Zahawi: ‘Nothing in data’ suggests more Covid restrictions needed
A senior cabinet minister has declared there is still “nothing in the data” that suggests more Covid restrictions are needed in England as Omicron cases continue to surge.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the government is still not planning to implement stricter Covid curbs, with a decision set to be made by Boris Johnson on Wednesday.
Covid cases are now at around 200,000 a day across the UK, with hospitalisations also now increasing at a fast rate.
However, the data shows that people in hospital are not needing ventilation or intensive care as much as previous waves due to the country’s vaccine protection and Omicron being less severe.
Speaking to the BBC today, Zahawi said: “At the moment, there is nothing in the data that would suggest to me, to us, that we need to go further.
“There’s some really good data from London that it looks like the infection rates are plateauing, if not yet coming down. But we are seeing leakage into the over-50s in terms of infections, and it’s generally the over-50s who end up with severe infection and hospitalisation.”
Health minister Ed Argar yesterday told Times Radio that restrictions “must be the absolute last resort”.
“I’m seeing nothing at the moment in the data I have in front of me, in the immediate situation, that suggests a need for further restrictions. But that data changes day by day,” he said.
Johnson will receive more data on Covid cases and hospitalisations this week from London, which is the epicentre of the UK’s Omicron surge.
The i newspaper reports that there are signs the Covid wave has peaked in London and that there is extensive evidence that less people are getting seriously ill from the Omicron variant.