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A government minister has rejected suggestions that the UK could head for a two-week national lockdown.
Edward Argar, a minister in the Department of Health and Welfare, dismissed claims that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being advised to take the measure due to the rise in coronavirus infections.
He told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “It’s not something I’ve heard of, I know there’s speculation in the press today.
“But it’s not something I’ve seen in the department.
“The prime minister has been very clear about this, he does not want to see another national blockade.
“He wants people to comply with regulations and make local closures work and reduce the infection rate.”
Anthony Costello, former director of maternal, child and adolescent health at the World Health Organization (WHO), had said that England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, recommended a two-week lockdown.
He posted on Twitter Wednesday night: “I heard from a well-connected person that the government now thinks, in the absence of evidence, there are 38,000 infections a day.
“Chris Whitty is advising Prime Minister for a two-week national shutdown”.
But Argar said: “We are guided by science, but not necessarily by speculation in the press.
“It’s not something I’ve heard from Chris. And it’s something the prime minister clearly doesn’t want to see.”
On Wednesday, the prime minister firmly dismissed the prospect of a second national lockdown, suggesting that the economic impact of such action would be “disastrous.”
“I don’t want a second national blockade, I think it would be completely wrong for this country,” he told a group of high-ranking deputies.
“We are going to do everything in our power to prevent it.
“Can we afford it? I highly doubt that the financial consequences are not disastrous.”
In a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to confirm new local lockdown measures for northeast England.
He’s set to announce a ban in the region on socializing with people from different households, a 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants, and travel restrictions.
Argar told Sky News that North East England was seeing an increase in cases similar to North West England.
He said: “In the northeast we are seeing an increase in infections. It is exactly what we have seen in the northwest.
“We control that rate. When necessary, we intervene and act.”
Argar said that, in the North West of England, the increase in infections was due to people not adhering to the rules of social distancing with different households meeting closely together.
He added: “Obviously a nighttime economy can drive that when people have been to the pub, people have been out late into the night.
“That’s one of the ways that transmission can increase.”
