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A second national blockade would likely have “disastrous” financial consequences for the UK, the prime minister said.
Appearing before a committee of deputies, Boris Johnson said the government was doing “everything in our power” to avoid another national shutdown.
That is why new restrictions, such as the “rule of six,” are necessary to “defeat” the disease, he said.
The prime minister also admitted that there was insufficient testing capacity.
Previously, he blamed a “colossal spike” in demand for continued trouble accessing tests and delays in results.
On Wednesday, coronavirus cases in the UK rose by 3,991, bringing the total to 378,219, according to government figures.
Another 20 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19. This brings the total UK deaths by this criterion to 41,684.
Amid the surge in coronavirus cases, Johnson was asked by the Commons Liaison Committee if the UK could afford another national lockdown.
Johnson said: “I don’t want a second national lockdown; I think it would be completely wrong for this country and we are going to do everything in our power to prevent it.”
“And can we afford it? I highly doubt that the financial consequences are anything but disastrous, but we have to make sure we defeat the disease by the means we have set out to do.”
“So when I see people arguing against the rule of six or saying that the government is acting too harsh on individual liberties and so forth, I totally understand and sympathize with that, but we must, we must defeat this disease.”
Starting Monday, new rules went into effect restricting indoor and outdoor gatherings in England and Scotland, and indoor groups in Wales.
Second extremely unlikely national blockade
A second national blockade is extremely unlikely for two reasons.
First of all, it is enormously damaging: to the economy, education and health in general for reasons other than Covid.
You only need to look at the latest figures for the decline in cancer referrals, hours out of school and the rise in unemployment to see the cost of the UK spring closure.
Second, the government and its medical advisers have a better understanding of the virus.
Current infection and hospitalization rates are still much lower than they were in the spring, and despite problems with testing, there is pretty rich data on exactly where the virus is and how fast it is spreading.
Even if things get worse, officials are quite confident that the NHS will manage.
But that does not mean that there will be no more restrictions.
Banning gatherings of more than six people could be just the first step.
There is also talk of curfews, forcing hospitality venues to close at 22:00 BST.
This tactic was used in Belgium to curb the increase in cases and has been implemented to address the outbreak in Bolton.
At this stage, it is unlikely to be used domestically.
Instead, expect it to be an option for virus hotspots, along with a ban on visits to other people’s homes that have been used in the North West and West Yorkshire.
However, shielding could be reintroduced across the country at some point, along with a ban on visits to nursing homes, in an attempt to protect the most vulnerable groups.
Johnson also admitted that there was insufficient coronavirus testing capacity amid reports of people struggling to get tested and results being delayed.
He told the committee: “We don’t have enough testing capacity now because in an ideal world, I would absolutely like to test everyone who wants a test right away.
He promised there would be a capacity for 500,000 daily tests by the end of October.
But he urged people without symptoms to stay away from testing centers, though he acknowledged the reasons why they may want to find out if they have Covid-19.
“What has happened is that demand has accelerated enormously in just the last few weeks,” he said.
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The prime minister was also asked about his goal of having a “pregnancy style test” in place in a few months, which would play a role in fulfilling his “Operation Moonshot” ambition of mass testing.
The government has said it has set aside £ 500 million to invest in its massive testing plans.
Johnson said: “I’m going to be cautious and say that I can’t sit here today and say we have a ‘pregnancy test’ … today.
“It is correct that the government invests in a project of this type.”
The prime minister was also asked about the arts and culture sector, and committee chair Sir Bernard Jenkin said the musicians, singers and performers had “failed in the available support schemes.”
Johnson said the best way to help the industry was “to get these businesses back on track and the cinemas going back on, eliminating the virus and having a testing regime that allows us to do that.”
He also said that an investigation into the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “would look at everything that went wrong and went right.”
But he said it would not be a “good use of official time at this point” and declined to indicate when the investigation could begin.
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Earlier, Attorney General Robert Buckland said plans to put the NHS at the top of the coronavirus test list will be released in the coming days.
People in nursing homes would also be a priority, while schools could be considered, Buckland said.
Resolving the testing delays was “problem number one,” he added.
