drink and socialise together safely.
“We have got now the vaccine, we shouldn’t really mess this up now,” he said.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, urged Scots to avoid traditional celebrations for Hogmanay on Thursday, including “first footing” neighbours and relatives on New Year’s Day and holding house parties to welcome the new year. “We should bring in the 2021 in our own homes, with our own households,” she told MSPs. “This new strain is very serious. I can’t stress that enough.”
Police have said most people were obeying the restrictions in their areas, but across the country they had discovered a number of raves, large-scale parties and businesses including hairdressers trying to stay open.
Police say they will concentrate on the biggest breaches of the Covid rules on New Year’s Eve, such as ticketed events and unlicensed music events including raves, with sources adding officers will not be going “house to house” looking for breaches. Officers will try to encourage people to comply before issuing fines.
Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said that while many people may want to celebrate after a difficult year, it was necessary to stick to the restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
A poll conducted by YouGov between 8-9 December has suggested most people will forgo new year revels, with a survey of 2,199 adults, carried out online and weighted to be nationally representative, revealing that 95% of people are not planning to break coronavirus restrictions to welcome in 2021.