What does ‘circuit-breaker lockdown’ actually mean? And could it be a possibility over Christmas?

There is growing concern about the possibility of a ‘circuit-breaker lockdown’, following the UK government’s announcement of ‘plan B’ measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 following the discovery of the Omicron variant.

In response to rising cases of Covid-19 in the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged the British public to “exercise caution” over the Christmas period. While this could include wearing a mask, getting a booster jab, and ventilating closed spaces, the Prime Minister ruled out further restrictions, for now, saying: “There are still some things that we need to be clearer about before we decide to go further.”

However, he added that restrictions were a possibility in the future, saying, “Unfortunately, we will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public, public health and our NHS.” 

Plan B measures – which included advice to work from home and making face masks mandatory in public indoor spaces – were introduced from Friday 10 December. The vaccine booster rollout was accelerated and, according to The Independent, 50.4% of people over the age of 12 in the UK have received their booster dose (as of 21 December 2021).

However, there is still significant concern that more needs to be done to stop the rate of infections from increasing and overwhelming the NHS. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has declared a major incident over the rise of Omicron cases in London, while leaked minutes from a meeting of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had advised that stricter measures needed to be implemented to stop hospital admissions reaching 3,000 per day.

One of these measures could be a circuit-breaker lockdown. Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of SAGE, told Times Radio on Sunday 19 December that “all the science suggests that (Plan B is) not going to be enough.”

He explained, “The only way really, or at least the most effective way, we can have an immediate effect is to decrease the number of contacts we have.

“In many ways, the most effective way of diminishing contact is to have a circuit-breaker.

“Now, you could have it after Christmas, the problem is after Christmas it’s probably too late, it’s probably by then we will have had a huge surge of infections with all the impact upon society.”

What is a circuit-breaker lockdown?

BBC News shared the following definition of a circuit-breaker lockdown: “A circuit breaker or a firebreak is like a mini-lockdown. It’s a short, sharp period where rules and restrictions get much more strict so there are fewer opportunities for Covid-19 to spread.

“What exactly changes will vary by country. It should mean that an area will then see a fall in cases. But how far they fall isn’t clear and depends on how strict the rules are and if people stick to them.” 

Will there be a circuit-breaker lockdown in the UK?

When asked if new restrictions could be implemented before Christmas Sajid Javid, the health secretary, refused to rule it out, saying (via The Guardian), “We are assessing the situation; it’s very fast-moving.”

He added, “There’s a lot of uncertainty, there are gaps in the data, but we must work with the data we’ve got, we mustn’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.”

The government is expected to make an announcement about potential restrictions within the coming days. These could include reintroducing the rule of six, banning indoor household mixing, and imposing fresh restrictions on the hospitality industry.  

For information and advice related to Covid-19, visit NHS.uk, the World Health Organization’s website, or speak to your GP.

For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.