Covid Sheffield: Here’s what people think about a potential circuit breaker lockdown

Boris Johnson recently gave the go-ahead for people’s Christmas plans, although he warned tougher restrictions could be implemented after December 25.

The Prime Minister said “continuing uncertainty” about the severity of the Omicron variant and hospital admission rates means he does not believe there is enough evidence at the moment to justify stricter measures.

Officials are said to be drawing up plans for two weeks of "circuit breaker" measures after Christmas, which would include a ban on indoor mixing.

The news comes as figures from NHS England show that 6,902 patients were in hospital with Covid-19 on December 21 – the highest number since November 10 and up 7% week-on-week.

We’ve spoken to residents in Sheffield to find out their thoughts on a potential circuit breaker lockdown – this is what they said.

One person said: “The second best thing to proper mitigations is circuit breaker lockdowns, but they're always too slow, so we end up with long and painful lockdowns and far more illness and death.”

Another said: “The only reason Boris hasn’t tightened restrictions before or for Christmas is because he had a party last year whilst we were all in lockdown after Christmas. I think the same restrictions as the first time around will come into place again.”

Another resident added: “Boris’ two weeks will mean a month, min. The implications of another lockdown on the public will surely far outweigh the medical side of Omicron.”