30 October 2021 | New Scientist | 7THE number of coronavirus
cases in the UK has risen to
its highest level since July, and
hospitalisations and deaths
are also rising despite relatively
high vaccination rates. Yet the
UK government has said it has
no immediate plans to change
current policy in England despite
mounting pressure from health
bodies to implement tougher
measures sooner rather than later.
In the week to 25 October,
315,698 confirmed cases and
942 deaths were recorded in the
UK, both figures roughly 10 per
cent higher than the previous
week. The number of daily cases
is now on a par with the large spikeseen in July after most lockdown
measures were lifted.
Senior figures in the National
Health Service and the British
Medical Association have urged the
government to implement “Plan B”
of the winter coronavirus strategy
in England, a set of measures
including vaccine passports,
mandatory face coverings and
guidance to work from home.
Sajid Javid, the UK health
secretary, rejected the calls
and instead encouraged
individuals to “do their bit”
by getting vaccinated,
getting tested regularly and
thinking about hand hygiene.
“We don’t think we have reachedthe point where Plan B needs to
be activated, but, of course, we will
keep it under review,” Javid said
on BBC Radio 4 on 25 October.
The UK’s incidence of 478 cases
per 100,000 population in the
past seven days is many timeshigher than in other western
European countries such as
France (55), Germany (114),
Spain (12) and Italy (39).
Some models project cases
will fall even without Plan B.The UK government is being warned that England is on track
for another difficult winter, reports Sam WongConcern as UK cases rise
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CoronavirusAlmost 80 per cent of the UK
population is fully vaccinated,
but most children aren’t and
infections among this group are
thought to be driving the spread.
“It’s very clear that, with the
delta variant, schools are certainly
contributing substantially to
spread,” says Deepti Gurdasani at
Queen Mary University of London.
Other countries in western
Europe, such as France, are
keeping cases lower, despite their
lower rates of vaccination uptake,
thanks to strong mitigation
policies such as mandatory
mask wearing in schools, she says.
The latest results from the UK’s
Office for National Statistics
infection survey, for the week
ending 16 October, suggest that 1 in
55 people in England are infected,
and 1 in 45 in Wales. The highest
rates are in children aged between
11 and 16, with 7.8 per cent of this
group testing positive.
Vaccinations started being rolled
out to UK children aged between
12 and 15 on 20 September, but
just 18.9 per cent of this group
had received a jab in England by
22 October. They have been mostly
delivered in schools, but NHS
England is now allowing parents
to make appointments for
children at vaccine centres. Javid
has also said he is considering
making vaccines compulsory
for NHS workers in England.
Vaccine passports, masks and
more attention to ventilation
have helped to keep numbers
low in other European countries,
and should be put in place now in
the UK, says Gurdasani. “I worry
that if we don’t take those steps
now, we will be heading towards
much harsher restrictions
when the NHS once again gets
completely overwhelmed, and
it’s very near there now even
ahead of winter,” she says. ❚A coronavirus
testing centre
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“ We don’t think we
have reached the point
where Plan B needs
to be activated”