When is Boris Johnson's next lockdown announcement?

21 September 2020, 16:35

When will Prime Minister Boris Johnson give an update on the coronavirus lockdown next step?

Today (21 September), Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty updated the country on the current coronavirus situation.

In a televised address to the nation, Sir Patrick warned that the country could see 50,000 daily new cases of Covid-19 by mid-October if we don't curb the rate of infection.

Dr Whitty urged Brits that 'collective action' is needed in the fight against coronavirus cases, and implored the public to take the virus seriously over the next few months.

Sir Patrick Vallance warns of nearly 50,000 cases per day in mid-October

The government has introduced a number of local lockdowns in the UK - most recently in the north East - and some reports suggest that these could also be introduced in London in the next week.

Ministers haven't revealed whether there will be a second national lockdown, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule one out in an interview earlier today.

Here's what we know about when an announcement might be.

When is Boris Johnson's next lockdown update?

According to reports, the Prime Minister will update the nation on the next steps this week.

The Sun reports that Mr Johnson will chair an emergency COBRA meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 22 September), and that new lockdown measures could be introduced as early as then.

Read more: Mum sparks outrage for lying about being a key worker to get COVID-19 test

What would a second lockdown look like?

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today that a potential second lockdown would 'look different to the first'.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, he said: "if we do have to take action, it will be different to last time".

He added that they have learnt a huge amount about the virus and how to "tackle" it.

Mr Hancock continued: "The main thing we've learnt is that where people catch the disease tends to be in social settings, people coming round to your house, or you going out and socialising essentially."

"We've seen relatively few cases caught through schools, and people at work – schools have got huge procedures in place to keep schools safe, and the return to school has gone really well."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that COVID-19 'thrives on the things that make life worth living'

Some reports have suggested that we could be headed for a two-week 'mini lockdown' in line with the October Half Term.

According to the Financial Times, experts from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) have put forward the idea of a two week national lockdown in October - that could minimise the amount of school time kids would miss.

A SAGE member told the publication: "As schools will be closed for one week at half-term, adding an extra week to that will have limited impact on education".

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