I don’t want a second lockdown, says Boris
BORIS Johnson insisted yesterday he does not want to impose a second national lockdown in the event of another Covid-19 outbreak.
The Prime Minister compared the option of a nationwide shutdown to a “nuclear deterrent”, adding he does not think the country “will be in that position again”.
Mr Johnson has previously told of his hopes Britain could return to “near normality” by Christmas.
He said the authorities were getting better at identifying and isolating local outbreaks, although it was important that the power to order national action was held in reserve.
“I can’t abandon that tool any more than I would abandon a nuclear deterrent. But it is like a nuclear deterrent, I certainly don’t want to use it. And nor do I think we will be in that position again,” he said.
“It’s not just that we’re getting much better at spotting the disease and isolating it locally, but we understand far more which groups it affects, how it works, how it’s transmitted, so the possibility of different types of segmentation, of enhanced shielding for particular groups, is now there.
“We’re genuinely able now to look at what’s happening in much closer to real time, to isolate outbreaks and to address them on the spot, and to work with local authorities to contain the problem locally and regionally if we have to.”
As he approaches his first anniversary in office, Mr Johnson insisted his agenda for domestic reform and “levelling up” the economy would not be blown off course by the pandemic.
“We want to be a transformative Government, because there’s a massive opportunity in this country to do things differently and to do things better,” he said. He insisted he is feeling better than he did before being struck by Covid-19, because he is “lighter”.
As well as a plan to tackle obesity he is to push ahead with a major review of the legal system including legal aid.