The Times - UK (2020-11-26)

the times | Thursday November 26 2020 2GM 13

News

Government scientific advisers have

told people to open windows to cut the

risk of infecting relatives this winter.

Scientists voiced concern about the

potential risks of a five-day festive

relaxation in which people will be

allowed to hug relatives from up to two

other households.

Chris Whitty, England’s chief medi-

cal officer, and the Scientific Advisory

Group for Emergencies (Sage) have

concluded that the mixing will increase

transmission but cannot say how many

extra cases will result.

Ministers have urged people to exer-

cise their Christmas freedom carefully

but uncertainty about how people will

respond is the main source of anxiety

among government scientific advisers.

Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College

London, who sits on the New and

Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats

Advisory Group, said: “I do hope that

people will not let caution evaporate

over the Christmas period, and think

that a short break from restrictions will

be fine. It really won’t. I urge everyone

to maintain precautions and to be

inventive and ingenious in devising

ways to meet in safety. Close personal

contact is the main way this virus trans-

mits and it should be possible to cele-

brate without letting the virus spread.

“Meet outdoors if possible, wear

masks if you can’t maintain safe dis-

tance, wash your hands and use gel.

Feeling well does not guarantee that

you don’t have the virus: kissing your

grandparents may be delivering a

deadly dose of virus. Be pleased to see

them but keep a safe distance.”

Graham Medley, a member of Sage

and the chairman of its Scientific

Pandemic Influenza Modelling group,

urged ministers to close pubs and

restaurants over the festive period to

minimise the risk that the relaxation

agreed by the UK governments yester-

day would lead to another lockdown.

“Closing hospitality over that period,

so that if we are going to have contact

it’s with our families, I think is a very

sensible thing to do,” he told Toda y on

BBC Radio 4.

He said people had to consider “there

might only be a one in a hundred

chance of something going wrong and

me infecting my mother for example

but do I really want to take that risk?”

He advised: “You’ll be able to halve it

from 1 per cent to half a per cent by

opening all the windows or staying out-

side, but the risk is still going to be there

and that risk is going to pay off very

badly for some people.”

But he warned: “I think it is inevitable

that if a lot of people do take that risk,

even if it is a small risk, then we will end

up with a lot of people in hospital and

potentially having to take measures in

January to lock down again.”

After months of rules about what

people can and cannot do, Professor

Medley said that “we’re in a process

now whereby the population’s risk of

filling up the NHS is really being passed

down to us as individuals. For other dis-

eases the government doesn’t get in-

volved in helping or determining what

our risk is and it is really for this Christ-

mas up to us as individuals and families

to think about what our risks are and

how we are going to mitigate them.”

E

yebrows

have been

raised on

social media

after Boris

Johnson posted

correspondence he

had with a boy about

Father Christmas

which resembles

emails published by

the prime minister of

Italy (Tom Kington

writes).

Yesterday Mr

Johnson tweeted a

letter he had received

from an eight-year-

old boy called Monti,

asking if Santa Claus

would deliver

presents this year.

“I wonder if you

and the government

had thought about

Santa coming this

Christmas,” the child

wrote. “If we leave

hand sanitiser by the

cookies can he come?

Or will he wash his

hands?”

Italians were quick

to spot the similarity

with an email

Giuseppe Conte

received this month

from a five-year-old

boy called Tommaso,

asking if Father

Christmas would do

his rounds. “I promise

you that apart from

the glass of milk and

biscuits, I will also put

hand sanitiser under

the tree,” said the

letter, which Mr

Conte posted on

Instagram.

Mr Conte told

Tommaso that

“Father Christmas

has already told me

that he has an

international permit

for travelling. He can

go everywhere and

take presents to

children all over the

world. The idea of

putting hand sanitiser

under the tree as well

as milk and biscuits

seems excellent.”

He also wrote: “I

am happy to know

you and your friends

are scrupulously

following the rules to

protect your mother

and father, your

grandparents and all

your loved ones. For

this reason you don’t

have to tell Father

Christmas you have

been good, I have

already told him.”

Mr Johnson’s

reassuring reply, days

later, was oddly

familiar.

“Just to make sure,

I have put in a call to

the North Pole, and I

can tell you Father

Christmas is ready

and raring to go, as

are Rudolf and all the

other reindeer,” he

wrote.

The similarities

provoked comments

on Twitter in Italy,

including one

pointing out “the

strange coincidence”

of the letters, while

another asked if the

two men “share the

same social media

manager”.

PM’s Santa

letter has

echo of an

Italian job

The prime minister’s response to Monti’s letter

will no doubt have reassured children nationwide

to deck the halls a little early

have been preparing window displays before being allowed to reopen next week

vice. John Lewis, the department store

chain, says Christmas tree sales are up

54 per cent compared with last year

while sales of boxed baubles are 71 per

cent higher. Meanwhile, Hobbycraft

has had a 30 per cent increase in sales of

Christmas craft, and wrapping paper is

being bought twice as fast as this time

last year. The arts retailer says the word

“Christmas” is the most searched-for

term on its online Ideas Hub.

Heather Parry, of the British Christ-

mas Tree Growers Association, said:

“Christmas marks the end of the year

for most people and after the torrid year

we’ve had people want that to happen

sooner. There also seems a desire to

make Christmas extra special this year.”

Supermarkets are also benefiting

from the desire among shoppers to

bring the festive period forward. Wait-

rose says sales of mince pies, stollen and

panettone are up a third on this time

last year, while mincemeat is up 60 per

cent and golden marzipan 47 per cent.

Among popular gifts, sales of head-

phones are up 22 per cent and personal

care items are up 35 per cent at John Le-

wis. The online marketplace Fruugo

says that sales of electric scooters, hov-

erboards, and hoverseats are ten times

higher than last year.

Chris Smyth

News

CHRIS NEILL/MAVERICK PHOTOGRAPHY

dodge highest tier restrictions

Keep your windows open

over Christmas, say experts