The Government has no current plans to implement its 'Plan B' for tackling coronavirus, despite warnings that cases could reach 100,000 a day.

The Health Secretary has said that ministers do not believe the pressures on the NHS are unsustainable.

In his first ever Downing Street press conference, Sajid Javid repeated his warning that Covid-19 cases could reach 100,000 a day as the country enters a challenging winter period.

He said the UK was seeing “greater pressure” on the NHS but said the Government will “do what it takes to make sure that this pressure doesn’t become unsustainable, and that we don’t allow the NHS to become overwhelmed.”

Deaths “remain mercifully low” at the moment, he said, but added: “We’ve always known that the winter months would pose the greatest threat to our road to recovery.”

Read also: Nearly 500 new Covid cases recorded in Oxfordshire

He added: “Thanks to the vaccination programme, the link between hospitalisations and deaths has significantly weakened, but it’s not broken.

“So we must all remember that this virus will be with us for the long term and remains a threat to our loved ones, and a threat to the progress that we’ve made in getting our nation closer to normal life.”

Latest Government figures show that a further 179 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, with 494 new Covid-19 cases in Oxfordshire.

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 are introduced.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.