Contributions
1,745 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateFirst, I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking the South Africans for their huge efforts with respect to this variant, recognising how they have worked with the world, including us,…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy right hon. Friend will not be surprised to hear that we will be taking measures to increase substantially capacity in the NHS. He will know that it is not just about beds,…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe NHS covid pass already has an in-built capability to allow for either a vaccination or the result of a negative lateral flow test, and next week there will be a debate on…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWe do work very closely together across the Union, and I have regular contact with my counterpart in Northern Ireland. I have not been able to discuss these particular measures…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI am sure that my hon. Friend will agree that the best support we could provide for the transport sector right now is to remove these recent restrictions. I am confident that, as…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI thank my right hon. Friend for his support for the statement. He is right to emphasise that by taking swift, early and proportionate action now, we can potentially avoid further…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWith permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on the covid-19 pandemic. We are working night and day to understand more about the omicron variant. There is still a…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThat is a very fair question, and it requires a full explanation. There is new data since I was last at this Dispatch Box on the rate and growth in transmissibility, and there is…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI thank the hon. Gentleman for his constructive tone. He made the important observation that while the emerging data suggests that current vaccines may well be less effective in…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI am very sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s constituent. Of course there will be many people across the country who found themselves in such an awful situation. In terms of…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateOn NHS capacity, since March 2020 there has been a significant increase in ICU capacity. My hon. Friend will know that most beds in hospitals are still for people who need…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateFrom the moment they learned about omicron, the vaccine manufacturers, particularly those that make the so-called mRNA-type vaccines, started work on new omicron-targeting…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWe recently took measures to increase take-up among that age group by allowing those children, with their parents or guardians, to use the national booking system and the walk-in…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe Prime Minister has addressed both those issues.08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI do, of course, back any working together, whether it is of local government, the NHS or directors of public health, to help to combat this pandemic. They are doing a stellar job…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI am pleased my right hon. Friend welcomes the move from isolation to daily testing. As I said earlier, there is more capacity in the NHS than there was at the start of the…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend makes an important point. There is nothing more important in our society than our children. As a nation we have, like many other nations, learned a lot during the…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI will look into whether it can be made even easier for people to access lateral flow tests, but I hope the hon. Lady was reassured when I said that we have plenty of these tests…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateOf course everyone should follow the rules—no one is above the rules. The hon. Lady refers to the exchange that took place earlier in Prime Minister’s questions; the Prime…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI very much agree with my hon. Friend. He is right to point to the huge importance, more than ever, of the pharmaceutical defences—let us call them that—against this pandemic. Top…08 Dec 2021