Further introduction of coronavirus restrictions in England could be similar to “stage 5” locking, a government source has suggested, as experts warn that normal loops will not be enough to reduce epilepsy. .
The Level 4 restrictions came into effect in London and parts of the south-east and east of England on 20 December and have since been extended to many parts of the country, from Cambridgeshire to Sussex and parts of Hampshire.
Under these restrictions, people were told to stay at home, with home mixing prohibited outside of support bubbles, although one person may meet one other outside.
With the incubation period for the virus lasting up to 14 days, experts say the effects of these measures are expected to be seen in some areas in the coming days – although there may be a delay. test and report results as a result of the picture due to the results of the Christmas holidays.
However, a study of the spread of the new, highly transmissible coronavirus variant by experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, published this month, warned that even all of England would be subject to stage 4 restrictions. on Boxing Day until the end of January, the R value would not fall below 1.
Now, apparently, there could be plans to introduce tougher measures to try to keep the virus under control.
According to the Mirror, a source in Whitehall has said that the level 4 rules do not seem to work, saying that the government could “introduce another level to level 4, so in series 5 ”.
Number of deaths in the UK
Although no information has been released as to what such a series would look like, or whether it is known as “level 5”, one possibility is that the strictest measures could include closure. schools for most pupils and online education movement.
“I can’t see any other option for controlling the virus,” said Dr. Susan Michie, a member of the government’s Covid-19 behavioral science team that feeds into Sage, as well as Sage’s Independent expert group – although she notes that she has not heard any direct evidence that a move such as to do that.
The move to close-knit schools has been supported by Dr Nick Davies, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Flower Group on Modeling, which also feeds into Sage, and author of the recent analysis.
“If our parameter estimates are correct… it seems [tier 4] alone is not enough, so something else may need to be done beyond that. And we have looked at school closures because that is the next obvious thing to do in addition to these restrictions, ”he said.
Schools closed for most pupils in the first lockout in the spring, and other restrictions included the edict of going out only once a day for exercise, which leaving home only for essentials, and for all unnecessary shops and nearby places of worship.