PM calls emergency Cobra meeting amid second wave fears
Boris Johnson will chair the UK’s first Cobra meeting in four months tomorrow to discuss the government’s response to a second wave of coronavirus sweeping across the country.
The Prime Minister will today hold talks with devolved leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as Cabinet colleagues ahead of an emergency meeting with the Cobra committee of top ministers tomorrow.
Johnson is expected to set out fresh lockdown restrictions in an address to the nation tomorrow, after the UK’s top scientists today warned that new infections could reach 50,000 a day by mid-October without urgent action.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance added that the UK could be on track for 200 coronavirus-related deaths a day by November if the infection rate continues to rise.
Vallance said coronavirus cases are currently doubling every seven days in the UK, while only eight per cent of Britons have immunity to the virus.
Vallance’s comments stoked fears that the UK is set for new lockdown restrictions in a bid to stem the spread of a virus, including the potential for a second national lockdown.
London mayor Sadiq Khan over the weekend said it is “increasing likely” the capital will soon follow cities such as Leicester and Bolton in locking down, adding it was his “firm view” that measures should be introduced sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile health secretary Matt Hancock this morning refused to rule out the prospect of closing pubs across the country this weekend.
“We will be absolutely clear about the changes we need to make in the very, very near future,” said Hancock. “It’s not a no, and it’s not a yes.”
This is a breaking news story. More to follow