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British health experts admitted on Wednesday that the new coronavirus is out of control in the United Kingdom with the increase in the number of cases and hospital stays, despite a series of new restrictions on social gatherings applied in the country.
“Things are clearly going in the wrong direction,” UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told a government news conference, while 7,108 cases and 71 additional deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.
As England’s health director Chris Whitty warned that hospitalizations and intensive care hospital care are also on the rise, Vallance added: “We don’t have this under control at the moment.”
More than 42,000 people died of COVID-19 in the UK, the worst record in Europe, despite the lockdown imposed across the country at the end of March.
The isolation eased in June, but authorities have returned in recent weeks to impose restrictions on social gatherings, including a ban on groups of more than six people and the early closure of bars.
In addition to Vallance and Whitty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “it is too early to say” if this will have any effect and asked people to follow the rules.
“If we work together now, we will give ourselves the best possible opportunity to avoid this outcome and avoid other measures,” he said.
Contempt for parliament
Despite warnings about the increase in the number of cases, many of Johnson’s conservative MPs are increasingly irritated by the limits placed on personal freedom.
More than 50 MPs had already threatened to support a motion in parliament demanding greater scrutiny of future rules, accusing ministers of ruling “by decree.”
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, refused to put the amendment to a vote for procedural reasons, saving Johnson from a rebellion.
But he himself launched a forceful attack on Johnson’s “contempt” for parliament.
Hoyle has repeatedly warned ministers to announce restrictions on the press and not allow time for debate before they take effect.
Many lawmakers are still furious after Johnson shut down parliament last year at a crucial point in Britain’s turbulent exit from the European Union, a move later declared illegal by the Supreme Court.
“Now I hope that the government will regain confidence in this House and will not treat it with the contempt it has shown,” the president said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock then offered to consult parliament and “whenever possible” vote before new national measures against the coronavirus take effect.
However, critics point out that this does not apply to localized measures, which now affect some 16 million people, many of them in the north of England.
