UK coronavirus: Whitty says people should not hug elderly relatives as PM warns against easing up on virus fight – as it happened
PM says now is not the time to ease up after backlash against new England tier system; Sir Chris Whitty says people should not hug elderly relatives
- What tier am I in? Latest Covid rules in England post-lockdown
- Covid tiers: large parts of England in tier 3 restrictions after lockdown
- Scrutiny grows over Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine
- Covid cases levelling off as England prepares to re-enter tier system
- Tier 1 explained | Tier 2 explained | Tier 3 explained
Would I want someone to see their family? Of course, that’s what Christmas is about, whether people celebrate Christmas as a festival themselves or from any other belief system. It is an opportunity for families.
But would I encourage someone to hug and kiss their elderly relatives? No, I would not.
If [mass testing] works, where people test negative, it may also be possible for families and communities to be released from certain restrictions even if their home area stays in tier 3.
What we want to avoid is relaxing now too much, taking our foot off the throat of the beast now, when we’ve got [the virus] in a much, much better place than it was before the rules and measures.
We will review the tiers in a fortnight and then regularly, which he can reasonably take to be weekly.
Here is a joint statement from two Conservative MPs with North Somerset constituencies: Liam Fox, the former international trade secretary and John Penrose, a former minister. North Somerset is in tier 3.
They say this decision “isn’t right or fair” and they call for it to be reversed after a fortnight.
Joint statement from North Somerset MP @LiamFox and Weston-super-Mare MP @JohnPenroseNews on the #tiersystem. #COVID19 #coronavirus #RoadtoRecovery pic.twitter.com/Sg0Fawt4TZ
Read the original article at The Guardian