Prepare for a tough winter
Boris’s bleak virus warning for ‘bumpy’ months ahead
THERE will be ‘bumpy’ months ahead and a ‘tough winter’ in the battle against coronavirus, Boris Johnson warned yesterday as he dramatically rowed back on his past optimism about Christmas.
The Prime Minister sought to quash expectations that a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year, as he said he hopes the situation will be ‘radically different’ by the spring.
He also admitted he was ‘frustrated’ with the repeated delays in the NHS Test and Trace system which is hampering efforts to get the UK back to normal. The PM blamed revellers who ‘hobnob’ outside pubs for chaotic scenes in town and city centres following the 10pm curfew.
And he tacitly accepted that the Eat Out To Help Out scheme may have led to the spread of the virus by urging people to counteract it by showing ‘disci
‘I don’t want to get people’s hopes up’
pline’. In July, Mr Johnson laid out plans for a ‘significant return to normality’ by Christmas. But since then, new restrictions have come in to force as the number of coronavirus cases started to rise.
Tory backbenchers have raised concerns about England’s ‘rule of six’ – which covers young children, unlike similar restrictions in Wales and Scotland, saying it poses a major threat to many families’ Christmas plans.
Interviewed on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, the PM said: ‘I’ve got to tell you, in all candour, it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond, but this is the only way to do it.’
He said he believed things ‘ can be’ significantly better by Christmas, and that his Government was working ‘flat out’ to achieve that. ‘People need to understand that there is hope,’ he said. ‘We will get through this and we will get through this very well.
‘If you ask me do I think things can be significantly different by Christmas, yes I do. We’re working flat out to achieve that.
‘But be in no doubt that it is still very possible that there are bumpy, bumpy months ahead. This could be a very tough winter for all of us and we’ve got to face that fact.’
On a coronavirus vaccine, Mr Johnson said it is ‘possible’ that there would be ‘ significant progress’ on the vaccine this year.
But he added: ‘I don’t want to get people’s hopes up on the vaccine unnecessarily because I think there’s a good chance but it is not certain.’ The PM suggested the picture could be ‘radically different’ by spring 2021 because new treatments were becoming available.
But he acknowledged the existing NHS Test and Trace service is not perfect.
Just 38.1 per cent of people tested for Covid-19 in England in the week ending September 23 at a regional site, local site or mobile testing unit – a so-called ‘in-person’ test – received their result within the 24-hour target set by the Prime Minister.
He conceded: ‘It is not perfect, I’m not going to claim it’s perfect. Am I frustrated with it? Yes, of course I’m frustrated with it.’
But he stressed he does not blame NHS Test and Trace, adding: ‘I take full responsibility for the service, by international com
parators it is really very, very good indeed.’ And he repeated his claim that there would be 500,000 tests a day by the end of the month.
Mr Johnson defended the 10pm curfew, which has seen crowded scenes as drinkers and diners leave bars and restaurants at the same time. Some scientists advising the
Government have already warned that the measure may be doing more harm than good, with long queues forming outside off-licences as people rush to buy more alcohol and revellers piling on to public transport with little or no social distancing.
Mr Johnson said people ‘just need to follow the guidance’, adding: ‘ Obviously it makes no sense if, having followed the guidance for all the time in the pub, they then pour out into the street and hobnob in such a way as to spread the virus.’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock also told the online Tory conference yesterday that Britain faced ‘stormy waters’ ahead.