Leaked document says Plan C or lockdown needed by December 18
With news that the new variant could become the main COVID strain, the UK Health and Security Agency has warned Sajid Javid that tough and immediate action is needed.
The NHS is already under unsustainable pressure, but if the COVID cases continue to increase then the NHS could crumble.
To combat the strain on the NHS, experts are warning the Government to take action now before it is too late.
Scientists have already warned the Government that 75,000 people could die of COVD within five months if action is not taken.
According to leaked reports, a Plan C has already been drawn up, and that Plan C could happen by December 18.
There are around 60,000 cases a day. The UKHSA has already warned that if action is not taken then the NHS will be put under too much pressure.
According to the UKHSA, the number of COVID cases could reach 248,000 a day by December 19, with 5,000 of those people needing to be admitted to hospital.
SAGE expert and lockdown architect Professor Neil Ferguson believes the figures are wrong and it could be twice as much as the UKHSA has predicted.
An emergency COBRA meeting has already taken place on Friday, where it is believed an action plan for Plan C has been drawn up.
According to The Guardian, the advice to Mr Javid reads: “Under a range of plausible scenarios, stringent action is needed on or before 18 December 2021 if doubling times stay at 2.5 days.”
It says even if the rate at which Omicron spreads is cut in half by Plan B measures tougher rules will still be needed this month.
It says that even if Omicron causes hospitalisation at a third of the rate of Delta – amid speculation symptoms may be less severe – tough measures will still be needed by December 18
Professor Ferguson believes that it may be impossible to avoid a full national lockdown with the number of new COVID cases rising. That would cause huge problems for pubs and restaurants being forced to close once again.
A government spokesperson said on Friday: “There are no plans for further restrictions. Plan B is the proportionate approach given what we know at this stage about the Omicron variant.
“The government will continue to look closely at all the emerging data, and we’ll keep our measures under review as we learn more about this variant.”
He said such a figure could be reached “sometime in January” but added that it was based on assumptions around the variant’s ability to get around existing protection, and the premise that it is similar to Delta in terms of the severity of the disease it causes – something that is not yet known.
He said: “Even the best-case scenarios involve several-fold more admissions per day than we’re getting at the moment – we are at about 700 right now.”
When Plan B was announced, those who are classed as vulnerable were shocked they were not mentioned. We spoke to vulnerable people in Skegness, Boston, Scunthorpe, and Gainsborough who said they felt Boris Johnson was risking their lives.
It was not just vulnerable people who were not happy with Plan B. We spoke to small businesses in Skegness, Lincoln, and Boston who said they were concerned about the future.
If Plan C is introduced or a full lockdown, then it could put a lot of small businesses owners in Skegness, Grimsby, and the rest of Lincolnshire out of business, unless a financial plan is put in place.
