Health Minister Gillian Keegan defends UK response to Omicron variant

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The new head of NHS Test and Trace today warned Britons not to socialise before Christmas ‘unless you need to’ after Scotland announced three more cases of the Omicron super strain, bringing the UK’s total to 14. 

Dr Jenny Harries, one of No10’s chief health experts, issued the stark warning as she admitted that vaccines are likely to be less effective against the strain, which she said could have ‘significant impact on our hospitals’.

She hinted that work from home could be the next measure to be reintroduced if the outbreak starts to grow, adding: ‘If we see surges, then working from home will be a good thing to do.’  

The Government’s new rules on face masks and self-isolation to slow the spread of the variant came into effect in England from 4am this morning, which mandate coverings are worn on public transport, in shops, beauty salons and hairdressers.

But Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan today urged people in the capital to wear face masks in pubs and restaurants, deviating from No10’s own guidance.

Nationally, the restrictions are to be reviewed again in three weeks, which means Britons could be stung with last-minute curbs just days before Christmas. 

Boris Johnson will hold a Downing Street press conference at 4pm this afternoon to give an update on the Covid situation and lay out the suite of measures that kicked in this morning to tackle the variant. 

The Prime Minister this morning defended England’s new coronavirus rules, which he claimed are ‘proportionate and responsible’.

‘The measures taking effect today are proportionate and responsible, and will buy us time in the face of this new variant,’ he said.

‘Vaccines and boosters remain our best line of defence, so it is more important than ever that people come forward when eligible to get boosted.’

The number of Omicron cases identified in the UK has now hit 14 after Scotland announced three more this morning, bringing its total to nine, while England has discovered five. 

Britain yesterday expanded its current booster rollout for all adults over 18. Even though the vaccines are expected to be much weaker against Omicron, it is hoped that topping up everyone’s immunity to very high levels will offer an extra line of defence against the incoming wave.  

On another day of Covid chaos:

Vaccine maker Moderna warned it will take months to develop an Omicron-specific booster; Nicola Sturgeon slammed the brakes on restrictions easing in Scotland; Retail bosses warned that they cannot be expected to enforce new facemask rules in shops; Universities, colleges and secondary schools in Wales have been told they should now enforce masks indoors.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chief executive Dr Harries today told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) ‘has shown that if we have significant surges in Covid cases, then actually working from home is one of the key ones to implement and that’s why it is in Plan B’.

‘But it’s probably worth just thinking through at the moment; although I’m sure we will have more cases announced, we do only have five confirmed cases (of the new Omicron variant in England) and 10 highly probable at the moment.

‘So it’s a very early stage for this, I think, but certainly, if we see surges, then working from home will be a good thing to do.’

Speaking earlier about vaccine effectiveness, she said it is highly likely that the UK’s vaccination programme will be beneficial in the face of the Omicron variant but experts also expect vaccine effectiveness to be reduced.

She said the current understanding is that the booster will ‘shoot up your immunity levels and so getting that high background level of immunity on a population basis may, to some extent, counter the reduced effectiveness against this particular variant’.

She added that there is a need to ‘be really careful about interpreting the data’ after suggestions from South Africa that the variant is causing mild illness, saying that the UK has an older population, with an average age of 41, compared with 27 in South Africa.

Speaking to Sky News’s Kay Burley this morning, Sadiq Khan hinted that coverings might need to be extended to hospitality settings at a later date if the so-called ‘Omicron’ variant is worse than feared.

Under restrictions which came into force at 4am, facemasks are again compulsory on public transport, in shops and settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers in England. 

In an interview with Sky News this morning, Mr Khan urged: ‘If you’re in a pub, bar or restaurant, particularly if you’re standing up in one of those bars rather than at a table, and you can’t keep your distance, and you’re not drinking, wear a facemask.’

Calling on the Prime Minister to keep the restriction in place until the threat of the new strain subsides, the Mayor added: ‘One of my requests from the Government is, let’s not have a hokey cokey when it comes to facemask-wearing where they’re going to review it in three weeks’ time.

‘As far as I’m concerned, on public transport – because more often than not we’ve got to be confined, we can’t keep our social distance – let’s keep it at mandatory with the ability to back it up with the police, with the ability to issue fines even in three weeks’ time, finger crossed, should Omicron not be as bad as some fear. 

It comes after Health Minister Gillian Keegan today insisted it is better for the UK to ‘overreact than underreact’ to the new Omicron coronavirus variant after Joe Biden told the US the mutant strain is ‘not a cause for panic’. 

Ms Keegan said ministers are trying to strike the right ‘balance’ in the response but she admitted it is a difficult judgment to make because there are many ‘unknowns’ associated with the variant. 

All travellers returning to the UK must now take a PCR test on or before day two after their arrival. They can leave isolation once they have a negative test result.  

Close contacts of Omicron cases must isolate at home for ten days regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not, prompting fears of another ‘pingdemic’.

Ms Keegan insisted ‘Christmas is on track’ amid fears the Omicron variant could result in more people having to self-isolate over the festive period.

Last night US President Mr Biden said that ‘this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic’. 

His comments prompted scrutiny of the UK’s response, which has seen ministers roll out three main curbs to buy scientists some time as they race to analyse the new variant and assess how effective existing vaccines will be against it. 

Ms Keegan was asked during an interview on Sky News if the UK is in danger of overreacting.

She replied: ‘We are trying to get that balance and proportion and it is difficult because it is unknown so we need to buy some time so our scientists can work with the world’s leading scientists to just basically figure out, we know it is very transmissible by looking, but we don’t know whether it’ll work with the vaccine, the vaccine will work, or the other treatments etc.

‘So the scientists do need some time for that. We think we have got the balance and the proportional response to it.

‘But we will review it in three weeks, that will give the scientists enough time to hopefully give us some insights then.’

Told that it could subsequently become apparent that the UK has overreacted, Ms Keegan said: ‘I would rather overreact than underreact at this point. 

‘I think we have been here so many times that, you know, we have got this fantastic wall of vaccine now, we want to keep that, we want to strengthen it.

‘We would rather be stronger to be able to face any new variants and I think we have all the things, all the capability to do that, so that is what we would rather do.’

The new self-isolation rules for people identified as a close contact of an Omicron case has sparked concerns of a potential ‘pingdemic’ at Christmas, should the variant surge in the UK in the coming weeks. 

Told that the restrictions could result in more people being unable to see their family over the Christmas period, Ms Keegan said: ‘Obviously you could be self-isolating over Christmas. You could be. But what we are hoping is we keep these cases, obviously everybody is going to be contacted, people will start the isolation.

‘With or without this you could be isolating for Christmas, with another variant.

‘Of course Christmas is on track. What everyone wants for Christmas is if you haven’t had your first jab, come and get it, if you haven’t had your second jab, come and get it, and if you haven’t had your booster, come and get it when you are asked.’ 

Ms Keegan said that Christmas will ‘hopefully not’ be ruined, adding: ‘Let’s be proportional and balanced as we are trying to be, we have got five cases today, that will go up I am pretty sure, but what we are trying to do is really clampdown on that as much as possible.’

Asked about the prospect of Christmas plans being called off, Professor Paul Moss, from the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Birmingham and SAGE member, told Sky News: ‘I don’t think we need to worry too much about that at this stage… the measures that we got in place have a good chance of gaining some control here.

‘The two ways that we’re adopting to try and control this are: one, in behavioural change to reduce transmission: the travel restrictions; more lateral flows; masking.

‘And the second big factor is the immunity and we know that we may lose some immunity with this virus. So what is happening is we are boosting our immune levels to super-high levels with the plans that were introduced yesterday, and that should retain some protection.

‘What we’ve seen with Covid is that things change very rapidly. And I think we need at least three weeks to assess this.

‘We need excellent epidemiology and within the laboratory people are testing the resistance of the virus against vaccinated samples. So we will need that sort of time. And we will know a lot more before Christmas.’

He added: ‘You probably saw that the doctor in South Africa who initially identified it had seen relatively mild cases, which is very encouraging. However, you know, that’s a much younger population.

‘It’s the elderly population, we need to worry about – in South Africa only six per cent are above 65 years whereas we’ve got a much higher proportion.’

Tube mask crackdown begins: Enforcement officers order commuters to wear face coverings with TfL warning anyone who refuses WILL face £200 fine as retail bosses say staff WON’T be expected to police new rules 

By JACK WRIGHT AND VIVEK CHAUDHARY AND DAVID PILDITCH FOR MAILONLINE

The crackdown on mask-flouters in London began today as Tube officials threatened to fine non-compliant commuters £200 if they refuse to cover their faces.

Under Covid restrictions which came into force at 4am this morning, facemasks are again compulsory on public transport, in shops and settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers in England.

Those caught flouting the restrictions will be fined £200 for a first offence, which will double on each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £6,400.

Although many commuters in London wore facemasks on their way to work this morning, many others on packed carriages chose to ignore the law.

Some Transport for London officials were seen rebuking mask-flouters and urging them to cover up as they warned that they would be fined if they were caught breaking the restriction again.

Writing on Twitter, TfL said: ‘You must wear a face covering on all our services unless exempt. Our officers will continue enforcing the requirement, including reintroduction of powers for TfL and police to issue £200 fines for first offence.’

Scenes of non-compliance had sparked calls for tougher enforcement of the rules, as Unite’s national officer for passenger transport Bobby Morton said ‘people are not going to wear masks now just because Boris Johnson says it’s the right thing to do’.

The Mayor of London also told people to wear facemasks on public transport, and called on the Prime Minister to keep the restriction in place possibly past December 21 – when the new rules will be reviewed – in case the new Covid variant is worse than feared.

However, passengers at London Bridge Station insisted that offenders were not being challenged by police or enforcement officers.  

Mark Briggs, 53, who works as a facilities manager, said: ‘I didn’t see much difference today. There are still a lot of people who are not wearing masks.

‘I would say about 60 per cent of people have been covering their faces. I come in about three days a the week and it has been like that for a while. I didn’t see anyone enforcing it. I have never seen that. It is mentioned on the tannoys but that is it.

‘I prefer to get an earlier train like I did today because it is quieter. I have seen some people say, ”Please don’t sit next to me unless you have got a mask on”. I thought he was right. It is a bit embarrassing when that happens and most people just keep their head down rather than make a fuss.’ 

And retail leaders said businesses are refusing to enforce the rules because they fear that their staff will be accosted by customers. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, stressed that it is the role of the authorities to enforce these new regulations, adding that customers also have responsibility to adhere to the rules.

‘Retailers will be communicating the new rules on face coverings in England through in-store signage and other channels,’ she said.

‘However, it is vital that we do not place hardworking retail staff in harm’s way, and enforcement of face coverings must remain the duty of the authorities. Furthermore, we all have an individual responsibility to put on a face covering before entering a shop.’

It is the latest challenge for retailers ahead of a key Christmas period. They have already seen pressure from supply chain disruption and labour shortages.

Meanwhile, Richard Walker, managing director of the Iceland grocery chain, said he will not be asking staff to police the mask rules among customers.

‘The first thing to say is that of course we support the reintroduction of compulsory face masks in shops and there is no doubt that the emergence of this Omicron variant is really concerning,’ he told Radio 4’s Today programme.

‘Safety of staff and customers is of course a priority. But the question isn’t whether or not we should mandate facemasks, but whether we can mandate them. What I won’t be doing is asking my store colleagues to police those who refuse to adhere to the rules. They are already working under significant pressure, particularly as we hit the busiest trading month of the year.’ 

The Unite trade union also called for facemasks to also become mandatory in pubs, cafes and restaurants after they were not included in the rule change. 

While it was business as usual for most passengers, the response led to some anger among early morning travellers in London.  Cafe worker Vicky Briant, 23, said: ‘People need to take responsibility not just for themselves but for everyone. There are not enough people wearing masks which is irresponsible. The last thing we want is to cancel Christmas again.’

Builder Sam Walters, 46, said: ‘Trains and buses have been packed this morning and it seems too many people have got out of the habit of covering their faces even though they were always supposed to in London. It’s crazy.’

But outside Canada Water station in south east London, office worker Grace Thompson, 54, said: ‘Face coverings don’t work so it is just another pointless gesture. I’ve had friends who caught the virus even though they never left home without one. I’ve had two jabs and I am getting a booster this week so I am not concerned about the virus.’

According to the Office for National Statistics, 85 per cent of adults said they had worn a facemask outside their home in the past seven days, with 70 per cent saying they wore one often or always while shopping. 

However, just 18 per cent of people shopping said that everyone or almost everyone they saw was wearing a face covering. 

Downing Street insisted that the new measures coming into effect today are ‘temporary and precautionary’ and will stay in place initially until December 21 – though Whitehall sources last night acknowledged they were likely to continue into the New Year. 

MPs will vote on the regulations tonight, with ministers braced for a rebellion by Tory MPs deeply unhappy at the prospect of a return of controls. But with Labour backing the measures, there is expected to be little chance of a Government defeat. 

The Omicron variant may spell the end of the Covid pandemic. So, asks Professor ANGUS DALGLEISH, why is it being treated like Ebola? 

As I listened to ministers react nervously in recent days to the new Omicron Covid variant, I began to experience an all-too-familiar sinking feeling.

Shall I put it into words? Here we go again, I thought.

Mask mandates have been reimposed in shops, schools and hairdressers, and new swingeing £200 fines will be levied on those who dare to break the rules.

Meanwhile, the inevitable chorus of gloomy voices has begun to sing again: that unholy alliance of scientific ‘experts’ who have been given blanket coverage by the BBC and Left-wing media so often during this pandemic.

The Government has used these voices as justification to impose fresh restrictions on our lives — as well as to threaten more in future.

Panicking

Right now, the key question is: are any of the new measures actually necessary?

Yes, there remains much we don’t know about Omicron, but the early signs are distinctly encouraging. Many patients have reportedly recovered quickly from what have been very mild symptoms.

Southern Africa, where the variant emerged, has largely avoided panicking. One German epidemiologist, Professor Karl Lauterbach, who is running to be Germany’s next health minister, has even said that a mild strain would be an ‘early Christmas gift’.

Given all that, how much can the Government’s hawkish approach truly be justified?

Very little, I would submit.

The real danger for most of us now comes not from Omicron or any other coronavirus variant. Instead, it comes from ministers and officials apparently flirting with taking us into yet another era of ruinous restrictions, cancelling Christmas or other cherished holidays, dashing all hope of foreign travel, wrecking the economy and otherwise immiserating our lives at the whim of the state.

Yes, a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant has been identified. But Professor Lauterbach, a highly respected clinical epidemiologist, suggested yesterday that the variant might even be good news. Why? Because its numerous mutations — twice as many as the Delta variant that swept the world this year — mean that though it may well be more infectious, it could also be less deadly.

In layman’s terms, this means that more people might catch it, but not suffer serious illness. And that is a good thing — certainly compared to a very infectious, very virulent virus with the capacity to sicken or kill large numbers of people.

Anyone infected with a ‘mild’ Covid virus — one unlikely to cause serious disease — will still develop antibodies to guard against future infection. And the more people with such antibodies, the closer we are to the fabled ‘herd immunity’.

This, coupled with the help of our highly successful vaccination programme, could even spell the eventual end of the pandemic — though not, it must be said, the end of Covid.

This is the sort of grown-up discussion ministers should be having with us. Instead, by announcing new restrictions over the weekend, flanked by his two familiar harbingers of doom, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Prime Minister risked terrifying large swathes of the nation all over again — just as they were beginning to catch their breath as the worst of the pandemic was lifting.

Coronavirus restrictions, it should not need pointing out, do not work in isolation.

A year ago, I wrote in the Mail how I believed that lockdown was a killer in the making far worse than Covid-19. Today, I stand by that view.

From spiralling hospital waiting lists and delayed cancer treatment to the horrendous impact on the mental health of the nation, I think we are seeing the tip of an iceberg of premature deaths from causes other than Covid — and that, in time, history will reveal the second and third lockdowns, at least, for the folly I believe them to be. That is before you contemplate the ramifications of our sabotaged economy: livelihoods destroyed by the enforced shutdown of businesses and High Street firms shuttered thanks to working-from-home mandates.

It is imperative that ministers do not go down that dangerous road again — unless some terrible new variant or new virus with a vastly higher death rate does emerge.

Even the most fervent lover of lockdown would be hard-pressed to describe today’s scenario as an Armageddon-in-the-making, especially as the virus is behaving exactly as scientists always suspected that it would.

Just as with flu, it is likely that in years to come the world will experience new waves of this coronavirus. Crucially, there is no evidence that these waves will somehow be ever-more lethal. Instead, it is likelier that this virus, like most pathogens, will become less deadly over time.

Cautious

This flies in the face of those who favour the ‘just-in-case’ argument: that we must be extra cautious and ready to lock down early again, lest the new variant prove more dangerous than anticipated.

That argument was valid at the start of the pandemic, when we lacked treatments and vaccinations. But it does not hold any longer.

Today, we are well-versed in the ways of our foe. With a few exceptions (usually the unvaccinated), most people are dying with Covid, not necessarily because of it, while others have had an imminent death merely hastened.

Even the most compassionate individual must realise that public policy cannot be founded on trying to mitigate against a death that, however sad, was due sooner rather than later.

A long time ago, when I was a junior doctor working in A&E, I was initially amazed by the fact that among those admitted to hospital with flu and pneumonia symptoms were the young and fit. That is often the nature with the flu virus.

A percentage of them would end up in intensive care, and a proportion would die — just as they do today.

Each individual death was terribly sad, of course, but no one would argue they meant that we should change our health policy.

What a contrast with today, when we live in a country increasingly bedevilled by what the former Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption has rightly labelled ‘Covid authoritarianism’.

Paralysis

Flailing Labour politicians, desperate for any stick with which to beat the Government, demand ever-tougher measures: work-from-home advice and yet more masks, with new lockdowns and furlough schemes waiting in the politicians’ arsenal.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon exhorts her citizens to work from home while demanding tougher restrictions down south.

Many of us are only too happy to let such Cassandra-like prophecies drift over our heads, but there are many others who have been frightened into what feels like near-permanent paralysis in the face of the news headlines and political shroud-waving.

I see this phenomenon among my own friends. There is a clear divide between those who, like me, think we need to get on with our lives, and others who still appear obsessed with Covid, long after the worst of the virus appears to have retreated.

Yet get on we must. We are not dealing with Ebola, which kills up to 90 per cent of those it infects, but a virus which was found in one Cambridge University study last summer — thanks to vaccinations and better treatments — to have an infection fatality rate of just 0.085 per cent.

By all means let us watch this virus closely. But let us also retain the clear perspective and the common sense that should hold in a free society. 

Angus Dalgleish is an oncologist at a London teaching hospital