In view of its refusal to put corona restrictions into effect, the British government is facing increasingly fierce criticism.

It is now time to take action, called the medical union on Wednesday evening.

If the government does not do that, it is "deliberate negligence," said the union chairman.

On Tuesday, an association of health service providers warned of a new corona wave in winter.

It takes a lot of luck if the country does not want to find itself in a "profound crisis" in the next three months, said the association's chairman.

On Wednesday, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's think tank also warned the government to "give us the best chance we can to prevent the disease from escalating again."

Oliver Kühn

Editor in politics.

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The critics are calling for the immediate implementation of Plan B presented by the government in September. This alternative strategy provides for mask and distance requirements and ventilation regulations in closed rooms. In addition, people should be able to work from home again and vaccination cards should be introduced. Health Minister Sajid Javid made it clear on Tuesday that the government would not do that at this point. Referring to the National Health Service, NHS, he said the pressure is not "unbearable" at the moment. As an instrument against a new corona wave, Javid advertised booster vaccinations. However, experts assume that the current increase in the number of cases is driven by school children, since masks do not have to be worn in schools.There is still no approved vaccine for children.

The Minister of Health appeals to the MPs

At the press conference, the Minister of Health also called on MPs to be aware of their role model role and to wear protective masks.

In the lower house, which is a narrow room with little ventilation, there were always representatives of the people who did not wear masks.

Those who are so prominent play a public role.

“But we also have to be aware of our role model role as private individuals,” said Javid.

The minister warned that the pandemic is far from over, but continues to pose a threat "to people we love and to the progress we have made in bringing the nation back closer to normal."

On Wednesday, the United Kingdom recorded 49,139 new corona infections. For a week, the number of new infections every day has been more than 40,000. The previous high was in January with more than 68,000 cases in one day. However, Javid said that more than 100,000 new infections daily would be possible in winter if it continued like this. The government's refusal to introduce restrictions is related to the current number of hospitalizations and daily deaths related to Covid-19. These are far from the highs last winter. Of the 95,000 hospital beds available in the country, 7,000 are currently occupied by corona patients and 6,000 are still free, said Edward Argar, State Secretary in the Ministry of Health, on Thursday.

Great Britain was one of the first countries to start a large-scale vaccination program and lifted all corona restrictions in July, which was celebrated by the tabloid media as "Freedom Day".

The number of infections rose afterwards, but also fell again in the meantime.

The government's scientific advisors, however, continued to plead for caution.

As early as September, the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies called for the measures provided for in Plan B to be implemented immediately.

The government's key advisor at the time said it was important to introduce the measures as early as possible to keep the pandemic under control.

On Thursday, however, the state secretary of health issued another rejection.

The government is considering when it is necessary to implement the plan.

However, there is no clearly defined point in time for this, as a large number of considerations always flow into the decision-making process.

The pressure on the national health service can still be endured, he repeated the words of his minister.

He also denied a report in The Telegraph newspaper that the government was already working on a plan C. This would include a ban on meetings between several households, the report said.