LONDON (UK) -The Times reported on Friday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson might implement new lockdown measures across the country next week as hospitals are overwhelmed by a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
As per the report, the new restrictions could be introduced on Wednesday and could be in place until December 1.
The prime minister is expected to hold a media briefing on Monday to announce the new curbs, under which everything could be closed except shops selling essential items and educational institutions, said the report.
The Times said that the new stricter curbs are still being discussed and the final decision is yet to be made.
There were as many as 24,405 new cases and 274 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test, showed official data. Britain has now recorded more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day on average over the last week.
Scientists warned on Friday that the infections are rising in the country and unless something is done to stem the spread, the “reasonable worst case” scenario of 80,000 fatalities could be exceeded.
At present, there is a three-tier system of curbs for local areas in England and Level 3 remains the highest. When it comes to Scotland, Wales and North Ireland, they have their own policies to stem the spread of the pandemic.
According to the report, the government is also considering stricter regional curbs known as Tier 4. But ministers are supporting a nationwide policy.