The whole of the country may need to go into Tier 4 lockdown as the new variant of coronavirus is probably already spreading across the UK, according to a SAGE expert.
Epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Sage scientific advisory panel, suggested tougher lockdown restrictions would be needed to tackle the new variant coronavirus.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Government have actually acted pretty fast.
“It depends now on how effective these measures are and how widespread the virus is.
“Unfortunately it does look like the virus is probably across the country already and so I do think that we might unfortunately have to impose tougher restrictions across the country.”
Asked this morning if Tier 4 measures would be increased across the country, Home Secretary Priti Patel told Sky News: “As this virus changes, grows, the Government takes proactive measures, we’ve seen that… It is inevitable as people travel and of course we’re urging people not to travel for the sake of everybody’s health, we have to take strong measures and we’re doing that. We’re constantly reviewing these measures as well.”
She added: “Well of course if the virus continues to spread then we will take stronger measures, because at the end of the day our objective is to save lives and to keep people safe, but right now it’s not for me to pre-empt any change because obviously there’ll be a natural review mechanism in two weeks’ time.”
At a Downing Street news conference on Monday Egland's c hief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said: “The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily, it’s more transmissible, we absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place.
“I think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country and I think it’s likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced.”
There are 44 parts of England currently in Tier 2 or Tier 3 that have a higher coronavirus infection rate than the lowest area in Tier 4.
