Caution needed amid record virus cases - The Yorkshire Post says

However Ministers, who will soon offer 100,000 critical workers daily lateral flow tests, have resolved not to go any further in their mitigation measures than to continue with the so-called Plan B restrictions set out before Christmas, which is a relief for many people.

Staff shortages blighting the NHS, though, must be taken seriously, and as pupils return to classrooms across the country this week it would be wise to exercise caution when analysing the level of threat we face in the near future.

NHS trusts across the country have declared critical incidents and public services are dealing with drastic staff shortages on the return from the Christmas break as the variant, less dangerous or not, nonetheless continues to spread.

This comes after a letter to NHS bosses last week warned that Yorkshire Ambulance Service was close to declaring a major incident because of significant staffing shortages, while York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had offered its staff a pay incentive to work extra hours as it dealt with busy wards.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Small Businesses is calling on the Government to cut the Covid isolation time from seven days to five, following the controversial recent recommendation in the US.

Their frustration is understandable, given the impact on livelihoods, but it would be a mistake to underestimate Omicron’s ability to have a knock-on effect and overwhelm the NHS – who knows what the post-festive infection rates will be in the coming days?

As we look towards spring, there is a lot to be hopeful for, but we cannot take steps back in our eagerness to live normally again