Boris Johnson said on Monday morning that there is “no question” that tougher measures will now be needed to tackle rising Covid infections.
The prime minister said the impact of tier 4 measures introduced before Christmas remained “a bit unclear”, and added: “If you look at the numbers there’s no question we will have to take tougher measures and we will be announcing those in due course.”
So how soon might those tougher measures be announced? Mr Johnson is reportedly convening the government’s key “Covid-O” committee on Monday to decide on any changes to the regime.
A Downing Street source told The Daily Mail ministers were considering putting even more areas of England into the toughest tier 4 – which already covers 78 per cent of the population after recent changes which came into effect on New Year’s Eve.
Plans for a return of shielding for clinically vulnerable people in England are being drawn up by Mr Johnson’s government, The Daily Telegraph has reported.
Possible closures of schools are also under review, with the PM set to make “an assessment” of the situation by Wednesday, according to The Times.
Any action taken over the next few days may not be the last of the tightening see in January – with widespread speculation that the PM will have to consider a new “tier 5” category or another full-scale national lockdown if cases and hospital admissions do not come down.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien said: “We need to do something big to slow the explosive growth and stop hospitals being further overwhelmed.”
Speaking during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in north London on Monday, Mr Johnson said there were “tough, tough” weeks to come without setting out any timetable for action.
Boris Johnson at Chase Farm Hospital
” height=”1148″ width=”1529″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/01/04/12/newFile-3.jpg?width=320 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/01/04/12/newFile-3.jpg?width=640 640w” layout=”responsive” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Boris Johnson at Chase Farm Hospital (Reuters)
But pressure has mounted on the PM to act swiftly after he first hinted on Sunday that tougher restrictions would come in, as Labour demanded a lockdown within hours.
The Scottish parliament is being recalled on Monday, with first minister Nicola Sturgeon expected to announce further restrictions following a rapid increase in cases north of the border.
Ms Sturgeon is set to announce another effective national lockdown for Scotland, likely to last until spring, according to The Times. It is also expected the reopening of Scottish schools will be pushed back beyond 18 January.
