Countries around the world are preparing for Christmas with drive-through markets, live streamed nativity plays and socially distanced visits to Santa’s Grotto amid growing concerns that household transmission is a key driver of Covid transmission.
But – after Canada saw cases spiral after Thanksgiving celebrations in mid-October and US experts have warned Americans to expect “surge upon surge” after the holiday last week – experts increasingly fear Covid cases will double in January.
“The Christmas present we are going to get is not the one we need: we will get a surge in cases in the new year,” Dr Julian Tang, a consultant virologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary, told the Telegraph.
“If we get down to 5,000 to 10,000 cases a day by Christmas, you might see a doubling of that after Christmas,” he said, adding that the furore over tiers “misses the longer term benefits to this approach”.
“The point is that if you’re in a higher tier, hopefully you can come out by Christmas and not worry so much about circulation of Covid during that five day amnesty.”
