Boris Johnson ‘will not hesitate’ to impose further coronavirus restrictions
Boris Johnson has warned the nation that he “will not hesitate” to impose harsher coronavirus restrictions as cases rapidly rise in England.
Johnson said at a press conference today that it was too early to know whether the recently taken measures – including a country-wide ban on meeting more than six people – had yielded results, however he said that he “doesn’t want to go back to a national lockdown”.
The UK saw a further 7,108 Covid cases and 71 deaths recorded today alone, marking a large daily increase from just weeks ago.
The Prime Minister also made it clear that he was not willing to take a more laissez faire approach to Covid restrictions in an apparent rebuke to rebels in his own party that are concerned about the economy.
“I know some people think we should give up and let the virus take its course despite the huge loss of life that may entail,” he said.
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“I profoundly disagree. I don’t think the British people want to throw in the sponge, they want to fight and defeat this virus.
“No matter how impatient we may be, no matter how fed up we may become, there is only one way of doing this.
“If the evidence requires it, we will not hesitate to take further measures that I’m afraid would be more costly than the ones we’ve put in place now.”
Professor Chris Whitty said coronavirus rates were rising in all parts of the country, with the North East, North West and parts of the Midlands the worst affected areas.
This has led to increased hospital admissions and intensive care admissions over the past few weeks, according to Whitty.
“The NHS data show that the rates of hospitalisation are now climbing steadily,” he said.
“They’re at a much lower level than at the beginning of April – I want to stress that quickly – but they are heading upward at a steady and rapid pace.”