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New measures to address the rise in coronavirus cases “will take time to materialize,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
He told a Downing Street briefing that the high number of daily cases and the “tragic increase” in deaths “demonstrate why our plan is so essential.”
The prime minister called for “collective tolerance, common sense and a willingness to make sacrifices.”
But he said he “would not hesitate” to impose further restrictions if necessary.
Johnson said the nation could face winter “with confidence” because it is better prepared now than it was in March.
Preparations include being on track for 500,000 tests a day by the end of October, 2,000 beds in seven Nightingale hospitals and a four-month supply of protective equipment, such as masks, gowns and visors.
He said the number of ventilators on the NHS had tripled to 31,500 in the past six months.
“I want to thank everyone for the fantastic national effort that we are seeing,” Johnson said.
“No matter how impatient we are, how fed up we are, there is only one way to do this, and that is by showing collective tolerance, common sense and a willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others.”
He paid a particular tribute to college students, hundreds of whom have been forced into self-isolation and are “experiencing a first semester back to college like nothing they could have imagined.”
The Prime Minister spoke alongside England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, as the latest coronavirus figures in the UK showed there have been another 7,108 coronavirus cases and other 71 deaths.
