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The toughest COVID-19 restrictions imposed before England’s second lockdown were not strong enough, the health secretary told MPs.
Matt Hancock said that the reinforced coronavirus The levels presented by Boris Johnson are “better calibrated” than those that existed before the closing.
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PM: Normal is coming, but not until spring
He said in a joint session of the health and social care and science and technology committees that the original Level 3 measures implemented in September and October were not “strong enough that the R is less than one and therefore , the cases decrease “.
“Therefore, we need a slightly stricter third tier so that we can be confident that we can reduce cases under the tiered system,” said the Secretary of Health.
Talking about the expected launch of a COVID-19 In the coming months, Hancock told MPs: “After Easter, we believe we will be back to normal.”
He said there would be a shift to an emphasis on “personal responsibility” rather than social distancing restrictions once a vaccine has reached the most vulnerable.
Mr. Hancock told deputies that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) had recommended that once everyone 50 and older had been vaccinated, the social distancing rules would likely disappear from the “harm” to the society.
The health secretary also said he does not expect another national shutdown.
“I very much hope not to have a tiered system that is calibrated to be able to control the virus, when necessary,” said the Secretary of Health.
Mr. Hancock spoke of his hope for a cultural change of Brits “as soldiers” and going to work even if they are sick.
He said the UK should continue to use the “global scale diagnostic capacity” it has built during the pandemic.
“I want to have a change in the British way of doing things where ‘if in doubt, get tested’ does not just refer to the coronavirus, but to any illness you may have,” Hancock said.
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“Why in Britain do we think it is acceptable to go ahead and go to work if you have flu symptoms or a runny nose, making your colleagues sick?
“I think that is something that is going to have to change.
“If you have flu-like symptoms in the future, you need to get tested and find out what is wrong with you, and if you need to stay home to protect others, then you should stay home.
“We are peculiarly unusual and atypical in going ahead and working, and it’s kind of a culture that ‘as long as you can get out of bed, you must get to work.’
“That should change.”
