Boris Johnson: Coronavirus ‘bubbling up’ in 30 UK areas
Boris Johnson has warned that coronavirus rates are “bubbling up” in 30 different areas in the UK as fears grow that the country may be on its way to a second wave.
Johnson said today that the UK must be alert to the threat of a “really damaging second wave”.
Latest figures from NHS Digital show that Blackburn with Darwen, Leicester, Oldham, Bradford and Trafford have the highest rates of coronavirus in the UK.
Johnson said the number of coronavirus cases was falling in Leicester, after it was placed in a second local lockdown.
Speaking to the media during a visit to Yorkshire, the Prime Minister said: “It’s absolutely vital as a country we continue to keep our focus and our discipline and that we don’t delude ourselves that somehow we’re out of the woods or that this is all over because it isn’t all over.”
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It comes as figures from the Office of National Statics revealed today that England had the highest levels of excess deaths in Europe between the end of February and the middle of June.
England also had the second highest peak rates of death in the continent, behind only Spain.
When asked about the new figures, Johnson said: “We mourn every loss of life that we’ve had throughout the coronavirus epidemic.”
Covid-19 infection rates are rising across Europe, with 11 countries now seeing upticks in numbers of infected people.
This has caused Johnson to warn of a second peak in Europe already happening, and led to a quarantine on travellers from Spain.
Downing Street is reportedly looking at applying similar restrictions to people coming from Belgium, Croatia and Luxembourg.