Health officials fear there may be 50,000 cases per day by mid-October
THIS EVENING, the Prime Minister addressed the nation, announcing tighter Covid-19 restrictions across the country.
Speaking on BBC1 at 8pm, Boris Johnson said: “I know that we can succeed because we have succeeded before.
“When the sickness took hold in this country in March, we pulled together in a spirit of national sacrifice and community. We followed the guidance to the letter. We stayed at home, protected the NHS, and saved thousands of lives.
“And for months with those disciplines of social distancing we have kept that virus at bay.
“But we have to acknowledge this this is a great and freedom-loving country; and 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 started to spread again in an exponential way. Infections are up, hospital admissions are climbing.”
He added: “Today I set out a package of national measures, combined with the potential for tougher local restrictions.
“After discussion with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations, I believe this broad approach is shared across the whole UK. And to those who say we don’t need this stuff, and we should leave people to take their own risks, I say these risks are not our own.
“The tragic reality of having covid is that your mild cough can be someone else’s death knell.”
He added that it was not realistic to “lock up the elderly and vulnerable” for the rest of the population to continue as normal.
“If we are forced into a new national lockdown, it would mean renewed loneliness and it would threaten once again the education of our children,” the Prime Minister added.
Under new rules, people must now work from home if they can. But health, education, construction and essential public service workers are encouraged to keep going to work. It is hoped this will limit the virus spread within offices and on public transport.
Starting on Thursday, all customers in hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants, bars and cafés must wear a face covering, except while eating or drinking.
Speaking at the House of Commons over lunchtime, Johnson said: “From Thursday all pubs, bars and restaurants must operate table-service only, Mr Speaker, except for takeaways.
“Together with all hospitality venues, they must close at 10pm. To help the police to enforce this rule, I am afraid that means alas closing, and not just calling for last orders. Simplicity is paramount.
“The same will apply to takeaways -— though deliveries can continue thereafter. I am sorry this will hurt many businesses just getting back on their feet, but we must act to stop the virus from being transmitted in bars and restaurants.”
Hospitality staff, shop workers and taxi passengers must also wear face-coverings.
Rules on weddings have changed, with the 30 person limit halved. Although funerals remain at 30 attendees.
Indoor sports involving more than six people have also been banned — this includes five-a-side football.
New laws will mean hospitality and retail premises are legally obligated to ensure customers comply with the rules. And fines for breaching the rule of six limit on gatherings have doubled from £100 to £200. This can also be dished out to anyone failing to wear a face mask. And fines can reach a maximum of £10,000.
Johnson said he expected the new rules to be in place for six months. This means that family Christmas celebrations will be limited to six people.
He said: “Though our doctors and our medical advisers are rightly worried about the data now, and the risks over winter, they are unanimous that things will be far better by the spring, when we have not only the hope of a vaccine, but one day soon – and I must stress that we are not there yet — of mass testing so efficient that people will be able to be tested in minutes so they can do more of the things they love.
“That’s the hope; that’s the dream. It’s hard, but it’s attainable, and we are working as hard as we can to get there.
“But until we do, we must rely on our willingness to look out for each other, to protect each other. Never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour.
“If we follow these simple rules together, we will get through this winter together. There are unquestionably difficult months to come.”
Currently, the infection rate, or R number, is between 1.1 and 1.4 across the UK. This means every infected person is able to infect between 11 and 14 people. The Prime Minister warned that unless action is taken, there could be 50,000 cases of Covid-19 each day, by mid-October.
At the House of Commons, Johnson said: “Yesterday the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser warned that the doubling rate for new cases could be between seven and 20 days with the possibility of tens of thousands of new infections next month.
“I wish I could reassure the House that the growing number of cases is merely a function of more testing, but a rising proportion of the tests themselves are yielding a positive result.
“I also wish I could say that more of our people now have the antibodies to keep the virus off, but the latest data suggest that fewer than 8% of us are in this position.
“It is true that the number of new cases is growing fastest amongst those aged 20-29, but the evidence shows that the virus is spreading to other more vulnerable age groups, as we have seen in France and Spain where this has led to increased hospital admissions and, sadly, more deaths.”
He added: “And as with all respiratory viruses, Covid is likely to spread faster as autumn becomes winter.
“Yesterday, on the advice of the four Chief Medical Officers, the UK’s Covid alert level was raised from 3 to 4, the second most serious stage, meaning that transmission is high or rising exponentially. So this is the moment when we must act.”
