The third wave has officially entered the UK. Although cases remain low, they are growing rapidly with the new highly infectious strain, known as the Indian Variant
The latest report shows another 3,000 cases yesterday, the highest since April. This is the sixth consecutive day of high positive Covid cases. George Eustice, Environment Secretary, says that the Government is not ruling out delaying the next ease of restrictions on June 21st.
There are 6 main ‘hot zones’ where the Indian Variant appears to be spreading quickly. Bedford, Bolton, Blackburn, Chelmsford, Canterbury and Sefton are reporting the majority of new infections.
Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of NERVTAG (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group), believes that the easing of restrictions should be delayed for a “few weeks”. This is long enough for them to “gather more intelligence”.
A chairman for the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, warns ministers to act with “maximum caution” during this pivotal moment. An early easing of legal restrictions during the third wave could lead to the biggest backlog in care the NHS has ever seen. This will undermine all the efforts of the health services so far.
Is the third wave a threat to hospitality?
Currently hospitality is working at just 60%. Kate Nicholls is the chief executive of hospitality. She insists that a delay in the easing of restrictions would “devastate” the industry. Businesses are “hemorrhaging money” and more delays push them closer to business failure.
It is not just the hospitality industry who are awaiting the final news surrounding the easing of restrictions on June 14th. Greg Parmley, Chief Executive of live music trade association live, says venues are “geared up” for reopening. The current trial of events from the Government continue to prove that festivals can be held “with no Covid impact”. The successful trials lead Greg to believe “there is no reason to keep us closed any longer”
Mr Eustace told the BBC that the Government would take it “one step at a time”. While they know it has been a difficult pandemic so far, they can not make a judgement for a couple of weeks yet.
The timetable for relaxing Covid rules varies across the UK. The Scottish Government is hoping to ease more restrictions next Monday, whilst Wales is due on the 7th June. The final decision for restrictions ease in the UK is June 14th.
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