Javid says no to restrictions – for now

Is the government considering activating its ‘plan B’ Covid plans? Not yet. 

After the Business Secretary played down talk of new restrictions this morning, Sajid Javid used today’s press conference to confirm that he would not be implementing the back-up plan ‘at this point’. However, the Health Secretary suggested that further measures – namely vaccine passports, work-from-home orders and mask mandates – could not be ruled out if the data substantially worsens.

There was a marked change in tone from Javid since the days soon after his appointment as Health Secretary when he declared that there was ‘no going back’. He said that the pandemic is far from over, and that while the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths has been weakened thanks to vaccines, it has not been broken. Warning that cases could rise to 100,000 a day, Javid said the government would make sure that pressure on the NHS is not ‘unsustainable’.

As a result, he said the government would be ‘preparing for all eventualities’. The rise in Covid cases and pressure on the health service is unsurprising, he said: ‘We’ve always known that the winter months would provide the greatest threat to our Covid recovery.’

So, what now? The main message from the press conference: get vaccinated. Both Javid and UK Health Security Agency chief Jenny Harries used the briefing to urge the five million eligible Britons who have so far not received the jab to come forward. It’s clear that the government continues to see the vaccine programme as the main line of defence – far more important than restrictions. Javid warned that progress could be lost if ‘people really don’t take up those vaccine offers’.

In the Q&A session that followed, Javid was asked repeatedly whether the government was being complacent and ought to consider activating plan B now. The Health Secretary made clear that despite warnings from some NHS leaders, both he and the Prime Minister take the view that the current pressure is sustainable.

Inside government, there is a reluctance to bring back any new measures and renege on so-called ‘freedom day’. The big concern is that rising Covid rates collide with a bad flu season to put pressure on the NHS that requires further action. For now, however, the government is betting on the booster programme, the flu jabs and caution from the public to prevent such worries becoming a reality.