Rising hospital admissions means a decision on whether further Covid restrictions will be introduced in England is ‘on a knife edge’, The Times reports.
The Prime Minister is expected to review the latest data on Monday (27 December), where he’ll have to consider if stricter restrictions are needed for the end of 2021 and start of 2022.
He'll likely to have to decide if new restrictions are to be imposed in time for New Year's Eve by the following day (28 December), giving time for parliament to be recalled.
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There’s uncertainty as to what these new restrictions might look like, with some Government insiders suggesting a return to the measures that were in place in April (described as Step Two restrictions at the time) could be on the cards.
However, it's expected that schools will not be closed in January.
Under Step Two of the Covid roadmap outlined earlier this year, all social interactions were limited to households and support bubbles and restaurants and pubs could only serve customers outdoors.
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However, non-essential retail, hairdressers and nail salons were allowed to stay open.
The Government's deliberations come in the wake of concerning data as hospitalisations from Covid-19 continue to rise.
Last Wednesday (22 December), 386 Covid-19 admissions were recorded in hospitals in London, the highest for a single day since 1 February.
The trend is similar across the country, with 1,246 admissions recorded on the same day across England, up by 52 percent week-on-week.
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There are fears hospitals could struggle to cope.
Pat Cullen, the head of the Royal College of Nursing told BBC Breakfast: “The despair that nurses are facing and the fear and the sheer struggle they’re facing every day will continue over the Christmas period.
“It will be similar to last year, if not worse, is what they’re telling us.”
However, a UKHSA study found that people infected with the Omicron variant of the disease were 45 percent less likely to visit A&E, as well as the high number of booster jabs that have been administered, could affect the Government’s thinking.
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The Government’s Scientific Advisory Group For Emergencies (SAGE) have also said that while Omicron infections are growing quickly across the UK, the growth rates are appearing to slow down.
“Ministers will look at all the data we have available,” Dr Jenny Harries, the head of the UK’s Health Security Agency, told the BBC’s Today programme last week. “That isn’t simply what the epidemiology is saying, it’s how it’s impacting society.
“So, for example, we have very high rates of individuals off sick. Now that’s having an impact on the workforce. So these are not simply about hospitalisation rates.
“I don’t think we do know yet that this is going to be a significantly less serious disease for the population — the older population — that we are normally most concerned about in relation to serious disease and death.
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"There is a glimmer of Christmas hope in the findings… but it definitely isn’t yet at the point where we could downgrade that serious threat.”
LADbible has contacted Number 10 for a comment.
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