Lockdown 2 comes into affect on Thursday
(Picture: PA)Boris Johnson will defend his plans for a second national lockdown in the Commons today after a leading scientist warned an earlier circuit-breaker lockdown could have saved thousands of lives.
Professor Andrew Hayward, who sits on the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, acknowledged “we can’t turn back the clock” on imposing restrictions. But he told BBC Radio 2s Today programme: “I think if we had chosen a two-week circuit-break at that time, we would definitely have saved thousands of lives."
It comes amid confusion over whether the measures could last longer than December 2, after Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove admitted that the curbs may need to be in place for longer.
The Prime Minister is set to use his statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon to warn coronavirus deaths over the winter could be twice as high during the first wave of the pandemic and that he will “seek to ease” restrictions and return to the tiered system on December 2.
