JOHNSON SAYS TOUGHER COVID MEASURES LIKELY

U. K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tougher measures will probably be needed to combat the pandemic, including school closures.

In an interview with the BBC’S Andrew Marr on Sunday, Johnson didn’t elaborate on what kind of additional measures might be needed and rejected criticism his government has been too slow to act as the new form of the virus spreads rapidly.

“It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that are tougher in many parts of the country,” Johnson said. “The U. K. is grappling with a new variant of the virus which is surging particularly in London and the southeast and that’s why we’ve had to take exceptional measures for some parts.”

The government is pondering how to manage school reopenings at a time when U. K. virus cases are surpassing 50,000 a day. Johnson’s administration has been trying to keep in-person classes in England going throughout the pandemic, and on Sunday the prime minister sought to reassure parents that schools are safe and the virus poses little risk to young people.

Teachers’ unions, meanwhile, have told members not to return to classrooms.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, called on the government to impose a national lockdown.