New Covid curbs have to be an absolute final resort, writes UK well being minister

New restrictions in England to gradual the unfold of COVID-19 will solely be launched as a final resort, well being minister Sajid Javid mentioned, stressing that though hospitalisations had been rising, the variety of sufferers in intensive care was steady.

The speedy unfold of the Omicron variant throughout the United Kingdom has despatched infections to file highs, with near 190,000 new circumstances reported on Friday.Britain has not introduced in new guidelines for England, which accounts for greater than 80% of the UK inhabitants.READ: Delta, Omicron variants resulting in ‘tsunami’ of Covid circumstances, says WHO chiefScotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all imposed curbs similar to limits on numbers allowed to collect, nightclub closures and social distancing measures in pubs.”Curbs on our freedom must be an absolute last resort,” Javid wrote in an article revealed in Saturday’s Daily Mail newspaper. “We must give ourselves the best chance of living alongside the virus and avoiding strict measures in the future.”Javid had mentioned on Dec. 27 that no new restrictions can be imposed in England earlier than the top of 2021. His article steered none had been imminent in 2022 both. People collect in London’s Soho space to have a good time New Year’s eve on Friday | APHe mentioned that whereas the Omicron surge meant this was a worrying time, Britain was beginning the brand new yr in a far stronger place than it was in 12 months earlier, because of the excessive fee of vaccination in opposition to COVID.”Numbers in intensive care units are stable and not currently following the trajectory we saw this time last year during the Alpha wave,” he wrote.He acknowledged that as a result of time lag between infections and hospitalisations, a giant enhance in individuals needing care from the National Health Service (NHS) was inevitable.”This is likely to test the limits of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter,” he mentioned, urging residents to do every part they may to guard themselves.