Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2022 9:16:58 GMT
Daily Covid death toll will no longer be published by Easter under plan to 'live with Covid', source says
Cancelling the daily Covid deaths update could help Boris Johnson in his battle to persuade backbench Conservative MPs to back him in his battle to fight off the lockdown party allegations (Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/via Reuters)
Cancelling the daily Covid deaths update could help Boris Johnson in his battle to persuade backbench Conservative MPs to back him in his battle to fight off the lockdown party allegations (Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/via Reuters)
The Government has refused to rule out cancelling the daily publication of Covid deaths after a senior Whitehall source told i that Boris Johnson wants to end the update by Easter “at the latest”.
Downing Street, the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) all refused to comment on proposals to bring an end to the daily Covid figures that have become part of the daily routine of the pandemic.
However, a senior Whitehall source familiar with the plans told i: “The Prime Minister has pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form. In an ideal situation he will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues.”
If Covid infections continue to fall this month, Boris Johnson could order changes to the UKHSA’s coronavirus dashboard within weeks, and is understood to have set Easter in mid-April as the deadline to stop the publication of infections, hospital admissions and death data.
However, one leading Covid expert said the move to end the daily reporting could lead to a new variant of the virus going unnoticed, and NHS staff being blamed for not being able to cope with the subsequent rise in admissions.
“To be honest we’ve seen it coming for some time,” said David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and participant on the NHS Long Covid Taskforce.
“The move from PCR test to lateral flow testing was the first step to stopping the reporting, as the figures are now no longer logged centrally and it’s become a personal responsibility.
“The big worry is that if and when a new variant arrives then we’re not going to know about it. There is concent we will see the NHS being overwhelmed and staff being blamed for not being able to cope because the figures are no longer there to show the strain they are under.”
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Despite the changes, it is likely that vaccinations figures will remain along with the new reinfection rates.
On Monday the UKHSA began reporting Covid reinfections on its daily dashboard. People who test positive for Covid who had been infected with the virus in the previous 90 days were not previously recorded.
“Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Minister’s strategy of living with Covid,” added the Whitehall source. “It is hoped that taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.”
The source also suggested that the move would also please a “great number of backbench Tories” who have called for the daily update to end as the UK emerges out of the pandemic. Such a move may even help Mr Johnson gain support backbenchers as part of his effort to stay in No10 as the Downing Street lockdown parties continue to cast doubt on his leadership.
Any move by Mr Johnson to stop the publication of the daily update will only apply in England and would not prevent Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales from continuing with updating the figures every 24 hours.
Covid statistics for England would still be available in the weekly update from the Office for National Statistics until it decides to cease its regular publication of the figures.
A spokesman for UKHSA said it would keep the public “up-to-date with any future changes to the dashboard and reporting”.
While Covid cases, hospital admissions and deaths will be axed from the daily figures the Government is considering retaining the vaccination figures while the booster programme continues its rollout.
Tuesday’s Covid figures showed there were 92,368 new infections, 1,834 hospital admissions and 51 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
To date, there have been a total of 155,754 Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test and 176,813 deaths with Covid on the death certificate.
Cancelling the daily Covid deaths update could help Boris Johnson in his battle to persuade backbench Conservative MPs to back him in his battle to fight off the lockdown party allegations (Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/via Reuters)
Cancelling the daily Covid deaths update could help Boris Johnson in his battle to persuade backbench Conservative MPs to back him in his battle to fight off the lockdown party allegations (Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/via Reuters)
The Government has refused to rule out cancelling the daily publication of Covid deaths after a senior Whitehall source told i that Boris Johnson wants to end the update by Easter “at the latest”.
Downing Street, the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) all refused to comment on proposals to bring an end to the daily Covid figures that have become part of the daily routine of the pandemic.
However, a senior Whitehall source familiar with the plans told i: “The Prime Minister has pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form. In an ideal situation he will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues.”
If Covid infections continue to fall this month, Boris Johnson could order changes to the UKHSA’s coronavirus dashboard within weeks, and is understood to have set Easter in mid-April as the deadline to stop the publication of infections, hospital admissions and death data.
However, one leading Covid expert said the move to end the daily reporting could lead to a new variant of the virus going unnoticed, and NHS staff being blamed for not being able to cope with the subsequent rise in admissions.
“To be honest we’ve seen it coming for some time,” said David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and participant on the NHS Long Covid Taskforce.
“The move from PCR test to lateral flow testing was the first step to stopping the reporting, as the figures are now no longer logged centrally and it’s become a personal responsibility.
“The big worry is that if and when a new variant arrives then we’re not going to know about it. There is concent we will see the NHS being overwhelmed and staff being blamed for not being able to cope because the figures are no longer there to show the strain they are under.”
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Despite the changes, it is likely that vaccinations figures will remain along with the new reinfection rates.
On Monday the UKHSA began reporting Covid reinfections on its daily dashboard. People who test positive for Covid who had been infected with the virus in the previous 90 days were not previously recorded.
“Ending the daily Covid death toll is part of the Prime Minister’s strategy of living with Covid,” added the Whitehall source. “It is hoped that taking the focus away from the Covid figures will also help people move on with their lives.”
The source also suggested that the move would also please a “great number of backbench Tories” who have called for the daily update to end as the UK emerges out of the pandemic. Such a move may even help Mr Johnson gain support backbenchers as part of his effort to stay in No10 as the Downing Street lockdown parties continue to cast doubt on his leadership.
Any move by Mr Johnson to stop the publication of the daily update will only apply in England and would not prevent Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales from continuing with updating the figures every 24 hours.
Covid statistics for England would still be available in the weekly update from the Office for National Statistics until it decides to cease its regular publication of the figures.
A spokesman for UKHSA said it would keep the public “up-to-date with any future changes to the dashboard and reporting”.
While Covid cases, hospital admissions and deaths will be axed from the daily figures the Government is considering retaining the vaccination figures while the booster programme continues its rollout.
Tuesday’s Covid figures showed there were 92,368 new infections, 1,834 hospital admissions and 51 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
To date, there have been a total of 155,754 Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test and 176,813 deaths with Covid on the death certificate.
