LONDON – Nearly half of England is under strict lockdown measures, and people have been ordered to stay home, but the coronavirus is still spreading at an alarming rate. Hospitals treat more patients than at any time during an epidemic, the number of new infections has set a daily record, and discussions are growing about allowing thousands of students to return to classrooms after a holiday break.
The nation’s scientists say the apparently more contagious type of the virus is increasing the number of cases and that despite more than 48 million people already having severe restrictions, it is unclear what other means the government has at its disposal. Under control.
On Tuesday there were 53,135 new lab-confirmed cases reported, the highest figure in a single day. The National Health Service says there are now more than 20,000 people in English hospitals, which were at the peak of the epidemic in April.
With the government meeting to assess its controls on Wednesday, there is pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose a second national lockdown and move older students, especially those in colleges and secondary schools, who are infected with the new virus. For distance learning.
Some hope sanctions imposed on London and the south and east of England around Christmas will drop the daily caseload Start the effect.
But the new strain of the virus, the imminent return to schools and the move to allow people to meet indoors in low-risk areas on Christmas Day have raised fears of a worsening of the new year.
“We are entering a very dangerous new phase of the epidemic, and we will need decisive early national action to prevent a disaster in January and February,” Hay Andrew Hayward, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of London, told the BBC. .
The growing body of research supports the concern that new virus types may be more than 50 percent more contagious than those already spreading rapidly in the wider circulation.
This type of pop-up continued in various countries of the world, despite the fact that British tourists were banned by dozens of nations.
The British government has turned to the existing familiar arsenal of tools to maintain this type, increase movement restrictions, shut down businesses and limit people from gathering.
While officials blame diversity for the increase in cases, many of the rules are difficult to enforce on a large scale and it is difficult to know what role individual behavior may play.
Mr Johnson’s epidemic handling has been marked by last-minute decisions and contradictions, fueling public suspicion and anger, but the government has tried to keep schools open.
Since the summer, the government has made it a priority to keep students in classrooms even in areas with large outbreaks, during the country’s second national lockdown in November. After students spent the early months of the epidemic in classes from home to online classes, Mr Johnson called the resumption of schools in August a “moral duty” and promised that in the event of a resurgence of the virus, “the last thing we want to do is close schools.”
Britain’s approach was similar to that of many European countries, where leaders feared that the reopening of schools would increase inequality and cause unprecedented damage to children’s educational and emotional development.
But as coronavirus cases have skyrocketed, Germany and the Netherlands have turned to school closure again, and many British teachers are calling for help.
The government promised stable compensation to schools in January and said it would rely on mass testing to help prevent the virus from spreading to schools, with the help of the military.
According to Gavin Williamson, Britain’s education secretary, the majority support, the school needs about 1,500 soldiers to “provide guidance, materials and funding, they need to give their staff and students a quick test from the beginning of their tenure.” sessions will be provided remotely via online sessions and phone.
Most school children will need to swab themselves under the supervision of a school employee or volunteer.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of College College Leaders, a union, told the BBC: “The 1,500 soldiers who are making the webinar are probably not the government’s response to what we were looking for. ‘
The country’s two largest teaching organizations – the National Union of Education and NASUWT – also criticized the last-minute nature of the collective testing scheme and wrote a letter to Mr Johnson on Monday, demanding additional safety measures and more time to keep them in place. .
The country’s scientific advisory group, called S.A.G. Known as, he has recommended allowing classrooms to reopen, according to British news reports.
Scientists say Britain’s coronavirus case is out of control until schools close in the new year. The scientific advisory group believes that closing schools in January will reduce the number of infections.
Despite the country’s health workers themselves under increasing pressure to treat a rush of patients, they are also being asked to speed up the most ambitious mass vaccination program in the country’s history.
About 200,000 people are taking the first shot of the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine every week. With the approval of AstraZeneca and University Oxford vaccines in the coming days, the number of available doses is likely to increase sharply.
There is no evidence that these vaccines are less effective against the different types of viruses that spread in Britain, and it is the best opportunity for the country to reverse the current wave of infections.
But to meet the government’s promise to vaccinate everyone over the age of 50 by spring, the speed of delivery should be 10 times faster than at present.
Nick Davis, an assistant professor of mathematical modeling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said rapid vaccination should dispel the effects of new variants.
“Achieving 2 million vaccines / week can significantly reduce the load.” Wrote on Twitter. The current level of 200,000 per week “does not affect much.”
It will require not only supplies, but also manpower to deliver the vaccine. And that means even more pressure on health workers.
London. Rebecca Lewis, a surgeon and secretary at a London hospital Doctors Association, With less time for health improvement, describes how health care workers are tired. Staff illness, he said, has reached a critical level. He said the requirements for the use of protective gear in light of the new strain have not yet been reviewed, and that it could involve frontline workers squeezing the virus.
Dr. Le. Lewis said Tuesday that the country’s vaccination rollout needs to move forward, in addition to the elderly and vulnerable people, vaccination must be a priority for doctors.
Dr Lewis said she expects bad days.
“We know it’s going to be awful in mid-January.”
Mark Santora reported from London and Anna Chevron from Brighton, England.
