[Politics] Covid: Firms urge PM for clarity on restrictions over Christmas

[Mr.Talha]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59736716

 

 

Hospitality and entertainment firms are calling for a clear decision from the government on whether there will be further Covid restrictions in England in the coming days.

Boris Johnson did not announce any new measures on Monday, but said data was being reviewed "hour by hour".

Labour's London mayor Sadiq Khan warned time was running out.

The chancellor met business leaders who want financial support on Monday evening, minister Stephen Barclay said.

He said the government would "say more" about these discussions later and also urged people to have a "cautious" Christmas.

Meanwhile, the health secretary is understood to want people with Covid to isolate for seven days, instead of 10.

Sajid Javid is thought to be in favour of doing this - if clinical advice supports the change - to help ease potential staff shortages across the NHS and other organisations.

With just four days until Christmas, people are looking forward to spending the festive season with loved ones after many missed out last year, when restrictions were brought in just before Christmas.

BBC political correspondent Damian Grammaticas said it now seemed unlikely that new restrictions could be enacted in England before Christmas.

But hospitality and entertainment businesses were facing critical decisions in the coming hours about whether to go ahead with or cancel events over the holiday period, he added.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a former member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this was the most "difficult and uncertain time" since March 2020.

Omicron's transmission was "eye-wateringly high", he said, adding that the variant's rapid spread was driving its impact more than its severity.

Amid ongoing uncertainty about the severity of Omicron, he said it was reasonable to pause for 24 to 36 hours until that data emerges.

But he said if hospitalisations were rising at that stage, the government would have to act - perhaps with more draconian measures than if they had acted a few days ago.

The continuing sharp rise in UK case numbers is already affecting events across the country:

The New Year's Eve celebration in London's Trafalgar Square for 6,500 key workers and members of the public is cancelled in the "interests of public safety"
The Queen calls off her traditional festive stay at Sandringham as a precaution and will stay at Windsor
London's Natural History Museum and Edinburgh Castle temporarily close due to coronavirus-related staff shortages
Almost half of London's major theatres cancel performances this weekend including Hamilton, Wicked and The Lion King
Premier League and English Football League clubs will fulfil their festive fixtures despite disruption as players test positive
Former government chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport warned that the true number of daily Covid infections was more likely to be between 300,000 and 400,000, as only about a third of cases were being identified.

He told BBC Breakfast delaying any decision on restrictions was "potentially very problematic" as rising cases meant some hospitalisations and deaths were already "baked into the system".

In London - which is ahead of the curve on Omicron cases - hospitalisations have risen by about a third in a week, he said.

London hospital group Barts Health Trust has already written to doctors warning they may have to cancel "some or much" of their planned operations in January to cope with the incoming Covid surge.

After a two-hour cabinet meeting on Monday, the prime minister said the government was "looking at all kinds of things" to keep the Omicron variant under control and "ruled nothing out".

There were still some things "we need to be clearer about before we decide to go further", he added.

Ministers have argued that more information about the new variant is needed to justify the economic impact of any restrictions.

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said that instead of imposing restrictions, the government should trust people to make the right decisions to protect their families, reports the Times.

Last Christmas, large parts of south-east England were banned from mixing with other households, while for the rest of England, Scotland and Wales, people were only allowed to mix indoors on Christmas Day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged people to cancel some of their holiday plans as the Omicron variant spreads globally.

"An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled," said WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.