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Reuters
U.K. The government is considering UK-wide measures, including a short-term ban across the country, to slow the second increase in coronavirus cases.
The BBC’s political editor Laura Queensburgh has been told that some weeks of national rules – or “circuit breaks” – could be announced next week.
Schools and most workplaces will be open during that week.
But no final decision has yet been made on the way forward.
At a meeting on Wednesday night, the government’s chief scientific adviser and medical official predicted another outbreak of the disease.
They have predicted significant deaths by the end of October if no further intervention is made.
Potential measures are being discussed, including calling for the closure of some hospitality businesses, or limiting the opening hours of some pubs and rest restaurants across the country.
The virus, which reported more than 3,300 new cases on Thursday, now doubles every seven to eight days.
That’s because nearly 20 million people in north-east England are facing the latest local lockdown rules, which came into force on Friday. These restrictions will prevent people from meeting in other homes, and restaurants and pubs will have to close at 22:00 BST.
An announcement of a possible lockdown in parts of north-west England is expected from the government later on Friday.
- The number of coronavirus cases in the UK rose to 3,395 on Thursday
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Options for ministers
Restrictions may be reintroduced in some public places across the country under the so-called “circuit break”, but schools and workplaces will remain open.
One of the ideas suggested by the government’s scientific advisory group for Emergencies (Sage) is that some parts of the hospitality sector may be asked to close.
No. 10 is also considering the possibility of limiting the initial time of pubs and rest restaurants rento across the country, as has already happened in some areas.
However Prime Minister Boris Johnson is believed to be extremely reluctant to order a second national lockdown, where everyone will be asked to keep their homes and businesses closed.
This week he called the potential impact of a second national lockdown on the economy “disastrous.”
On Thursday morning, Chancellor Ishii Sunke is believed to have issued a warning to the economy.
And ministers are also concerned about the impact of further restrictions on daily life on people who need treatment for non-covid related ailments.
However, the government has not yet made a final decision on further action.
It is not yet clear what effect this week’s new rule banning social gatherings of people for more than six weeks will have, and will continue to monitor the number 10 data and seek scientific advice.
But it seems increasingly likely that within the next week, the prime minister will tighten national rules again, our correspondent said.
On Friday, parts of north-east England joined other areas in the UK as they were under local lockdown rules.
The measures affect the Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and County Durham council areas.
As well as banning the mixing and early closure of homes in pubs and rest restaurants rentals, people should only use public transport for essential travel and care homes for visitors are closed.
- Read on: Local lockdown in north-east England begins
There are also local lockdown restrictions elsewhere in the UK, including Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Kerfili and the Belfast Council area.
Other key developments:
- The number of new weekly cases in Europe has exceeded the number reported during the first peak of the epidemic, the head of the World Health Organization in Europe has warned.
- The head of the UK government’s testing system – which has faced criticism in recent weeks – said demand for booking tests was more than three times the number available.
- People arriving in England and Scotland from Singapore and Thailand will need to be kept separate from Saturday morning.
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Statistics show that about two-thirds of adults are traveling to work again
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