We realise how disappointing the new restrictions will be for many today, especially those in Tier 4 areas. However, doctors across the UK, but especially those in the South East are telling us that the surge in cases is already putting hospitals and critical care units under enormous strain.
NHS staff are grateful to the public who have sacrificed so much to protect each other and our health service. But with the emergence of a new variant, sadly restrictions must be revisited. Covid will not take 5 days off over Christmas, and neither will NHS staff who do all they can to keep patients safe over the festive period.
Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, DAUK President
Boris Johnson spoke of his “heavy heart” as he condemned 16 million people to Christmas without seeing their relatives.
The Prime Minister introduced a sweeping new lockdown for swathes of the South East after coronavirus cases soared.
He said that Christmas would be “different” this year but that the sacrifice would mean protecting the lives of the people we love so that we can “see them at future Christmases”.
Mr Johnson said he had been left with no choice after scientific evidence showed that a new variation of the virus was up to 70 per cent more transmissible.
He said: “I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren, and for families to be together.
“So I know how disappointing this will be, but we have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science.
“When the science changes, we must change our response. When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defence.”
Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, President of DAUK and a senior intensive care registrar in the South East said:
“We realise how disappointing the new restrictions will be for many today, especially those in Tier 4 areas. However, doctors across the UK, but especially those in the South East are telling us that the surge in cases is already putting hospitals and critical care units under enormous strain.
NHS staff are grateful to the public who have sacrificed so much to protect each other and our health service. But with the emergence of a new variant, sadly restrictions must be revisited. Covid will not take 5 days off over Christmas, and neither will NHS staff who do all they can to keep patients safe over the festive period.”
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