AN ESTIMATED 100,000 critical workers nationwide will be asked to take daily Covid tests in order to reduce the spread of the virus to colleagues, the Prime Minister has announced
It will be for key industries including food processing, transport and the border force according to Mr Johnson who spoke as the amount of daily cases topped 200,000 for the first time. The figure is affected by a backlog in reporting from Wales and Northern Ireland over the New Year period.
Speaking at a Downing Street briefing this evening (Tuesday), Mr Johnson said the NHS would be put on a ‘war footing’ but he would be recommending to the cabinet that the current – plan B – level of restrictions for England remains in place.
The Prime Minister claimed 90 per cent of Covid patients in intensive care beds were unvaccinated as he again urged people to come forward and get their booster jabs.
“This is a moment for utmost caution,” he said.
“We know Omicron is milder and cases are not translating into the same intensive care demand as previous waves”
Despite the surge in cases in recent weeks, Mr Johnson said there was a ‘substantial’ level of immunity in the population and appeared to rule out the threat of any lockdowns by saying the country could ‘ride out this Omicron wave’ without shutting down.
Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, revealed about one in 25 people in England had Covid in the last week of data from the ONS – about two million people in total and said the figure could continue to rise.
