England could be staring down at a three-week lockdown with the public health chief in England’s worst-hit coronavirus area calling measures by Boris Johnson, “the worst of all possible outcomes”.
Dominic Harrison, Director of Public Health at Blackburn with Darwen said the 3-tier system is ‘highly unlikely’ to reduce infection or protect NHS and that an immediate three-week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown was necessary.
Sources at Whitehall have said that PM Boris Johnson is considering new national lockdown restrictions, which could be imposed within a week as infection rates increase.
“To put it bluntly, we’re going to need a much harsher set of control measures that look very much more like the first total lockdown, and very much more like what France is doing,” Harrison told the Guardian.
PM Johnson on Friday met his most senior cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss the possible toughening of restrictions.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove were present at the discussion of what measures could be taken. If new restrictions are imposed, more than 60 per cent of England’s population could face restrictions Monday onwards.
Five weeks ago, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had recommended a lockdown similar to the imposed in spring, but, the advice was ignored. A senior government source said, "We're seeing COVID-19 rising all over the country and hospitals are struggling to cope. There has been a shift in our position."
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said, "We are in a deeply serious situation with coronavirus spreading with ferocity. Boris Johnson should have used the school half-term for a time, limited circuit break to push infections down, fix Test and Trace, and save lives. It's urgent Boris Johnson outlines the action he will now take to bring the virus under control and deliver on his promise to get the R number below 1 quickly.”
