PCR tests would be reintroduced if new variant found, says Grant Shapps

Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast that PCR tests would be reintroduced if a new Covid variant is found.

The transport secretary confirmed 24 hospitals in England have declared critical incidents due to increasing numbers of medics being forced to isolate, putting further pressure on a service already stretched by the spike in Covid cases.

It came as a cross-party group of MPs warned of the consequences of Boris Johnson’s decision to “ride out” the Omicron wave without further restrictions, saying the backlog of almost 6 million patients on waiting lists in England would grow.

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