Christmas lockdown fears as Matt Hancock hints that England shutdown could be EXTENDED beyond December 2

MATT Hancock has hinted that England’s lockdown could extend beyond December 2, fueling fears of a ruined Christmas.

The Health Secretary said last night that it was “too early to know” if Covid’s current restrictions have worked, saying only that he “hoped” to be able to return to the tiered system after the shutdown.

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Hancock hinted that next week will be crucial, as cases should start to drop if “the lockdown is working.”

He said: “It is too early for us to know what the number of cases will be as we come to the end of the current lockdown.

“Right now, most of the tests that we are receiving and most of the positive cases are from the era of the blockage.

“It is too early to expect to see the impact of the second lockdown in the data, but we have absolute hope that we can replace the national lockdown with a tiered system.”

The Health Secretary declined to say whether the current lockdown restrictions would simply be “renamed” as feared, with Level 3 or a possible Level 4 mimicking a national lockdown.

But any extension of the current rules would need the approval of Parliament and outdo the complaining MPs.

It came as:

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It came as PHE chief Dr. Susan Hopkins warned that a stricter tier system would likely replace the national shutdown after Dec. 2.

In a coup for indoor meetings, he said Level 1 was not working, so stricter rules would have to be enforced.

It means that households across the country face the possibility of being banned from mingling with others indoors in the coming weeks, which can put Christmas celebrations at risk.

The Level 1 rules, the lowest level of restrictions in the entire country, include a curfew in bars at 10 p.m. and the rule of six.

But it was suggested last night that this could be removed or made even more difficult if England exits the four-week lockdown on December 2.

The next stage is Level 2, where people are prohibited from mixing indoors with people from other households.

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Dr Hopkins said, “We see very little effect from Level 1.

“When we look at what the Tiers might be in the future, we will have to think about strengthening them so we can get through the winter months until the vaccine is available to everyone.”

Tier 2 was only working in some areas, but Tier 3 was reducing cases in the Northwest, he said.

She suggested that “if the lockdown is working, we will start to see the cases decrease over the next week.”

If not, then lifting the rules entirely would be at risk, he added.

But Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith was furious: “He wants to keep us locked up.

“She doesn’t care about the economy and keeping businesses open.

“If you get rid of Tier 1, our economy is dead.”

And Matt Hancock told the nation, “It’s not about whether there is a tier system, but about the measurements at each tier.”

But he said such discussions have yet to take place at No. 10.

The Secretary of Health also refused to rule out the mandatory nature of the coronavirus vaccine.

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It comes as yesterday’s figures showed that cases increased by just 0.06 percent in a week, which appears to mean that Covid cases are flattening out.

Symptom app ZOE Covid and experts at Kings College London also say cases are already on the decline.

Dr Hopkins, NHS Test and Trace chief medical advisor, added: “As we start to see cases decline, we can begin to make a judgment on what the right decisions are.”

England’s lockdown system will be replaced with a modified version of the tier system in early December.

The ministers are ready to decide and outline plans to MPs next week, before a vote in the House of Commons.

No10 has refused to rule out that the levels are different than they were before.

The Sun revealed yesterday that regions of England could be placed in intermittent lockdowns for the next several months.

The tough new measures are part of a new Covid strategy of “hitting the brakes” that is being talked about.

Previously, Level 3 was the strictest level of restrictions: pubs serving alcoholic beverages were closed.

But officials have been considering whether to add additional layers to it, possibly even a more severe Level 4 that could reflect the national lockdown England has at the moment.

Non-essential stores could close and people could ban all non-essential travel.

And Boris has yet to tell the nation if they will be able to spend Christmas with their families.

He has said he is working on a plan to ensure that the country’s four nations can come together under one plan.

A source told The Sun that the rule of six could be replaced with a higher number so that extended families can reunite on December 25.