People must think “really carefully” about the risk of more social contact over Christmas, NHS bosses have warned.
“I don’t want to be the Grinch who stole Christmas,” said Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers.
But he pointed out that the US saw “record numbers” of cases and deaths after the Thanksgiving holiday – and said the NHS was worried about January.
The government’s Dominic Raab said people needed the five-day relaxation of Covid rules on “an emotional level”.
Meanwhile, the chances of the Oxford University vaccine being rolled out by the end of the year are “pretty high”, the vaccine’s architect Prof Sarah Gilbert has told the BBC.
A further 18,447 cases were recorded across the UK on Sunday, along with another 144 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The number of deaths recorded tends to be lower over the weekend because of reporting delays.
Between 23 and 27 December, coronavirus restrictions are being relaxed across the UK, allowing three households to form a “bubble” and mix indoors and stay overnight.
But NHS Providers – which represents hospital trusts in England – has written to the PM urging him to “personally lead a better public debate about the risks inherent in the guidance” – although it stopped short of calling for a review of the rules over Christmas.
“There seems to be a sense at the moment that, ‘hey because the government’s put these rules down, there’s no risk to people having more social contact over Christmas’,” Mr Hopson told BBC Breakfast.
“Of course, part of it is about sticking to the rules but any kind of extra social contact over Christmas – particularly with those who are vulnerable to the virus – actually is very risky”
