U.K. Lockdowns Should Be ‘Last Resort,’ Javid Says in Daily Mail

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid signaled that he’s opposed to further restrictions in response to the omicron variant and pledged to make more tests available in the coming months.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Javid reiterated his view that the country must try to live with Covid-19. New curbs must be an “absolutely last resort”, he said, citing the “enormous health, social and economic costs of lockdowns.”

It’s inevitable that there will be a big increase in the number of people in the hospital with the virus over the next month given the lag between infection and hospitalization, Javid said. The country reported almost 190,000 new cases on Friday, a record.

The government has faced criticism about a lack of Covid testing availability amid estimates that one in 25 people would have tested positive for the disease last week. In response, officials will be tripling the supply of lateral flow tests for January and February compared to their plan before the variant began to spread, Javid said. 

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