LONDON (UK) – The British government is aiming for tougher restrictions in England to deal with a rapid spread of a second wave of the novel coronavirus outbreak, a junior health minister said on Monday.
Junior Health Minister Helen Whately told Sky News, “We don’t want to bring on new restrictions but of course we keep a constant eye on what is going on with the COVID rate. We were looking at what we might be able to do.”
The Times newspaper said ministers were looking forward to implementing a total lockdown across much of northern England and London. The paper said all pubs, restaurants and bars would be given orders to shut for two weeks.
Whately said the country was at a crucial point that the situation has to be controlled. She did not clarify on the report that pubs would be closed.
Whately said, “This is the moment when we have an opportunity – we have a choice for the country – to get this back under control. We have to break these chains of transmission.”
She said pictures from the weekend, which showed crowds of young revellers outside pubs, were “worrying”.