‘Johnson Variant’ was trending on Twitter once again as Covid-19 cases and deaths soar in the UK.
On Tuesday, the Government said a further 223 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 – the highest daily level since early March, while cases are at their highest for almost three months.
Meanwhile, the seven-day average for cases is standing at 44,145 infections per day.
Press conference
Health secretary Sajid Javid will lead a Downing Street press conference as the Government faces pressure from health chiefs to impose coronavirus restrictions.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents health bodies, warned “we risk stumbling into a winter crisis” unless measures such as face masks and vaccine passports – the Government’s “Plan B” for the coming months – are introduced in England.
He called for ministers to come up with a “Plan C” of even tougher restrictions if those measures are insufficient to address pressure on the health service.
Ministers have rejected calls to introduce the contingency measures which were included in the Government’s autumn and winter strategy.
Downing Street said the number of hospital admissions and deaths are still “substantially lower” than they were earlier in the year.
Flights cancelled
But their optimism is not widely shared elsewhere.
Today Morocco announced it is banning flights to and from the UK due to rising coronavirus case rates.
Airlines cancelled several flights between the countries on Wednesday ahead of the suspension coming into effect at 11.59pm.
EasyJet cancelled two flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Marrakech on Wednesday, but will operate flights in the opposite direction to bring passengers back to the UK before the ban comes into force.
British Airways cancelled flights between Heathrow and Marrakech, which were due to resume on Thursday after being suspended due to the pandemic.
Reaction
Reaction to the spiralling case numbers has been fierce on social media.
Here’s what people had to say: