Boris Johnson has put off a decision about whether to impose new Covid restrictions across England to curb soaring cases – but warned he will “reserve the possibility of taking further action” before Christmas.
After a cabinet meeting lasting more than two hours, where scientific advisers briefed ministers on the latest data including a steep rise in hospitalisations in London, the prime minister said the arguments for and against stricter measures were “finely balanced” and the situation was “extremely difficult”.
Johnson is caught between sceptical cabinet colleagues, who believe there is not enough evidence yet to justify a “plan C” that could include a ban on indoor households mixing, and scientists who argue that the benefits of new rules will shrink the later they are implemented, amid the rise of the Omicron variant.
Pressed on whether England could return to stage 2 of the roadmap out of England’s second lockdown – which came into effect on 12 April 2021 – Johnson said he was “looking at all kinds of things”, adding: “We will rule nothing out.”
“We will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public and to protect public health, to protect the NHS. We won’t hesitate to take that action,” he said “We should keep the data from now on under constant review … hour by hour.”
The prime minister was accused of leaving millions of people and businesses facing ongoing uncertainty. Kate Nicholls, head of UKHospitality, tweeted: “So no change – for now. Hospitality needs notice if there are to be any changes looked at next week ahead of New Year and crucially we still need support. Businesses are in limbo having lost 40-60% of Dec[ember] trade and with big rent and rate bills and staff wages to pay at end of month.”
Some people have already returned home for Christmas, and pubs, restaurants and theatres have warned of a stark drop-off in customers following advice last week from Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, that people should cut down on socialising.
Speaking from No 10 after the cabinet meeting on Monday, Johnson defended not acting more swiftly. “There are still some things that we need to be clearer about before we decide to go further,” he said. “But I’ve got to say to the British public, and I say to everybody, we will not exclude going further if we have to, to do things to protect the public.”
Johnson said that “in many ways I regret” the impact on hospitality firms of the plan B measures, but did not pledge any new specific financial support for them. He reiterated existing schemes, though added: “We will keep the economic side of this under constant review as well.”
After nearly 100 Tory MPs voted down plan B – which included telling people to work from home where possible, introducing Covid passes at large venues and making masks mandatory in some shops and on public transport – Johnson said if they slowed the growth of the Omicron variant “that can be very helpful to us and the country”.
He added: “What really matters is for everybody to get vaccinated and get boosted above all because the booster really does give you a very high level of protection.” More than 1 million people had a Covid jab on Saturday, with just over 50% of all over 12s having received a booster dose once the latest figures were updated on Monday.
Johnson said that the latest data he had been given by Whitty and the government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, showed hospitalisations were continuing to rise “quite steeply” in London. “It is important we act cautiously,” he said.
Source: Guardian
