UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tougher measures are likely to be needed to combat the pandemic, including school closures.
In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday, Johnson did not delve into what kind of additional measures might be needed and rejected criticism that his government has been too slow to act as the most contagious form of the virus. it spreads rapidly throughout the country. .
“We may have to do things in the coming weeks that are tougher in many parts of the country,” Johnson said. “The UK is facing a new variant of the virus that is growing especially in London and the South East and that is why we have had to take exceptional measures for some parts.”
One of the biggest questions facing the government now is how to manage school reopening at a time when UK virus cases exceed 50,000 daily. The Johnson administration has tried to keep face-to-face classes in England throughout the pandemic, and on Sunday the prime minister tried to reassure parents that schools are safe and that the virus poses little risk to young people.
“We’ve kept schools for a long time in areas where the pandemic is at very high levels,” Johnson said. “We need to review things constantly, but it will not let us drive for any political consideration, but completely for the sake of public health.”
Johnson’s statements contrast sharply with warnings from teachers’ unions, which have told members not to return to classrooms. In London, which has one of the highest levels of covid-19 per capita infections in the country, the government has ordered all primary schools to remain closed during the start of the new term this week.
Forced to retreat
Throughout the pandemic, the UK government has been forced to back down on several occasions in efforts to reopen the economy, especially when the winter resurgence of the virus pushes public health services to the brink. More recently, Johnson was forced to activate plans that would have relaxed social distancing rules over Christmas.
When asked about the UK’s plans for mass vaccines, Johnson offered no details on how the country would be able to deliver 2 million vaccines a week.
“Everyone is working hard to do that,” he said. “We do hope that we can make tens of millions in the next three months. “
In Scotland, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for the Edinburgh parliament to be revoked on Monday so that additional measures can be put in place to curb the rise in infections. For now, schools will have to return to face-to-face teaching on January 18 after an extended Christmas holiday period.
Daily Covid-19 cases have risen to record highs and Sturgeon has said the country is facing its most critical weeks since the pandemic began. The new strain accounts for four out of ten new infections, a public health expert at the University of Edinburgh told the BBC.
– With the assistance of Rodney Jefferson
(Background updates on blocking rules in the sixth paragraph.)