COVID-19 CASES COULD RISE TO 100,000 A DAY, UK HEALTH MINISTER JAVID WARNS

Wed 20 October 2021:

Sajid Javid, the UK Health Minister, warned on Wednesday that COVID-19 cases in the UK might reach 100,000 per day, but that the government will not restore any coronavirus restrictions for the time being.

“Cases are rising. They could go yet as high as 100,000 a day. This pandemic is not over,” Javid said during a televised press briefing from 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.

The heath secretary said, however, that despite the current rise in positive cases, COVID-19-related deaths, and the increasing pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), no contingency measure will be enacted at this moment.

“We are looking closely at the data, we are not implementing Plan B at this point,” he said.

Earlier this week, Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation, urged the government to reinstate some anti-COVID-19 measures, such as mandatory mask wear in crowded places, working from home, and a ban on unnecessary indoor gatherings, as hospitals are on the verge of being overloaded ahead of the winter season.

Instead, Javid focused on the successful rollout of the vaccination initiative, which has vaccinated nearly 45 million people since December 2020.

He also announced that the government has reached agreements with pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Merck for two antiviral medications to treat COVID-19 and prevent the seasonal outbreak.

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