[ad_1]
The health secretary will describe today which regions of England, if any, will change levels ahead of the relaxation of the COVID rules during the holiday period.
Matt Hancock will also explain plans to extend mass community testing to Level 2 areas with high rates of coronavirus.
Currently, only Level 3 areas are eligible for the localized testing scheme and the further implementation signifies a desire to help local city councils prevent their area from going up the scale.
Some locations could see the community trials up and running before Christmas.
Today’s revision of the level was promised when the system was introduced earlier in the month, but its importance was undermined by the announcement on Monday that London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire would move to the upper level due to the increase in the number of cases. .
Parts of the country like Greater Manchester and Leeds, whose MPs and local politicians had been pushing the prime minister to move from Level 3 to Level 2 in order to help the struggling retail and hotel sectors, will likely be disappointed.
Boris Johnson’s warnings on Wednesday that “a smaller Christmas will be a safer Christmas” and the holiday bubbles of up to three households are “highs” and not “targets to aim for” were a clear indication of the reluctance of the government to relax any restrictions.
Hancock is expected to reinforce the message that people should exercise caution during Christmas and think carefully about meeting elderly or vulnerable family members.
He has always been one of the strongest advocates in government for more measures to keep people from mixing and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Those on the stronger end of the fight against COVID-19 have also made clear their opposition to easing restrictions prematurely.
In a statement Wednesday, Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said there was “a real concern in many trusts in the northern half of the country about leaving Level 3 prematurely.”
He added that “most hospitals in the north of the country still have very high levels of COVID-19 patients, just as we enter winter, the busiest period in the NHS.”
“Given this level of demand for COVID-19 and the number of beds lost to ensure adequate infection control, even a small increase in the number of COVID-19 patients will also put those hospitals under significant pressure.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘An ever shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas’
And the British Medical Association (BMA) asked people to keep the social mix indoors to an “absolute minimum” during Christmas.
BMA Board Chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “Relaxation of the rules will undoubtedly cost lives and the impact on the NHS in the new year will be severe.
“For those reasons, like the voice of thousands of doctors, we urge people to think carefully about how many people share their Christmas.”
Hancock’s Commons statement will be one of the last acts in Westminster before MPs return home for their own Christmas holidays.
With three-fifths of the population of England now living under the strictest measures, they, like everyone else, will hope that the relaxation of the rules during the festive period will not lead to an even stricter regime in the new year.
