Government still resisting 'Plan B'

THE Government has no current plans to implement its Plan B for tackling coronavirus, the Health Secretary has said, adding that ministers do not believe the pressures on the NHS are unsustainable.

In his first ever Downing Street press conference, Sajid Javid repeated his warning that Covid-19 cases could reach 100,000 a day as the country enters a challenging winter period.

He said the UK was seeing “greater pressure" on the NHS but said the Government will "do what it takes to make sure that this pressure doesn't become unsustainable, and that we don't allow the NHS to become overwhelmed."

Deaths “remain mercifully low” at the moment, he said, but added: “We've always known that the winter months would pose the greatest threat to our road to recovery."

He added: "Thanks to the vaccination programme, the link between hospitalisations and deaths has significantly weakened, but it's not broken.