The UK government won’t help – but we can take steps to avoid a Covid Christmas

‘At a time when the NHS is facing its bleakest midwinter, you might think the government would to do whatever is in its powers to relieve pressure on our healthcare system.’ Photograph: Steve Taylor/SOPA Images/Rex/Shutterstock

The resumption of festive events, including Christmas parties, pantomimes and nativity plays, has meant many of us have been doing a lot more indoor mixing. Annoyingly, these are exactly the right conditions for the spread of airborne respiratory viruses such as colds, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and, of course, Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19.

Cases of Covid are on the rise again. The Office for National Statistics’ weekly infection survey estimates that about 1.3 million people across the UK are currently infected. The Zoe symptom-tracker app has shown a 20% rise in cases over the past two weeks. A relatively new variant, BQ.1.1, has recently become dominant in the UK and is behind at least some of the recent surge. So, after two Covid-disrupted festive seasons, what hope do we have for a “normal” Christmas this time around?