Trade union leaders have warned No10 it risks another 'winter of chaos' if it does not immediately adopt its Covid Plan B.
A joint statement from unions including the TUC, Usdaw, Unison, Unite, the GMB and Aslef representing 3million workers demanded the Government bring in policies including the return of home-working and face mask-wearing.
The unions — which represent workers in retail, transport, healthcare, in which working from home is challenging — said there are already 'hundreds' of Covid outbreaks in workplaces.
It comes as a Government scientific adviser said he is 'very fearful' there will be another 'lockdown Christmas'.
Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said case numbers and death rates are currently 'unacceptable'.
Britain's daily Covid hospitalisations yesterday breached 1,000 for the first time in six weeks.
But SAGE scientists insisted it was 'highly unlikely' that the NHS would be overwhelmed by the virus this winter even without restrictions.
Boris Johnson yesterday resisted calls from health leaders for tighter restrictions despite the rising levels of infections.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new cases could reach 100,000 a day but Downing Street insisted there was still spare capacity in the NHS and that Plan B would only be activated if it came under 'significant pressure'.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new cases could reach 100,000 a day but Downing Street insisted there was still spare capacity in the NHS and that Plan B would only be activated if it came under 'significant pressure'
Only around 4.5million (green line) out of the 9.3million eligible people (blue line) in England have received the crucial third dose, prompting ministers to urge people to come forward for their inoculations
The joint statement said: 'We all want to beat Covid once for all and to avoid further lockdowns.
'But without decisive action now, we risk sleepwalking into another winter of chaos.
'With hundreds of Covid outbreaks at workplaces being reported to health authorities each week, events feel ominously reminiscent of last winter.
'The government must act now to reduce the spread of Covid. Failure to do so will risk public health, frontline services and the economy.'
The plea comes as Government scientists warned
Professor Openshaw, of Imperial College London, told BBC Breakfast: 'I'm very fearful that we're going to have another lockdown Christmas if we don't act soon.
'We know that with public health measures the time to act is immediately. There's no point in delaying.
'If you do delay then you need to take even more stringent actions later. The immediacy of response is absolutely vital if you're going to get things under control.
'We all really, really want a wonderful family Christmas where we can all get back together.
'If that's what we want, we need to get these measures in place now in order to get transmission rates right down so that we can actually get together and see one another over Christmas.'
Prof Openshaw said it is 'unacceptable to be letting this run at the moment', adding: 'I think the hospitals in many parts of the country are barely coping actually.
'Talking to people on the front line, I think it's just not sustainable to keep going at this rate.
'I think it's just unacceptable to see the number of deaths that we've got at the moment.
'At one stage last week there were 180 deaths in a single day. That is just too many deaths. We seem to have got used to the idea that we're going to have many, many people
