Last week, daily case numbers began to rise levels not seen since the peak of the lockdown. Government officials are now considering new lockdown measures to contain a second wave of the virus. With that in mind, Express.co.uk is asking in our exclusive poll: “Should Boris call for another nationwide lockdown?”
The Government is considering putting curfews on pubs and a ban on households mixing in order to try and stop the spread of the virus.
Areas in the North East and West have also been placed into lockdown as case numbers rise to the highest in the country.
Following the lockdown for areas in the North East and West, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, also warned changes may be needed in the capital.
With London’s case rate per 100,000 standing at 503.4, sources close to the Mayor have indicated changes might be needed now to stop an outbreak similar to what has been seen in the north.
A source told the 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.
“Introducing new measures now will help slow the spread of the virus and potentially prevent the need for a fuller lockdown like we saw in March, which could seriously damage the economy once again.”
The UK’s case number rose by 3,889 on Sunday taking the overall total to 394,257 at the time of writing.
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“I think some additional measures are likely to be needed sooner rather than later.
“We have in some sense a perfect storm right now of people, as they have been told to, getting back to normal – schools reopening, a surge in cases, so therefore the testing system is under strain.”
Ahead of a fresh lockdown across the country, Mr Johnson is planning to hold a press conference on Tuesday.
Amid the rise in cases, stricter coronavirus fines have now been drawn up by the Government.
A £10,000 fine will now be imposed if anyone who has been advised to do so, fails to self-isolate in England.
While Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, did warn of a second lockdown, he insisted it was the Government’s last line of defence.
He said: “I don’t rule it out, I don’t want to see it.
“If everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdown.”
