World News – UK – Priti Patel claims government is « consistently ahead of the curve » on Covid pandemic

Priti Patel has claimed that the government is « consistently ahead of the curve » in its response to the coronavirus.

The Interior Minister’s comment came days after the hasty repeal of the Christmas shuffling rules and the introduction of « stay at home » orders in the southeast and during hectic negotiations with France to try to reopen the canal ports.

Ms. Patel admitted that the strict Tier 4 rules may have to be extended to other parts of the country as a new variant of the Covid-19 spread.

Meanwhile, a member of the Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) confirmed that the mutated coronavirus would likely mean stricter controls across the country after Christmas.

Prof. John Edmunds told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “It looks like the virus is likely already spread across the country and I think unfortunately we need to put tighter restrictions across the country. ”

« The government has always been ahead of the curve in terms of proactive measures this year, » the Home Secretary said today.

“There is nothing last minute regarding the work the government has done in planning and preparing for Tier 4.

« These are big decisions made collectively by the government on the basis of scientific advisors – Patrick Vallance, Chris Whitty, many, many other people in the scientific and medical community. ”

Ms. Patel insisted that it was important to keep an eye on the disruption in the canal ports caused by the closure of the crossings to freight traffic in France and insisted that only 20 percent of food imports were affected.

« There is plenty of food in the supermarkets, » she said. “We also have fresh products on other routes, by air freight and not just via the Short Straits. ”

She confirmed that currently around 1. 500 trucks stuck on the Kent highways or Manston airfield instead of the 170 quoted by Boris Johnson on Monday night, but stressed that the number fluctuates as « trucks are not static ». .

Ms. Patel said it was « inevitable » that stricter coronavirus restrictions would be imposed in areas outside the Tier 4 region in London and the South East due to the increasing infectivity of the new variant of Covid.

She told Sky News, « It is inevitable that people travel while traveling – and of course we urge people not to travel for health reasons – that we must take strong action.

“If the virus continues to spread, we will of course take stronger measures because ultimately our goal is to save lives and keep people safe. At the moment, however, it is not my job to anticipate changes as there will be a natural review mechanism in two weeks’ time. ”

Ms. Patel said she was « confident » that all schools in England would be running as planned by Nov.. It will reopen in a staggered manner on January 1st, but couldn’t say whether all the children will be back in the classroom.

She said mass testing is used to protect the health of students and teachers.

« I am confident the schools will return in January no doubt about that, » Ms. Patel told LBC Radio.

« I can’t tell you about all of the students as schools obviously work differently with local education authorities across the country.

“The fact is, however, that the government wants to keep schools open, and of course we will take steps such as testing our students. Our priority, of course, is to keep children, school teachers and staff safe and to create the right kind of safe environment in our schools. ”

Premium Independent Comments can be posted by members of our Independent Premium membership program. It enables our most dedicated readers to discuss the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and much more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the topics when they can to create a real meeting of independent premium. The most insightful comments on all topics are published daily in special articles. You can also be notified by email when someone replies to your comment.

The existing Open Comments threads will persist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Due to the size of this comment community, we cannot pay the same attention to every post, but we have preserved this section in the interest of an open debate. Please continue to respect all commentators and have constructive debates.

Would you like to bookmark your favorite articles and stories for later reading or reference? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

Priti Patel, Coronavirus, United Kingdom, Lockdown