Boris Johnson’s senior ministers are meeting to discuss the rising tide of Covid cases amid warnings the NHS could be overwhelmed without further action to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
The government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance and England’s chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty will brief an unscheduled meeting of the Cabinet on Monday.
Downing Street denied it was an emergency meeting, saying ministers were being updated on a fast-changing situation.
It comes after the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned daily hospital admissions could reach 3,000 without further restrictions.
Downing Street did not deny reports that a number of ministers – including chancellor Rishi Sunak – have pushed back against calls for action without more evidence of the impact the virus would have.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said it was part of the job of ministers to scrutinise any advice they were given:
We need to strike the right balance between protecting lives and livelihoods. That is what we are focused on. This is a fast-moving situation. There are significant gaps in the data we have relating to this variant.
We are working to get more clarity on what impact it has on things like severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths.
It is one roles of ministers to scrutinise any advice and evidence provided, and consider it in the round. That is the function of Cabinet.
Earlier, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab refused to rule out the possibility that additional measures could be required before Christmas – now less than a week away.
“I just can’t make hard, fast guarantees,” he told Sky News.
He added: “The Prime Minister has got some very difficult decisions to take and I’m sure he’ll be thinking very hard at them.”
Damaging lack of credibility
However, both his previous track record and images allegedly showing Johnson partying while the country was under lockdown, means that any new proposals will lack credibility:
Cabinet meeting Downing St at 2pm Unconfirmed reports of
Quiz begins at 3pm
Nibbles at 4pm
DJ arrives at 5pm.— HarryD (@Harry14D) December 20, 2021
Cabinet meeting at 2pm pic.twitter.com/oRxPAqNfQv
— 𝚁𝚊𝚟 (@TVRav) December 20, 2021
But as one Twitter user pointed out:
and such toxic intergroup relations not only erode trust still further, they add more powerful emotions like contempt (in return), anger and even hatred into the mix.
And that isn't good for anyone at a time when we need to pull together to get ut of this mess.— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) December 20, 2021
Action is needed
Once again, the government is being accused of doing too little, too late. Independent SAGE member professor Christina Pagel described the SAGE minutes from last week as “chilling”:
Govt has met this weekend about urgent Omicron threat. SAGE minutes from Thursday are chilling. And yet no action has been taken.
Every few days, Omicron gets twice as bad. And it doesn't stop for weekends.
How long will govt wait? pic.twitter.com/En4BaKE1Wh
— Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) December 20, 2021
By The Canary
This post was originally published on The Canary.