Is it going to be another Covid Christmas?
The government hasn’t cancelled Christmas – yet – but the rate of the Omicron variant’s spread should make us all reconsider our plans, science correspondent Nicola Davis reports
Last winter, after promising the nation it would get to enjoy Christmas as usual, prime minister Boris Johnson’s government made an 11th-hour U-turn, introducing new Covid-19 restrictions in a last-ditch attempt to control the virus. It was “the right decision – made at the wrong time and in the wrong way”, as the Observer put it.
This year, the government has been reluctant to be seen cancelling Christmas again. But as the Omicron variant sweeps through the country, rising case numbers are making the situation harder to ignore.
Over the weekend, Sage issued guidance suggesting that whole households should stay home if one member tests positive for Covid-19. These guidelines, however, are only recommendations. On Monday afternoon, the prime minister and his cabinet held an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of introducing new official restrictions, but ultimately decided not to announce binding new curbs quite yet.
All this comes just days after the Guardian published a photo from a May 2020 garden party at Downing Street where Johnson and his partner can be seen apparently breaking lockdown rules. Guardian science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Michael Safi that while trust in the government has suffered, the public has consistently demonstrated a desire to adhere to measures for the collective good.
Archive: BBC
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