Regional public health bosses across England are defying official government guidance and calling for so-called ‘Plan B’ measures to be introduced as Covid cases soar.
At least 12 directors of public health (DPH) are believed to have asked residents to adopt precautions including wearing masks and working from home.
It comes as Plan B measures are set to be rolled out in 20 ‘hotspots’ in England – with Leicester, Bolton, Luton and Blackburn and Darwen named as the first four local authorities to get extra help to drive down numbers.
An NHS leader earlier this week insisted ‘Plan B’ – which includes mandatory face coverings and vaccine passports in certain settings – must be enforced immediately to stop Britain ‘stumbling to a winter crisis’.
But a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that while Downing Street is keeping a ‘very close eye’ on the figures, he has ‘absolutely no plan to introduce Plan B’.
Ministers continue to press ahead with ‘Plan A’, focusing on the vaccination and booster programme, together with the biggest flu drive ever witnessed in Britain.
However, the government could face questions over why local health experts believe it is necessary to ignore the official guidance.
Alice Wiseman, DPH for Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, insisted immediate action was necessary to ‘avoid reaching crisis point’.
‘Taking basic precautions now like wearing face masks, working from home where possible and keeping indoor spaces well ventilated could help us to avoid returning to more disruptive restrictions,’ she told The Guardian.
Ms Wiseman has also contacted headteachers to recommend they take additional measures after half term – including all adults and pupils wearing face masks in secondary schools.
Meanwhile Helen Lowey, DPH for Bolton, is also in favour of protective measures. She tweeted on Thursday: ‘There’s never one magic answer, covid is no different.
‘We can’t rely on vaccines.
‘It’s test when have no symptoms, wear face covering more often than not, give people space, work from home when can, isolate when symptoms, ventilate etc.’
Hertfordshire DPH Jim McManus has urged people to ‘work from home if they can’, telling the BBC how reducing interaction ‘really does help cut infection’.
DPHs in Walsall, Calderdale, Trafford, Suffolk and Swindon are also said to be recommending extra precautions such as mask wearing.
And the DPH for Southend is reportedly considering additional measures in schools after half term.
Meanwhile DPH for Blackburn and Darwen, Professor Dominic Harrison, said Plan B measures may need to be introduced by mid-November.
He wrote in his weekly coronavirus column how this may need to include a ‘re-imposition of some infection control measures we know will work to slow transmission’, including mandatory masks and Covid passports for mass gatherings.
And North Somerset deputy council leader and lead member for health Mike Bell also expressed his frustration after the government said it had no plan to tighten restrictions.
He told the Guardian: ‘This situation must not be allowed to escalate. Lives will be put at risk.’
‘I would much rather action is taken now to protect people before case rates spiral and people become ill,’ he added.
The widespread break from official guidance comes as Health Secretary Sajid Javid warning cases could surge to 100,000 a day.
‘This pandemic is not over,’ he told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday.
But it comes amid fears businesses cannot survive another winter of tough restrictions.
When asked if firms could stay afloat if Plan B is implemented, CEO of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, told Times Radio: ‘No I don’t, bluntly.
‘We have already lost 12,000 businesses.’
Scientists advising the Government warned the prime minister Plan B restrictions must be deployed ‘rapidly’ if necessary.
Experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said in a meeting on October 14 how a contingency plan would be more effective if it was rolled out early and in unison: ‘In the event of increasing case rates, earlier intervention would reduce the need for more stringent, disruptive and longer-lasting measures.’
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