Kirklees Council’s health chief has urged everyone to play their part by wearing face masks in the coming weeks, as she admitted “there is quite a lot we don’t know” about the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Face coverings are now compulsory once again in shops and on public transport in England.
It comes after a new variant of Covid-19 was identified, with scientists fearing it may spread more quickly and could possibly be more resistant to vaccines.
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Rachel Spencer-Henshall, the director of public health at Kirklees Council, said that while top scientists are currently “chasing the numbers”, there is no suggestion that local lockdowns will be brought in again.
Instead, she said the most likely next steps would be the introduction of the government’s winter plan – also known as ‘Plan B’ – which may see a working from home directive reinstated, along with the introduction of vaccine passports.
Speaking to YorkshireLive via Facebook Live, she said: “There’s nothing in Plan B to suggest that local restrictions are on the cards – but we still don’t know so much around Omicron that we’re doing our best to see what happens over the next week or so to see if we can get a little bit more from scientists.”
Rather than Kirklees going back into local restrictions – as was the case when the region was put into Tier 3 in autumn 2020 – Ms Spencer-Henshall said the council would push for extra support to limit the spread of Covid.
For example, this could cover surge testing and pop-up vaccination clinics.
But Ms Spencer-Henshall added the key to avoiding further restrictions is taking regular lateral flow tests, getting a booster jab when invited and meeting outside wherever possible.
“At the moment it feels like we’re trying to put in place a number of measures that will put us in the best possible position however it pans out in terms of this variant,” she said.
“The attempt at the moment is to say what we can put in place very quickly.
“The regulations are in place for a short period of time to say how do we try and learn more and try and buy a little bit of time.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about that, which is clearly quite anxious for people, but we can all help.”
Along with the new face mask rules, travellers now require a negative PCR test and must self-isolateuntil they receive the results.
It is also expected that a significant expansion of the booster jabs programme will be announced, with all adults over 18 being offered a third jab and children aged 12 to 15 invited for a second.
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