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England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty is pushing for a new two-week national lockdown, claims a former director of the World Health Organization.
It comes amid concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases and chaos over a lack of testing.
Former WHO expert Anthony Costello tweeted: “I heard from a well-connected person that the government now thinks that in the absence of evidence there are 38,000 infections per day.
“Chris Whitty is advising Prime Minister for a two-week national shutdown”.
Costello is on the independent SAGE panel, which is a different group than the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
But Health Minister Edward Argar played down reports that the government is considering a two-week nationwide lockdown and Boris Johnson said yesterday that a second coronavirus lockdown would be “disastrous” for the UK economy.
(Image: Pippa Fowles / No10 Downing Street)
When asked if the country could afford a second full blockade under questioning by MPs in the Commons Liaison Committee, the prime minister said: “I don’t want a second national blockade; I think it would be completely wrong for this country and we are going to do everything in our power to prevent it. “
He added: “And can we afford it? I highly doubt that the financial consequences are not disastrous, but we have to make sure we defeat the disease by the means we have set out to do.
(Image: Daily Mirror / Andy Stenning)
(Image: Daily Mirror / Andy Stenning)
“So when I see people arguing against the rule of six or saying that the government is acting too harsh on individual freedoms and so forth, I totally understand and sympathize with that, but we must, we must defeat this disease.”
And Health Minister Edward Argar played down reports that the government is considering a two-week national shutdown as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
“It is not something that I have seen inside the department,” he told Sky News.
“The prime minister has been very clear on this. He doesn’t want to see another national shutdown. He wants people to comply with regulations and make local closures work.”
(Image: Daily Mirror / Andy Stenning)
The number of coronavirus cases in the UK skyrocketed yesterday by almost 4,000 in the highest daily increase since early May.
But people were turned away from walk-ins where massive lines formed and thousands fought to reserve a spot for a test.
Coronavirus cases have also been reported in hundreds of schools in England and Wales, and parents are unable to get their children tested and have to keep them at home to isolate themselves.
Mirror Online has contacted Downing Street and the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
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