UK needs further curbs to get COVID-19 under control, minister says

A woman wears a face mask as she stands outside a shop following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manchester, Britain, October 11, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government needs to impose further COVID-19 restrictions and the risk of spreading the virus is higher in pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Monday.

"The purpose of these measures is to get the virus under control," Dowden told Sky. "The point of moving to this tiered system is so that in those most highly affected areas, we have got measures in place to control the virus."

He said he hoped the virus would be under control by Christmas or sooner.

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden leaves Downing Street in London, Britain, July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

"Of course, it is very challenging for people," he said. "The measures we are taking are having a bad impact on health, they are having a bad impact on the economy but ultimately it is better to do that than to allow the virus to get out of control."

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate Holton)