(London) The British Minister for Health, Sajid Javid, indicated on Saturday that new restrictions would only intervene “as a last resort” in England despite a surge of Omicron cases, believing that it was necessary to learn to “live with it”. The coronavirus.
The United Kingdom, one of the most affected countries with more than 148,600 deaths from the pandemic, records contamination records every day (more than 189,000 in 24 hours on Friday).
Hospitalizations are also on the rise, even if the authorities stress for the moment that the Omicron variant seems to cause less severe forms than the Delta.
“The number (of people) in intensive care units is stable and does not for the moment follow the trajectory that we saw last year during this period during the Alpha wave,” Sajid Javid said in a published column in the Daily Mail.
With the country in “a much stronger position” thanks to a massive vaccine booster campaign, the government decided not to impose new restrictions during the holidays in England, he continued, unlike Scotland, in Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The restrictions on our freedom should only intervene as a last resort,” added Mr. Javid in the tabloid. Stressing “the enormous health, social and economic cost of confinements”, he felt that it was necessary to give oneself the means to “live with the virus” thanks to vaccination, an arsenal of treatments and massive screening.
The minister however acknowledged that the health service would be “inevitably” under pressure in the coming weeks because of a “sharp increase” in hospitalizations.
The newspaper Daily Telegraph However, indicated on Saturday that the government could extend the recommendation for teleworking, in effect since mid-December, to January.
For the New Year, Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed to have achieved the official goal of offering a booster dose to all adults by the end of December, even though more than 70% have actually received it in England.
According to a study by the British Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) published on Friday, patients infected with Omicron who have received a vaccination booster have an 81% reduced risk of being hospitalized compared to unvaccinated people.
Faced with the increase in hospitalizations, the public health service (NHS) has announced that it will set up temporary structures to open hundreds of beds to prepare for the “worst case scenario”.