THIS MAY HURT A BIT
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER TO SET OUT TODAY WHY NEW CRACKDOWN MAY BE NEEDED TO STOP SECOND WAVE
BRITAIN is ‘ heading in the wrong direction’ as it battles coronavirus, the nation’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty is expected to warn today.
The top aide is due to appear alongside the government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance at an unprecedented TV briefing as concern mounts over the pandemic’s second wave.
It comes before a yet-to-be-confirmed press conference by Boris Johnson in which he may announce further lockdown restrictions tomorrow.
At today’s 11am briefing, Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick will give information on the latest data – and explain how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios facing the nation.
Prof Whitty is expected to say: ‘The trend in UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point. We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period.’
Yesterday, health secretary Matt Hancock warned that Britain was at a ‘tipping point’ and people must obey
the rules to prevent a second national lockdown.
Members of the public who get a positive result or are contacted by the government’s Test and Trace programme, run by Baroness Dido Harding, face fines of up to £10,000 if they fail to self-isolate.
At the same time ministers have said people on benefits in England will be eligible for a one-off payment of £500 if they lose earnings because they have to self-isolate.
Mr Hancock told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘We will come down hard on people who do the wrong thing.’ When asked by Andrew
Marr on his BBC1 show whether he would ‘snitch’ on a neighbour, he replied: ‘Yes. And for the selfisolation part, that is absolutely necessary because that is how we break the chains of transmission.’
Yesterday, 3,899 new infections were reported in the UK, along with 18 deaths – bringing the official toll to 41, . The prime minister has been desperate to avoid another nationwide lockdown because of the damage it will do to the economy.
However, around 13.5million people across the UK will be facing some form of local restrictions from tomorrow.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who last week urged all Londoners to work from home if they can, is pressing ministers to extend the controls to the capital. He believes the city may be just ‘two or three days’ behind the hotspots of the north-west and north-east of England.
Among measures being considered by ministers is a temporary twoweek ‘circuit break’.
However, the government is facing resistance from some senior Tory MPs who are concerned that ministers are making decisions with little or no parliamentary scrutiny.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful backbench 1922 Committee, said he intends to table an amendment which would require the government to put any new measures to a vote of MPs. He told The Sunday Telegraph that he wanted to amend the legislation when the government comes to renew the emergency powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Under the latest rules, from September 28 people in England will have to self-isolate for 14 days if they test positive for coronavirus or they are instructed to do by Test and Trace because they have been in contact with someone with the disease.
Sir Keir Starmer said Labour would support the measures but warned that a second national lockdown was becoming more likely because Test and Trace was in a state of ‘near collapse’.