Boris Johnson warns coronavirus restrictions could go further and blames ‘too many' breaches on surge in cases

Rebecca Speare-Cole22 September 2020

Boris Johnson has warned that coronavirus restrictions could go further as he blamed "too many" breaches of rules on the recent surge in cases.

The country faces an "unquestionably difficult" winter, the Prime Minister warned after announcing Covid-19 restrictions which could last six months.

He used a televised address to the nation to plead with people to follow the new measures, claiming that breaches of previous restrictions by "freedom loving" Britons had helped the virus return.

The new package of measures - and similar or tougher measures elsewhere in the UK - followed scientists' warnings that the number of cases was doubling every seven days.

Mr Johnson said: "While the vast majority have complied with the rules, there have been too many breaches - too many opportunities for our invisible enemy to slip through undetected.

"The virus has stated to spread again in an exponential way. Infections are up, hospital admissions are climbing."

Boris Johnson addresses the nation
Andrew Parsons / No10 Downing Street

The Prime Minister also called the pandemic: “The single biggest crisis the world has faced in my lifetime.”

“In less than a year this disease has killed almost a million people and caused havoc to economies everywhere."

Mr Johnson said warned of the damage a new national lockdown would cause - not just to jobs and livelihoods but to "the loving human contact on which we all depend".

He said: "If we let this virus get out of control now, it would mean that our NHS had no space – once again – to deal with cancer patients and millions of other non-Covid medical needs."

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"And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten It would mean renewed loneliness and confinement for the elderly and vulnerable, and ultimately it would threaten once again the education of our children. We must do all we can to avoid going down that road again."

Businesses will face £10,000 fines or closure for failing to comply with coronavirus rules, and people risk £200 penalties for failing to wear masks or breaching the “rule of six”.

The military could be used to free up police officers to tackle coronavirus rule-breakers.

But Mr Johnson told the country that if people do not stick to the rules then the Government must reserve the right to impose even stricter measures.

He said he was “deeply, spiritually reluctant” to infringe on people’s freedoms, but unless action was taken now there would be a need for harsher measures later “when the deaths have already mounted”.

If people do not follow the new rules we have set out, “we must reserve the right to go further”.

But Mr Johnson finished his televised address with a plea for a “spirit of togetherness”, to get the country though the months ahead.

“If we follow these simple rules together, we will get through this winter together,” he said. “There are unquestionably difficult months to come.

“And the fight against Covid is by no means over. I have no doubt, however, that there are great days ahead.”

The Prime Minister also set out a package of measures for England, with office staff once again working from home, the wider use of face masks and a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants.

He said that the new curbs could continue well beyond Christmas and new year unless there was progress in controlling the spread of the virus – and indicated tougher restrictions could be imposed if they failed.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon went further, imposing a ban on household visits from Wednesday.

And she suggested the tougher measures may mean they do not have to be in place as long as restrictions in England.

Mr Johnson said the UK had reached “a perilous turning point” in the face of a second wave of Covid-19 cases.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK passed 400,000, with a further 4,926 lab-confirmed cases as of 9am on Tuesday.

The Government said a further 37 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday.

Measures being introduced in England over the coming days include:

  • Asking office workers who can, to work from home, although construction workers, retail staff and people performing essential services should continue to attend their workplaces.
  • From Thursday, pubs, bars and restaurants will be table-service only and hospitality, leisure and entertainment venues will be subject to a 10pm closing time. Takeaways will also close from 10pm to 5am, although they will be allowed to deliver.
  • Face coverings will be required for taxi passengers from Wednesday and for retail staff and hospitality customers, except when sitting down eating or drinking, from Thursday.
  • Covid-secure guidelines will become legal obligations for retail, leisure and tourism firms, with businesses facing the risk of fines or closure for failing to comply.
  • From Monday, a maximum of 15 people will be allowed to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions.
  • From Thursday, the rule of six will be extended to cover indoor team sports, such as five-a-side football games.
  • Plans to allow business conferences and crowds at sporting events from October 1 have been shelved.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said families were worried that “the Government doesn’t have a strategy” and “this is a time of national crisis but we need clear leadership”.

Mr Johnson was also challenged about the troubled NHS Test and Trace system, run by Tory peer Baroness Harding, but insisted it was “nonsense” to blame that for the rising number of cases.

“Testing and tracing has very little or nothing to do with the spread or the transmission of the disease,” he said.

Boris Johnson addresses the nation
Andrew Parsons / No10 Downing Street

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said there was a question over whether the measures announced by the Prime Minister would “in themselves be sufficient to reverse the increase in cases as we move into autumn”.

Prof Hunter added: “It is doubtful that the measures currently being enacted will be sufficient to reduce the R value to below one much before this side of Christmas.”

The Government faced renewed calls to do more to support businesses, with the hospitality industry warning that the new restrictions would be a “crushing blow”.

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