‘Have your booster jab to keep your freedoms’
Javid raises prospect of winter restrictions unless pace of third dose rollout increases
‘If we all play our part, we have the best chance in this race to get through this winter, and enjoy Christmas with our loved ones’
MINISTERS are threatening new Covid restrictions, with the Health Secretary telling the public they must “play their part” in order to enjoy Christmas with loved ones.
Warning that cases could reach 100,000 a day this winter, Sajid Javid urged those offered booster jabs to come forward “not just to save lives, but to keep your freedoms too”.
Mr Javid said the Government would not implement “Plan B” such as mandatory masks, advice to work from home, and vaccine passports “at this point”.
However, The Daily Telegraph understands that Cabinet Office officials are already discussing proposals for mixing between households to be banned, which could form part of a “Plan C”.
Mr Javid used his first Downing Street press conference to warn of a “narrowing gap” in the race between the vaccine and the virus and said: “We’ve come so far, thanks to the efforts of so many, but with winter ahead we can’t blow it now.”
The Government is facing criticism for shutting pop-up vaccination centres while around five million eligible people are yet to receive their third jab. The target to vaccinate most 12 to 15-yearolds by the October half-term also looks set to be missed with 85 per cent still waiting for their first jab.
Mr Javid also suggested that people should meet outdoors if possible, wear masks in crowded areas, and make more use of lateral flow tests. With 49,139 Covid cases yesterday – a 17 per cent rise in a week – Mr Javid said the figure could reach 100,000 a day.
“We’re looking closely at the data, and we won’t be implementing our Plan B of contingency measures at this point,” he told the press conference.
“But we’ll be staying vigilant preparing for all eventualities while strengthening our vital defences that can help us fight back against this virus.” Last month ministers published a Plan B setting out restrictions, such as mandatory vaccine passports, face coverings, and advice to work from home, which might be introduced if the NHS is deemed to be under “unsustainable pressure”.
But the Telegraph has learnt that officials are discussing stricter steps – including a return to banning visits between households – if pressure on hospitals worsens.
Such measures were in place for much of last year, when people were able to meet in pubs and restaurants, after they reopened, but not visit each other’s homes. However, the system changed as the country entered a lockdown in January, with the ban on household mixing only abolished in May.
Officials in the Cabinet Office’s Covid taskforce are understood to be discussing whether such measures should be introduced this winter, if Plan B is implemented yet deemed insufficient.
One Whitehall source said: “The focus is very much on measures that can be taken without a major economic impact, so keeping shops, pubs and restaurants open but looking at other ways to reduce the risks.”
The measure is under consideration amid concern that people are most likely to experience prolonged exposure to Covid within the home, while high prevalence of the virus among teenagers and children could feed through into adults.
The measure would allow Boris Johnson to shield the economy from the most extreme measures, by allowing businesses to stay open. The discussions remain at an early stage, with Whitehall insiders stressing that they formed part of contingency planning and would not be added to Plan B, and would not be automatically introduced if Plan B was enacted but failed to work.
Yesterday hospital managers urged ministers to introduce Plan B now, with Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation, saying “we risk stumbling into a winter crisis” without action.
Last night the Health Secretary repeatedly implored anyone eligible for a vaccine to take it up. It comes amid concern that rising numbers of elderly who should have had their boosters are struggling to get their vaccines.
Mr Javid said: “We’ve got the jabs, we just need the arms to put them in. If you haven’t been invited within a week of reaching that six-month milestone then please, get on to the National Booking Service and book online or phone 119.”
He urged anyone offered a vaccine to take it up, highlighting the fivemillion people who have not had a first jab.
The Health Secretary said restrictions would be “more likely” this winter if people did not get vaccinated or wear masks in crowded places. “If we all play our part then we can give ourselves the best possible chance in this race, get through this winter, and enjoy Christmas with our loved ones,” he said.
“If not enough people get their booster jabs, if not enough of those people that were eligible for the original offer, the five million that remain unvaccinated, if they don’t come forward, if people don’t wear masks when they should in a crowded place with lots of people that they don’t normally hang out with, if they’re not washing their hands and stuff, it’s going to hit us all.
“And it would of course make it more likely we’re going to have more restrictions,” he said. Urging those eligible to come forward when offered jabs, he said: “If we want to secure these freedoms for the long term, the best thing
that we can do is come forward, once again, when that moment comes. Mr Javid also likened the vaccine rollout to the national effort during the Second World War and pledged ministers would “throw everything” at the booster programme, telling reporters: “Is it a Blitz spirit? Yes it is.”
At the same conference he announced that anti-viral drugs that could halve the risk of death or hospitalisation could be given to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients under a new NHS deal.
Health officials said the new drugs would be given to those most at risk from the virus, helping reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS over winter.
The Government has procured 730,000 doses of two new types of drug, which can be given to those who test positive for Covid and to those exposed to it, to prevent severe disease. Yesterday the Business Secretary said he could “categorically rule out” lockdowns, saying: “We’ve worked really hard to get to the point that we could actually open up the economy.”
The Prime Minister has refused to be drawn on which thresholds could trigger “Plan B”. But government scientists have suggested that measures might be considered for England if hospitalisations approach 1,200 a day.
Daily hospital admissions are currently at 869, with a rise of 11 per cent in the last week. Last month Prof Neil Ferguson told MPS that a doubling in hospitalisations could be enough to trigger introduction of control measures. Then daily admissions were at 600.
The Government said: “We always knew the coming months would be challenging, which is why we set out our plan for autumn and winter last month.”