PM ‘hoping to avoid’ post-Christmas lockdown
Boris Johnson has not ruled out a post-Christmas lockdown following a surge in infections driven by London and the South East.
In a visit to Bolton, the Prime Minister failed to eliminate the prospect of following Wales and Northern Ireland into lockdown after Christmas.
“Obviously, we’re hoping very much that we’ll be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks.”
On Thursday ministers in Northern Ireland announced a new lockdown would start on Boxing Day, which will see non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants shut again.
Close-contact services like hair salons, which have been allowed to open in England’s Tier 3 restrictions, will also have to shut.
Wales will also begin a lockdown on 28 December while the Scottish government has refused to rule it out.
It comes after figures showed a significant uptick in the number of infections, mainly driven by a surge in London and the South East.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that around 1.4 per cent of London’s population tested positive for the virus last week – equivalent to around 125,750 people.
The data also showed one in 95 people in England tested positive last week, equivalent to just over half a million people across the country.
The government has still pressed on with plans to allow up to three households to mix over the Christmas period despite the concerning rise in infections.
Johnson asked people to consider their elderly relatives and “avoid spreading the disease” over Christmas. In a tweet earlier in the day, he said it was vital for those forming Christmas bubbles “to minimise contact with people from outside your household”.