Boris Johnson will on Sunday outline plans for families to see each other at Christmas alongside a tougher three-tiered regional coronavirus strategy for England, which will come into effect after the national lockdown ends on December 2.
Cabinet ministers are expected to discuss and sign off on the Covid Winter Plan on Sunday, and Mr Johnson will announce the new restrictions to MPs in Parliament the following day.
However, the introduction of a harsher tiered system will probably intensify tensions between Mr Johnson and rebel backbenchers. On Saturday around 70 MPs from the newly formed Covid Recovery Group wrote to the prime minister threatening to vote down the new restrictions.
Members of the group, which formed earlier this month with the aim of ending the “devastating cycle of repeated restrictions”, have called for the government to demonstrate that the new restrictions post December 2, will “save more lives than they cost”.
“Government must publish a full cost-benefit analysis of the proposed restrictions on a regional basis so that MPs can assess responsibly the non-Covid health impact of restrictions”, the MPs warned.
Last month, more than 30 rebels voted against the introduction of nationwide restrictions in November, including Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 committee and former chief whip Mark Harper.
On Monday, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies are expected to detail the scientific advice behind the measures and produce evidence indicating that the previous tiering system introduced in England in October was not effective.
Previous documents presented to the government by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling in early November found the impact of tiers one and two was not clear. “If England returns to the same application of the tiering system in place before 5th November, then transmission will return to the same rate of increase as today,” the group said.
On Thursday, ministers will outline which areas will be placed into each tier, with measures set to be strengthened in some areas, in order to “safeguard the gains made during the period of national restrictions”.
Downing Street has signalled that more areas will be placed into the highest tiers.
No end date for the tiered system has been specified but the government has said that measures will be reviewed regularly and will take into consideration the need to support local economies and businesses.
No 10 also said that recent developments on vaccine trials and mass testing, provided “real confidence” that restrictions could “be gradually reduced” in the lead up to Spring.
The government will also continue talks with leaders from the devolved nations next week in order to finalise a UK-wide approach to the festive season.
The winter plan will set out the extent to which families will be able to spend time with their loved ones, however, ministers, including health secretary Matt Hancock on Friday, have been keen to stress that the public should not expect a “normal” Christmas.
Labour has called for further clarity on the new rules and reassurances from the government that its Test and Trace system, which in the week to November 11 only reached 60.5 per cent of contacts, will be improved.
A spokesperson added: “There now needs to be total clarity about what we are moving to once the full national lockdown eases, with measures people can follow and proper packages of support for those businesses that are unable to fully reopen. The previous system was failing — simply returning to it without other measures in place will not work.”
A further 19,875 positive infections were recorded in the UK on Saturday alongside 341 Covid deaths within the 24 hour period. This compares to 511 recorded deaths on Friday.
At Friday's Downing Street press briefing however, the national medical director of NHS England, Steve Powis warned against complacency, observing that while the number of Covid-19 hospital inpatients in England appeared to be levelling off, scientists would need to analyse more data in the coming weeks.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “Everyone’s efforts during the current national restrictions have helped bring the virus back under control, slowed its spread and eased pressures on the NHS.
“But the Prime Minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present — and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect.”
Next week, as part of the planned spending review, chancellor Rishi Sunak is also expected to announce a £500m package for mental health in recognition of the continued impact of coronavirus on mental wellbeing.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50L2E2NzljZjkwLWNiMGQtNDZiYS1hOGEzLWI2Y2ZlNzRhZGViNdIBP2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50L2E2NzljZjkwLWNiMGQtNDZiYS1hOGEzLWI2Y2ZlNzRhZGViNQ?oc=5
2020-11-22 00:22:30Z
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