An expert from the World Health Organisation has warned against setting a date when Covid restrictions will be lifted in England.
Boris Johnson is reported to be planning to announce the lifting of most or all Covid rules in England on January 26.
Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Coivd-19 said it is “important that there is no premature promising that restrictions will end at a particular time”.
The World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid-19 told BBC Breakfast: “The situation with Covid is one where we can see how the threat will become contained and we can see the journey ahead, but it’s just that getting there is going to be tough, and that’s where we have to be, all of us, really, really open with each other.
“Restrictions are making a difference because they reduce the number of contacts people have, and restrictions therefore are helpful and it’s important that there is no premature promising that restrictions will end at a particular time or we’ll be able to get back to normal at a particular time.
“I want to be hopeful but I want to do my best to be as clear with what I’m really seeing, which is where I need to continue to be cautious and I will be.”
Asked about the prospect of the Government lifting Plan B restrictions in England, he added: “I’m a public health person … I would not be making promises some time in the future because, once you make a promise, it’s super hard then to change what you’re going to do – you feel you’re kind of doing a U-turn.
“This virus is constantly evolving and it’s super hard to predict where it will be – we can say where we hope we’re going to go, we can say where we’d like to go, we can say what we think we need to do to get there – but making promises that we’ll do something on a particular date, I think, is unwise.”
Dr Nabarro said the situation in the UK “gives us grounds for hope” but urged caution.
He told BBC Breakfast: “The situation in the UK. It gives us grounds for hope and I’m personally very pleased to see that.
“The goal that we’re all aiming for is a situation where this virus is present, but life is organised so that it is not disrupted.
“We also need to be humble, this virus is continuing to evolve and we’re never quite sure that we know exactly where it’s going to go next.
“We need real honesty – it’s just no good anybody suggesting that the situation is rosier than it really is.
“That’s why I’ve been careful. I’m saying I can see where the end is, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, but I really do anticipate right throughout the world a bumpy journey ahead during 2022.”
Asked about the policy where asymptomatic people no longer need to take a PCR test following a positive lateral flow result, Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid-19, said: “I do think that it’s going to be difficult to read too much into the numbers right now with the shift to more and more people using auto-testing and self-reporting.
“Quite honestly, I know numerous people who’ve got Covid have picked it up on auto tests, who are not telling the authorities – not because they don’t want to be known or anything like that, it’s just simply they’ve got other things to do and they’re getting on with their lives.
“So, we just need to be careful with the numbers and, most importantly, it’s looking to see what’s happening in hospitals and whether or not death rates are starting to climb again.”
He urged people to “continue to treat the virus with respect”, adding: “I do think wearing masks, especially in crowded places, is really important. I do think physical distancing is important. I do think keeping yourself isolated if you’ve got Covid symptoms can save lives and other people.
“So, please continue treating the virus with respect whoever you are – whether you’re in a position of authority or whether you do what other people ask you to do – please just treat it carefully because I don’t think this is a mild virus and I don’t think anybody should treat it lightly right now.”
