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A UK health minister has denied that the government is considering a two-week nationwide lockdown, after a former World Health Organization expert said the coronavirus infection rate could be close to 38,000 a day. .
Edward Argar said there was “speculation in the press” that a new lockdown would be necessary to contain a rapid rise in infections, but said the prime minister did not want such harsh measures to be reimposed at the national level.
On Wednesday evening, the director of the UCL Institute for Global Health, Professor Anthony Costello, tweeted: “I heard from a well-connected person that the government now believes that without testing there are 38,000 infections per day.”
He said a source had told him that the medical director, Professor Chris Whitty, was in favor of a two-week lockdown, but withdrew that comment Thursday morning.
Argar told Sky News that the proposals for a national shutdown “is not something that I have seen within the department. 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 to reduce the infection rate. “
He said the proposal for broader measures “is not something I have heard from Chris, and it is something the prime minister wants to see.”
When asked if a national curfew might soon be necessary, Argar told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “I don’t think we are in a place where we would want or need to see restrictions at the national level.
“But that also depends on all of us following the rules, whether they are local blocking guidelines or, indeed, national law and guidance.”
New restrictions on social contact between households and a 10 p.m. curfew in bars are expected to be introduced in parts of north-eastern England in a bid to curb the rise in coronavirus cases.
Nick Forbes, the Newcastle City Council Leader, confirmed that additional temporary restrictions were being planned to prevent another total shutdown in the region.
London officials dealing with the virus fear tougher measures are needed soon as infection rates continue to rise, with the city’s mayor warning that the country is on the brink of a “disastrous second wave.”
While detected infection rates are much lower in the capital and, for example, Bolton and parts of the northwest, they have been on the rise. The lack of evidence may mean that the recorded rate of infections in London is artificially low and there are plans to take stricter measures, the Guardian understands.
A spokesman for the mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “We are clearly on the brink of a disastrous second wave. The government has wasted time over the summer to put in place proper plans and systems, which has unfortunately made the need for further restrictions more likely in the coming weeks to control the virus, either at the national or local level.
“There is a wide range of options available should they be needed, and decisions will need to be based on science and data at the time.”
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