Plan B ‘taking edge off’ Omicron however greater than 20 NHS trusts on highest alert

The Prime Minister has insisted Plan B restrictions have been “serving to to take the sting off the Omicron wave” as Downing Avenue stated greater than 20 NHS trusts had been placed on the very best alert degree.

Boris Johnson instructed MPs he had been proper to withstand bringing in stricter Covid measures earlier than Christmas, after the Cupboard agreed to maintain the present home restrictions in place, whereas easing journey testing guidelines.

However hospital admissions continued to rise, together with case charges, as staffing shortages hit the NHS.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman stated on Wednesday afternoon that greater than 20 trusts had now declared a crucial incident, the place precedence providers could also be underneath menace, however he insisted this was “not a very good indicator” of the pressures the well being service was underneath.

The variety of individuals in hospital with coronavirus is at its highest since February final 12 months.

And Chris Hopson, chief govt of NHS Suppliers which represents well being trusts, stated hospitals have been being hit with three points directly – the rising numbers of hospitalisations, staffing, and non-Covid points which existed earlier than the pandemic.

He stated the NHS was “stretched like by no means earlier than”.

In England, round one in 15 individuals in non-public households had Covid-19, in keeping with ONS (Workplace for Nationwide Statistics) estimates – a degree rising to at least one in 10 in London.

An extra 194,747 lab-confirmed Covid-19 instances had been recorded within the UK as of 9am on Wednesday, whereas 334 extra deaths have been recorded – though this determine included a backlog of hospital knowledge from England since January 1.

Authorities figures additionally confirmed {that a} whole of 17,276 individuals have been in hospital within the UK with Covid-19 as of January 4, up 58% week-on-week – though far beneath the height of just about 40,000 in January 2021.

An estimated 3.7 million individuals within the UK had Covid-19 within the week ending December 31, up from 2.3 million within the week to December 23 and the very best quantity since comparable figures started in autumn 2020, the ONS stated.

Within the Commons, Mr Johnson stated hospital admissions have been “doubling round each 9 days” and “we’re experiencing the quickest progress in Covid instances we’ve ever identified”.

Instances have been doubling each week among the many over-60s, he added.

However he stated the Plan B measures – together with wider use of face masks and steerage to earn a living from home – have been “serving to to take the sting off the Omicron wave”, slowing the unfold, easing strain on the NHS and shopping for time for the booster marketing campaign to take impact.

The restrictions shall be reviewed once more earlier than they’re scheduled to run out on January 26 and would require a vote within the Commons to be prolonged past that date, one thing that would see the Prime Minister as soon as once more face a significant backbench Tory revolt.

Mr Johnson additionally confirmed plans being applied throughout the UK to finish the requirement for confirmatory PCR exams for asymptomatic individuals who examined optimistic utilizing a lateral circulation machine (LFD).

The adjustments in testing procedures are geared toward releasing up laboratory capability for PCR exams, with the requirement for confirmatory exams suspended in asymptomatic individuals till the present excessive ranges of infections subside.

The change was being launched in Northern Eire on Wednesday, Scotland and Wales on Thursday and in England from January 11.

Individuals who have Covid-19 signs ought to nonetheless get a PCR check, the UK Well being Safety Company stated.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman stated: “It’s not a smart use of the PCR capability to require form of a confirmatory check for when individuals are getting LFDs.

“When prevalence is extraordinarily excessive as it’s presently, LFDs, whereas already correct, turn into extraordinarily correct given the specificity.”

Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Authorities’s Sage scientific advisory panel, backed the transfer, saying a confirmatory PCR “not solely wastes time however prices some huge cash and makes use of up laboratory sources that might be higher used elsewhere”.

Exemptions to the brand new guidelines embody individuals eligible for the £500 check and hint help fee, who will nonetheless require a confirmatory PCR to entry the assistance.

PCRs can even be required for individuals collaborating in analysis and surveillance programmes and people vulnerable to turning into critically in poor health, who’ve been recognized as doubtlessly eligible for brand new therapies.

Ministers additionally accepted adjustments to the journey regime for England, with the requirement for pre-departure exams scrapped from 4am on Friday.

Mr Johnson additionally stated the requirement to self-isolate on arrival till receipt of a unfavorable PCR check was being scrapped, returning as an alternative to the system in place in October final 12 months, the place travellers wanted to take a lateral circulation check no later than the top of day two after arriving in England, with a PCR check in the event that they have been optimistic.

The Omicron-driven surge in coronavirus instances and the knock-on impact of employees absences can also be inflicting main issues in public providers.

The Fireplace Brigades Union stated that nearly a 3rd of London’s hearth engines had been out of motion over the past week, whereas virtually 10% of operational firefighters within the capital had both examined optimistic or have been self-isolating.

Whereas the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) was nonetheless asking sufferers affected by suspected strokes or coronary heart assaults to get family to drive them to hospital following pressures on employees attributable to coronavirus and new 12 months demand.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon minimize the self-isolation interval to seven days, offered individuals had two unfavorable lateral circulation exams, broadly in keeping with the measures in place in England.

However restrictions on giant gatherings and hospitality and leisure companies would stay till at the least January 17 in Scotland, she stated.