The Prime Minister is understood to be looking at bringing in new restrictions over the Winter as cases of the invisible killer disease continue to surge. Medical experts are understood to be briefing Mr Johnson this weekend over new rules to tackle a rise in COVID-19 cases ahead of his reported address to the nation on Tuesday.
A senior government source told : “There’s not much on the cards to look forward to.
“The next six months’ll be pretty s***.”
It comes amid reports London Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned Mr Johnson the capital must be placed in another lockdown, including a 10pm curfew.
Mr Khan is said to be pushing for restrictions to be reintroduced included a ban on households mixing, 10pm curfew on pubs and continued working from home.
His concerns come amid reports London is two weeks behind other parts of the UK.
A source told HuffPost: “It’s clear that cases in London are only moving in one direction, we are now just days behind hotspots in the North West and North East. We can’t afford more delay.
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9.37am update: COVID infection rate could ‘shoot through the roof’
Matt Hancock said there was a danger the infection rate could “shoot through the roof” if people did not follow the the Government’s rules.
“We have seen in the data that some people who need to self-isolate are not doing so,” the Health Secretary told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.
“If you have been asked to self-isolate then you either definitely have the coronavirus or you are highly likely to have coronavirus, and so it is mission critical that you isolate.
“I am very worried about this second wave. We have seen in other countries around Europe how it can absolutely shoot through the roof.”
9.22am update: UK on ‘tipping point’ of second lockdown
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned the Government will impose fresh national coronavirus restrictions if the public fails to follow the existing rules.
Mr Hancock said he was “very worried” about the second wave of the virus now emerging in the UK.
He told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “The nation faces a tipping point.
“We have a choice. Either everybody follows the rules – the rule of six and the need to self-isolate if you have a positive test or if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace – or we will have to take more measures.
8.30am update: Scotland lockdown restrictions
A decision on greater lockdown restrictions being imposed in Scotland will be made in the early part of this week, the Health Secretary has said.
Jeane Freeman, speaking on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, said the Scottish Government will have an announcement “very shortly” on any more restrictions.
It comes after there was a rise of 350 positive Covid-19 cases in Scotland on Saturday – the highest daily increase in four months.
The rate of transmission in Scotland – or R-number – is now believed to be between 1.1 and 1.4.
8.02am update: University fears over COVID
More than half of people living in university towns and cities fear the return of students will lead to coronavirus spikes and restrictions in their area, according to a survey.
Tens of thousands of students are due back on campus in the coming days, and earlier this month Government scientific advisers warned it is “highly likely” there will be significant coronavirus outbreaks linked to universities.
A new poll has now suggested 57 percent of people fear local restrictions will result, with nearly half (48 percent) indicating they will blame the Government.
7.33pm update: Keir Starmer calls for testing to be local
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the Government to entrust coronavirus testing to local authorities who have a comprehensive understanding of their communities.
In a wide-ranging interview in which he also called for children to be put “at the front of the queue”, Sir Keir told the Sunday Mirror testing should not be run from London.
He said: “They were up for this months ago but even at the eleventh hour I say localise this.”
