PM guarantees daily lateral flows for essential workers

This evening prime minister Boris Johnson led a Covid press conference by Professor Sir Chris Whitty and Professor Sir Patrick Vallance.

The conference came after the UK reported a record 200,000 new Covid cases in one day.

Johnson opened by stating that those who may think the “battle” with Covid is over are “profoundly wrong”, adding that: “This is a moment for utmost caution.”

We know Omicron is milder and cases are not translating into the same intensive care demand as previous waves, he says.

Boris Johnson continues by saying that despite the huge increase in cases, there is a “substantial” level of immunity in the population.

He says this means there is a chance to “ride out this Omicron wave” without shutting down the country once again.

But he says the weeks ahead are going to be “challenging” and some services will be disrupted due to staff absences.

The prime minister announced that from next week 100,000 essential workers in sectors such as food processing and the Border Force will be guaranteed daily lateral flow tests after the past few weeks have witnessed major shortages.

Johnson also reaffirmed the government’s repeated calls for people to receive booster jabs, stressing that 90% of patients in intensive care beds who have tested positive for Covid are unvaccinated.