New restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 cases in the UK will only apply as a last resort, Health Minister Sajid Javid said, noting that despite the increase in hospitalizations, the number of patients being treated in intensive care units treatment remains constant.
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the UK has raised infections to high levels, with cases reaching 190,000 cases by Friday.
Britain has not implemented new measures for England, which has a population of more than 80% of the population in the United Kingdom.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have imposed restrictions, such as reducing the number of people allowed to gather together, closing nightclubs, and implementing social distance measures in pubs.
“Restrictions on our freedom must be our last resort,” Javid said in an article published in today’s edition of the Daily Mail. “We must give ourselves the best opportunity to live with the virus, but also to avoid harsh measures in the future,” he said.
Javid had stated on December 27 that no new restrictions would be imposed in England before the end of 2021. His article implies that the imposition of sanctions is not imminent for 2022.
He said that despite the fact that the increase in Omicron cases was characterized by this period as worrying, Britain is entering the new year in a stronger position than the country in which it was, twelve months ago, given the high percentage of COVID vaccination.
“The numbers in the intensive care units are stable, while in the current period they do not follow the course we saw in the corresponding period of the previous year, during the transmission wave of the Alpha variant,” he wrote.
At the same time, Javid acknowledged that because of the time it took between infections and hospitalizations, a large increase in the number of people in need of care from the National Health Service (NHS) was inevitable.
“This development is likely to test the limits of the NHS final capacity much more than a typical winter,” Javid said, urging citizens to do what they can to protect themselves.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
.
