UK covid alert level reduced from 5 to 4 as threat of NHS being overwhelmed lifts
The Covid alert level is being moved down from level 5, the most serious level, to level 4, the four UK chief medical officers have decided. They have just issued this statement
Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the four UK chief medical officers and NHS England national medical director agree that the UK alert level should move from level 5 to level 4 in all four nations.
The health services across the four nations remain under significant pressure with a high number of patients in hospital, however thanks to the efforts of public we are now seeing numbers consistently declining, and the threat of the NHS and other health services being overwhelmed within 21 days has receded.
We should be under no illusions – transmission rates, hospital pressures and deaths are still very high. In time, the vaccines will have a major impact and we encourage everyone to get vaccinated when they receive the offer. However for the time being it is really important that we all – vaccinated or not - remain vigilant and continue to follow the guidelines.
We know how difficult the situation has been and remains to be for healthcare workers, we thank them for their immense effort, skill and professionalism throughout the pandemic.
The four chief medical officers are: Prof Chris Whitty (England), Dr Michael McBride (Northern Ireland), Dr Gregor Smith (Scotland) and Dr Frank Atherton (Wales). Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS England national medical director, has also signed the statement now.
Given what has been happening to Covid case numbers are deaths in recent weeks, this decision is not surprising. The
Covid alert system was set up in May last year and at that point the UK was at level 4, meaning “a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially”. It went down to level 3 in June, back up to level 4 in September and only went up to level 5 in January, as England entered its third lockdown. Level 5 means the virus is in general circulation, transmission is high or rising and “there is a material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed”.
When the alert system was set up, it was envisaged that the lifting of lockdown measures would be linked to the UK’s progress down the alert scale. But in practice there has been little linkage, and the roadmap for lifting lockdown measures in England
published on Monday contains no mention of alert levels, and only one mention of the JBC.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...087933c5fdcf23#block-6037bc9b8f087933c5fdcf23