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- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Minister Sajid Javid release COVID-19 guidelines for autumn and winter in hopes of avoiding further lockdowns
- The appearance of fewer rules comes at a time where there is a seven day average of 34,093 cases, according to Our World In Data
- As part of “Plan A”, multiple vaccination drives, a “Test, Trace and Isolate” routine, vaccines for children over 12 and booster shots of people over 70 will be implemented
- “Plan B” will come into action if the National Health Service is put under unsustainable pressure by the surging of daily cases
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Minister Sajid Javid have released new COVID-19 guidelines for autumn and winter in the hopes of avoiding further lockdowns.
The new plan includes the previously disclosed plan to scrap vaccination passports (vax-ports) for social activities and the compulsory PCR testing of international travellers.
Effective immediately, “Plan A” will include a focus on vaccination drives as part of the “Building our Defences” objective and “Test, Trace and Isolate” as part of the effort to limit transmission.
The appearance of fewer rules comes at a time where there is a seven day average of 34,093 cases per day across the UK, according to Our World In Data.
As it stands, 65.9 per cent of the population have received two vaccinations, with the implementation of “Plan A” to open vaccine legibility for 12-15 year-olds and begin booster shots for people in their 70s.
Opening vaccination options for under 15s has raised questions about consent and parental permission.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi addressed the issue and said patient competence would be decided by clinicians about whether or not they could make their own decisions.
“Plan B”
Mr Johnson and Mr Javid both said they hoped the plan was more of a contingency than a reality.
The plan would come into action if the National Health Service is put under unsustainable pressure by the surging of daily cases. Mandatory face masks, a work from home order, vax-ports for certain venues and a limit on patrons would be imposed.
Plan International
Since moving from level three to level four, which is a lower level of restrictions, flights into the UK have increased by 59 percent, according to The Office of National Statistics.
However this number is just over half of what the average number of international flights were in 2019.
The implementation of the Traffic Light System has also further clarified the risks associated for international travel between certain countries.
In addition, the UK has donated 10.3 million vaccine doses, with the help of the World Health Organisation and COVAX, and hopes to donate another 20 million doses before the end of the year.
