The Covid pandemic has seen life change for millions across Britain and now in the face of rising cases ahead of a "winter crisis" many are calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to enact Plan B. The agenda was laid out by the PM earlier this year when he said such measures would only come into force if there was evidence the NHS could be overwhelmed. Express.co.uk has compiled an explainer on what the Covid Plan B actually is and what it could mean for Britons.
Covid Plan B is the Government’s Covid winter strategy which will be enacted if cases skyrocket and preventative lockdown restrictions need to be reintroduced in a bid to curb new infections.
England has two proposals for the continuation of the Covid crisis: Plan A if the number of cases remains manageable and the Plan B will be enacted if the NHS starts to struggle.
Plan A includes the continuation of NHS Test and Trace and free PCR tests.
In addition, Plan A involves encouraging free flu jab take-up, reminding people to let in fresh air when meeting indoors and wearing face masks in crowded places.
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If Plan A proves insufficient and authorities want to prevent “unsustainable pressure” on the NHS, the Government’s Plan B will come into force.
The measures involved at this stage include compulsory face coverings in some settings and asking people to work from home.
The introduction of vaccine passports is another key point of Plan B.
This stage can be enacted at short notice following “concerning” data trends relating to new infections, hospitalisations and deaths.
Scientific advisers claim it is important to monitor the number of hospitalisations, rapid rates of change in figures and overall state of the NHS.
NHS leaders are warning about a “winter crisis” with many health experts calling for Plan B to come into force now.
The head of the NHS Confederation said ministers must urgently implement sweeping “plan B” winter measures or derail efforts to tackle the backlog of five million patients.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation said immediate action is need to prevent the NHS “stumbling into a crisis” where elective care recovery would be jeopardised.
Mr Taylor told The Guardian: "We are right on the edge – and it is the middle of October.
"It would require an incredible amount of luck for us not to find ourselves in the midst of a profound crisis over the next three months."
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Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has insisted there will not be another national lockdown despite rising cases.
His comments came two days after the UK saw the highest number of new infections since mid-July.
Mr Kwarteng told Sky News: "I think the conversation about restrictions on travel, restrictions on more lockdowns is completely unhelpful."
He added: "We don't want to go back into lockdown and further restrictions."
The comments from the NHS Confederation came just hours after Downing Street ruled out Plan B at this stage.
Downing Street said Plan B had not been discussed by the cabinet yet.
Mr Kwarteng echoed this sentiment on Wednesday, telling BBC Breakfast the Government does not "feel that it's the time for Plan B right now".
He added the infection rate was always likely to rise as the economy reopened, but "what was critically important was the hospitalisation rate and the death rate as well."
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and PM Mr Johnson set out the Government's intentions for Plan B in September.
In Downing Street on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said the Government intends to stick to PLan A.
In September, the Health Secretary said: "Any responsible government must prepare for all eventualities."
On Monday, new Covid cases stood at 49.156 which is a 27 percent uplift from the week before.
There were an additional 915 hospital admissions too - which is an increase of 24 percent.
The latest seven-day average for deaths is 124.1, while the latest count for people in hospital for COVID is 7,097.
These statistics are lower than the January peak and predictions of 100,000 new cases a day made by the Health Secretary before July 19 "Freedom Day".
The exact numbers needed for Plan B are not known publically, but Downing Street admitted on Monday that the winter months look "challenging".
It added it was keeping a "close watch" on cases.
However, it said new infections were roughly in line with predictions and that the vaccine programme had "substantially" broken the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths.