Should we CANCEL work parties to ‘save’ Christmas?’ Restaurant owner claims hospitality causes a ‘trivial’ rise in Covid cases compared to offices and schools, but doctor tells GMB we need to ‘be cautious’
- Good Morning Britain guests debated whether staff celebrations would cause a spike in Covid infection rates
- Club and restaurant owner Alex Proud believes clubs and restaurants are safer than supermarkets so we should keep the celebrations in the diary
- Dr Syira Ahsan argued hospitals are struggling so we should call the party off
A restaurant owner who believes clubs and restaurants are safer than supermarkets argued that we should have Christmas work parties this year despite the possible risk of a spike in Covid infection rates.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, presenters Martin Lewis and Susanna Reid asked whether staff celebrations would cause a spike in Covid infection rates and questioned whether it would be more sensible to call the party off now to make sure there’s no restrictions ruining Christmas day this year.
Appearing on the show, clinical lead in urgent care Dr Syira Ahsan, from East London, whose father died of Covid almost a year ago, argued that hospitals are struggling so we should call the party off – or at the very least, act ‘with caution.’
However, club and restaurant owner Alex Proud, from Brighton, instead insisted that clubs and restaurants are safer than supermarkets so we should keep the celebrations in the diary – adding that the number of Covid cases from hospitality is trivial compared to other sectors.
And many who took to Twitter seemed to agree: ‘Woman on Good Morning Britain saying they should cancel office parties to save Christmas because we didn’t last year and the cases spiked. Is she for real?! We had few vaccinated then plus it’s been proven time & time again hospitality does not cause spikes.’
Clinical lead in urgent care Dr Syira Ahsan, from East London, whose father died of Covid almost a year ago, instead argued that hospitals are struggling so we should call the party off
A second said: ‘What is the difference cancelling Christmas Office parties when borders are open and no quarantine? Doesn’t make sense ..’ while a third commented: ‘Cancel office Christmas parties ?! But it’s OK for concerts, football matches etc where you are with loads of strangers…I just don’t understand this world anymore.’
During the segment of the show, Dr Syira argued: ‘It’s actually a daily reminder working in the font line in the urgent care centre where you see spikes.
‘You see it through the front door before you see the statistics. Covid is absolutely something that has made us all reconvene how we do things…we have a new norm.
‘I think it’s a little bit premature to say things should go back to normal. And what is normal now, I think we’ve got a new level of normal where we need to be a little bit more sensible.’
She continued: ‘We have had second doses of up to 70% but Public Health England statistics say that even if you’ve been double vaccinated, you still have a 1 in 5 chance of developing Covid.’
Club and restaurant owner Alex Proud, from Brighton, appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today and argued that clubs and restaurants are safer than supermarkets so we should keep the celebrations in the diary
Taking to Twitter, one person penned: ‘What is the difference cancelling Christmas Office parties when borders are open and no quarantine? Doesn’t make sense’ (pictured)
She went on to urge everyone to ‘stir on the side of caution.’
‘Having spoken with restaurant owners and other public sectors they’ve actually said themselves that the public have actually been a little more aware on their own condition where they’ve not come in at this time of year, recognising that we’re hitting winter, we’ve got winter pressures in the NHS, and they’ve done the sensible thing of staying away,’ she added.
However, restaurant and club owner Alex Proud argued that the hospitality is safe and that Covid figures are trivial compared to in other sectors.
‘I need to be clear on statistics because you’ve used some there that I do disagree with,’ he noted. ‘Most of the restaurant sector, since we reopened in July, have been working at 100% capacity. The public trust us and we’re well ventilated – we always were.
He added: ‘Government statistics showed during the entire pandemic, the hospitality infection rates are sub 2% compared to work spaces being over 30% and hospitals over 40%. This surge we had in infections was entirely secondary school.
‘If we were going to see a spike from hospitality, we would have seen it months ago. Christmas is going to be full but we’re full at the moment anyway. So I don’t think you’ll see a spike.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, presenters Martin Lewis and Susanna Reid asked whether staff celebrations would cause a spike in Covid infection rates and questioned whether it would be more sensible to call the party off now to make sure there’s no restrictions ruining Christmas day this year
‘The spike has come from schools going back and what’s critical now isn’t talking about trying to close hospitality, which has over 3 million jobs reliant on it, we need to be taking about those 12 million people eligible for a booster vaccination and only 50% have had. I think we need to look at the 5 million people who haven’t had their first vaccination.’
However, Dr Syira Ahsan went on to note how she sees patients coming through the door every day with Covid symptoms.
‘I see the death and the difficulty people go through,’ she explained. ‘I’m not saying cancel anything but we need to be cautious, have steps in place and I do think we need to have numbers limited. We are not out of the woodwork yet.’
But many viewers who tuned in took to social media to argue that they agreed with Alex.
‘If it’s not safe to have an office Christmas party then why are people expected to turn up for work everyday?’ wrote one.
A second commented: ‘GMB asking to cancel office Christmas parties to save Christmas, because if you go to the pub with same people you sit in an office with all day you’ll create a covid spike!! F*** off.’
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