Coronavirus restrictions might be needed NEXT WINTER if vaccine drive doesn’t suppress enough infections, warns Chris Whitty
Chris Whitty warned UK to take government’s stay at home message seriously
He said risk level will decrease over time with measures ‘lifted by degrees’
But he added: ‘We might have to bring in a few [restrictions] in the next winter’
Prof Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said winter ‘will benefit the virus’
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Britain may have to endure coronavirus restrictions next Christmas because coronavirus ‘benefits’ from cooler months, Chris Whitty has suggested
Britain may have to endure coronavirus restrictions next winter because coronavirus ‘benefits’ from cooler months, Chris Whitty has suggested.
Offical for National Statistics figures show an estimated 1.1 million people in private households in England had Covid-19 between December 27 and January 2 – equivalent to around 2.06% of the population.
Professor Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said it was ‘really quite a large number indeed’, warning people to take the government’s stay at home message seriously, owing to the new variant as well as winter.
He said the risk level will gradually decrease over time with measures being ‘lifted by degrees, possibly at different rates in different parts of the country, we’ll have to see’.
‘We’ll then get over time to a point where people say this level of risk is something society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all,’ he added.
‘We might have to bring in a few in the next winter for example, that’s possible, because winter will benefit the virus.’
He also said it was important to follow the recommendations on vaccine ordering by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, despite pressure for teachers to be given greater priority.
‘The reason for that is that that ordering means that we will have the maximum impact on the disease because the people that are by far the highest risk of dying will be vaccinated first,’ he explained.
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