Will the Covid winter plan be enough?
Last updated 15th Sep 2021
Mandatory face mask wearing and working from home could return if coronavirus cases surge, the government’s Covid-19 winter plan warns.
But the strategy unveilled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes that vaccinations – including jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds and boosters for the over-50s – could keep the pandemic at bay.
The blueprint has been broadly welcomed in East Lancashire but Blackburn with Darwen Council’s public health director Professor Dominic Harrison said requiring the wearing of face masks in enclosed public spaces should have been part of its ‘Plan A’.
The strategy also warns vaccination passports for nightclubs and large events could be made a legal requirement if the virus surges again.
The blueprint says lockdowns and other ‘more harmful’ economic and social restrictions would only be considered as a last resort.
Its Plan A concentrates on pharmaceutical interventions like booster vaccines and flu jabs; ramping up test, trace and isolate rules; providing more money for the NHS and social care; better communications; and helping vaccinate the world and manage risks at the UK border.
Plan B warns of urging people to be more cautious and work from home; introducing vaccine passports in certain settings; and requiring face coverings in some places.
Mr Johnson said: “Covid is still out there. The disease still remains a risk but I am confident we can protect the gains we’ve made together.”
Prof Harrison said: “This winter plan for Covid is broadly what was expected. I support the general approach.
“One criticism of the approach taken by government in this winter plan is that much of the strategy focuses on what we will do if things go ‘pear shaped’. Many public health professionals feel we should be focusing on stopping rising case rates, hospitalisations and deaths in the first place through some sensible retention of basic infection control measures such as mandatory mask wearing in enclosed public spaces.”
His Lancashire County Council counterpart Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, said: “After 18 months of living in a pandemic, it is understandable that people just want to get on with their lives.
“Living with Covid-19 does not mean we can let our guards down completely.
“Getting vaccinated remains the most effective thing you can do, but vaccinations alone are not sufficient.”
John Ashton, former Public Health Director for the North West, said: "It's clear that the Delta variant is quite nasty and that the immunity levels that people have got from the first two jabs does begin to wane. I think all of this is needed for various reasons (booster jabs) , not least to prevent an increase in deaths again during the winter.
"I think what's worrying the government now is the increased pressure on the NHS, which is really struggling because of the combination of the backlog of patients who've now gone untreated for nearly two years, so I think we really do have to crack on with this.
"A lot of this now is going to be down to how the community pulls together and unfortunately we've seen the erosion of that solidarity in recent months so we all need to pull together again to get through this next winter, otherwise it's going to be bad again I'm afraid.
"It's difficult to overstate how exhausted NHS staff are now, there are fears people will be leaving from professional groups, there are fears about the mental health and the post traumatic stress that many healthcare staff have been experiencing, and it really is important that the health authorities prioritise the well-being of their own staff."