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Britain recorded 57,725 new cases on Saturday, its highest total in the entire pandemic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a statement on coronavirus statistics and lockdown tests and measures during a virtual press conference at 10 Downing Street in central London on November 5, 2020. Image: AFP
LONDON, UK – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday he was “reconciled” to the prospect of stricter restrictions to combat rising coronavirus cases, while sparking a dispute over whether schools should reopen.
“We may have to do things in the coming weeks that will be more difficult in many parts of the country,” Johnson told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show.
“I am totally reconciled to that.”
Britain recorded 57,725 new cases on Saturday, the highest total in the entire pandemic.
Health officials are concerned that rising numbers could overwhelm hospitals during the busiest time of year.
Johnson told parents of young children they must “absolutely” send them to schools that reopen after Christmas, despite the closure of some schools in the worst-hit areas.
“I understand people’s frustrations, I understand people’s anxieties, but I have no doubt that schools are safe and that education is a priority.
“We have really fought very hard during this pandemic across the country to keep schools open,” he added.
But the leader of the National Association of Chief Teachers, Paul Whiteman, called on the government to delay reopening schools after the Christmas break “so that we can agree on the correct mitigations … to make them safe for COVID.”
“We agree with everyone that school is the best place for children, we just want to do it well, we want it to be a sustainable return,” he told the BBC.
Johnson said that public health experts had highlighted the long-term harm of children who do not go to school.
‘HARD PERIOD AHEAD’
“There are many factors to be taken into account, in particular the depravity in abandoned communities,” he told Marr.
“The problem is how to prevent schools from being places where the virus can circulate. I think weekly lateral flow tests in schools can make a big difference.”
Johnson, who has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic that has claimed more than 74,000 lives in Britain, revealed that 530,000 doses of the recently approved AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine will be available for use from Monday.
“We can see the way forward in terms of a route to follow, we can see how we can get out of this. But we have a difficult period ahead of us,” he warned.
Britain has already vaccinated around a million people after approving the Pfizer vaccine in early December.
“We hope we can make tens of millions over the course of the next three months,” the prime minister said.
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