The i newspaper reported that the UK government is planning October ‘firebreak’ lockdown restrictions if hospital admissions within the UK stay high
A senior government scientist and Sage member has reportedly told the i newspaper that government ministers are planning ‘firebreak’ restrictions next month if coronavirus hospital admissions stay high.
UK Vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, has not denied that the ‘firebreak’ restrictions could be implemented in October if the UK’s COVID-19 hospitalisations remain at a high level, but said that it depends on the success of the booster vaccine programme for the elderly and the most vulnerable.
Mr Zahawi said that the booster programme is his “absolute priority” as it will “absolutely help us to transition the virus from pandemic to endemic status”.
But he then warned that the “one-way road towards sustaining the opening of the economy” will only happen “if we do that well”.
It comes following the i newspaper reported that the UK government is planning October ‘firebreak’ lockdown restrictions if coronavirus hospital admissions within the UK stays high.
This comes after services may be cut unless NHS England receives an extra £10bn in funding next year, groups representing the service have warned. The NHS Confederation, as well as NHS Providers have said that the money was needed to cover pandemic-related costs.
A senior government scientist and Sage member has reportedly told the newspaper that the UK is about to enter “an extended peak” of coronavirus infections and hospitalisations, forcing ministers to re-introduce restrictions over the half-term school period towards the end of next month.
He added that while a full national lockdown is unlikely and would be a last resort, some measures could be re-introduced and the school half-term could also be extended to two weeks in late October if the NHS is pushed to the brink of capacity.
But, posting on social media on Tuesday, the Department for Education said: “It is not true that the government is planning a lockdown or firebreak around the October half term.”
And Downing Street has since denied that there is a plan to introduce a so-called “firebreak” lockdown in October if there is a new surge in cases of COVID-19.
“No, it is not true that the government is planning a lockdown or firebreak around the October half-term,” the PM’s official spokesperson said.
During his Tuesday morning broadcast media round, Mr Zahawi added that he had seen no plans for an October “firebreak” lockdown if cases rise this autumn.
The potential booster programme would cover a large proportion of the population and would be designed to extend the already strong protection an individual has already received from their first and second jabs.
Data on the general booster campaign plans is still being collected and analysed with a date for the booster roll-out expected to be announced very soon.
The current COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to give good protection against severe disease from the coronavirus for at least six months, and there is also evidence of them providing longer-lasting protection.
This comes after Dr Yvonne Doyle, Director for Public Health England, said that she understood parents’ nervousness about schools returning after the summer within England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but she insisted that they were not “hubs of infection”.
But because any rise in cases of the virus would place pressure upon the NHS, a booster protection plan for winter has also been deemed necessary.
Speaking last week, the UK’s Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, said that the government’s plan remained for the booster programme to begin in September.
Who a booster jab should be offered to will be recommended to the government by the JCVI.
In August, senior officials from the World Health Organisation criticised countries such as the United States and Israel for rolling out a booster vaccine programme when many people across the world have yet to receive any vaccinations at all.
