Christmas covid mixing a major error as health experts say it will cost many lives
In a rare joint editorial respected health journals have described plans for easing lockdown for five days as a major error that will cost many lives .
Updated
The health journals have made a joint plea to Boris Johnson to think again about easing restrictions at Christmas (Image: Getty Images)
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Sixty per cent of England will be in toughest Tier 3 lockdown by TONIGHT: Another 11m people in London and the South East are hit with new restrictions from midnight after daily cases rose 37% to 20,263
Vast swathes of the South East will be thrust into the harshest set of Covid restrictions from midnight tonight
Matt Hancock said tough new rules will come into effect in London just after midnight on Wednesday morning
Large areas of Hertfordshire and Essex will also go into Tier 3 after seeing sharp and exponential growth
Change will leave 34m people in England under the top-tier of Covid rules, which force restaurants to shut
COVID daily cases jump 50% in a week to 18,450 as ministers threaten to CANCEL Christmas: Pressure on Boris to scrap five-day break from restrictions as Government crisis talks with other UK leaders fail to reach agreement
Restrictions are supposed to be eased to allow up to 3 households to meet for 5 days over the festive period
But scientists fear this could fuel new Covid variant that may be behind a surge of cases in southern England
Urgent talks are under way in Whitehall on whether to tighten regulations in response to rising cases
Leading medical journals have published rare joint editorial calling for the relaxation to be abandoned
Downing Street insists that the festive bubbles plan will go ahead in England
Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots not to take advantage of the loosened rules
Wales today hinted that it could yet axe Christmas bubbles amid rising alarm at a surge in coronavirus cases.
Health minister Vaughan Gething refused to rule out a rethink saying the nation s government could need to make choices to keep people safe .
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However, Downing Street insisted the planned easing will go ahead in England despite warnings from scientists that it will fuel the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon urged Scots not to take advantage of the relaxation, saying just because we can visit people indoors over Christmas on a limited basis does not mean that we have to .
Christmas restrictions easing to go ahead, No 10 insists despite rising concerns
PA
14 December 2020, 2:09 pm
Downing Street has insisted the Christmas relaxation of social distancing rules will go ahead despite increasing warnings that it will lead to a rise in coronavirus cases.
Number 10 stressed on Monday that the public should remain “jolly careful” over the festive period but said there are no plans to review the guidance after a “very difficult year for many people”.
Concerns were mounting, however, of a fresh spike in Covid-19 cases from the UK-wide relaxation to allow bubbles of up to three households between December 23 and 27.