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A man in a protective mask in front of a closed souvenir stand at Westminster in London. | Photo credit: AP
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he did not want another national lockdown, but that further restrictions may be needed as the country faces an “inevitable” second wave of COVID-19.
Ministers were reported on Friday to be considering a second national shutdown, after new COVID-19 cases nearly doubled to 6,000 a day, hospital admissions rose and infection rates skyrocketed in parts of northern England and London.
That increase in cases was part of a second wave that was now unstoppable, the prime minister said.
“Now we are seeing a second wave coming … I’m afraid it is absolutely inevitable that we will see it in this country,” Johnson told the UK media.
When asked if the entire country should prepare for a new blockade, rather than just local restrictions, he said: “I don’t want to enter a second national blockade at all.”
But he did not rule out the introduction of more national restrictions.
“When you look at what’s happening, you have to ask yourself if we need to go beyond the rule of six that we introduced on Monday,” he said, referring to the ban on gatherings of more than six people.
The United Kingdom has reported the fifth highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the world, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
The official number of new positive cases in the UK soared by almost a thousand on Friday to 4,322, the highest since May 8, after a separate ONS model reported around 6,000 new cases a day in England in the UK. week until September 10.
That was up from modeling 3,200 cases per day in the previous week, with the North West and London seen as hot spots.
Health Minister Matt Hancock called a second national shutdown a last resort on Friday and when asked about it said, “I can’t give you that answer right now.”
Spread widely across all ages
The UK said its number of breeding “R” infections has risen to a range of 1.1-1.4 from 1.0-1.2 last week.
“We are seeing clear signs that this virus is spreading widely in all age groups and I am particularly concerned about the increase in hospital admission and intensive care rates among the elderly,” said Yvonne Doyle, Public Medical Director. Health England.
“This could be a warning of much worse things to come.”
Britain imposed new COVID regulations in the North West, Midlands and West Yorkshire since Tuesday. More than 10 million people in the UK are already locked up locally and restrictions could be on the way for millions more.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said later Friday that it was “increasingly likely” that additional measures will soon be required in Britain’s largest city. He said he had seen evidence of the virus spreading in London that was “extremely” concerning.
COVID-19 cases began to rise again in Britain in September, with between 3,000 and 4,000 positive tests recorded daily in the last week. This is still a little behind France, which receives more than 10,000 new cases a day.
“COVID-19 infection rates have increased in most regions, particularly the North West and London,” the ONS said.
The ONS said there was clear evidence of an increase in the number of people who tested positive from 2 to 11 years, 17 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years.
Johnson was criticized by opposition politicians for his initial response to the outbreak and the government has struggled to ensure sufficient evidence in recent weeks.
When asked by LBC radio why the test system was a “mess”, Hancock said that Dido Harding, who is in charge of the system, had done an “extraordinary job.”
