‘Easter can be the new Christmas’: Minister warns Britons to ‘think carefully’ about festive plans amid Covid spike

A UK cabinet minister has said people should postpone Christmas plans amid fierce debate over the government’s decision to relax Covid-19 restrictions during the festive period, which some experts claim “will cost many lives.”

Speaking on Wednesday, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News that people should “use their own personal judgement and think carefully” about their family plans over the Christmas period. 

Citing increased infections rates after the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, Jenrick admitted that the government’s decision to decriminalise household mixing over the Christmas period “will have consequences.” 

“This is a virus that thrives on social interaction. So, bringing more people together, even for this relatively short period of time, is not cost-free,” he said. 

The minister said the decision very much lay with the conscience of individual Britons, but stopped short of advising people to abandon their Christmas plans.

“But these are the sorts of judgements that people need to weigh up – how much do they want to bring members of their broader family together at Christmas. Or whether they think, on this occasion, let’s just keep it small and we can meet up in the spring,” Jenrick suggested. 

Easter can be the new Christmas for some people.

Jenrick’s comments come amid increasing scrutiny of the decision to relax Covid-19 rules from December 23-27, allowing up to three households to mix.

On Tuesday, opposition leader Keir Starmer called for a review of the government’s plan after two British medical journals blasted the decision to relax restrictions. 

“We believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives,” the medical experts warned. 

Covid-19 rates are once again on the increase in the UK in the run-up to Christmas, despite a month-long lockdown ending in early December and the commencement of a mass vaccination programme. 

On Wednesday, soaring infection rates in London’s East End saw the whole capital plunged into a tier three lockdown.

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