Covid-19 lockdown: Government tells public to ‘act like you have the virus’
The government has instructed the public to act like they have got the coronavirus and adhere to Covid-19 lockdown rules amid fears that the NHS is struggling to cope with the influx of new cases.
A new advertising campaign has been launched reinforcing the “stay at home” message, in a bid to stem the transmission of the new, more infectious, strain of the virus amid concern that more people are continuing to go out than was seen in the March lockdown.
The UK reached a grim milestone yesterday as 1,325 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were recorded, the highest daily figure yet, along with 68,053 new cases.
“With over 1,000 people dying yesterday it’s more important than ever everyone sticks to rules,” a source told the BBC.
The warning comes after London mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday declared a major incident over fears that the capital’s hospitals are at breaking point, with emergency healthcare in other areas of the country following close behind.
Official figures published on Friday showed that confirmed cases of coronavirus in London are almost double the national average.
An estimated 1 in 30 Londoners were infected with coronavirus in the week after Christmas, according to data released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Meanwhile around 81 per cent of positive cases in the capital showed infections of the new B117 Covid mutation, which has proven to be much more transmissible than the earlier strain.