Hancock warns Britain is at a ‘tipping point’ in coronavirus fight and cannot rule out new lockdown

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Matt Hancock warned today that Britain was at a ‘tipping point’ in its battle against a second devastating wave of coronavirus – and refused to rule out Londoners being told to work from home again.

The Health Secretary also warned that a second total UK lockdown was a possibility as ministers brought in fines of up to £10,000 under strict new laws on self-isolation, amid fears rules were simply being flouted.

Mr Hancock said there was a danger the numbers could ‘shoot through the roof’ unless effective action was taken to halt the spread of the virus.

The UK recorded 3,899 new Covid-19 cases and another 18 deaths today, slightly down on yesterday’s 4,422 but still part of a large spike. 

Despite dire warnings about the economic impact of another complete shutdown, the Health Secretary said it was still an option if the measures already taken were not effective.

Gesticulating enthusiastically, Mr Hancock told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show: ‘This country faces a tipping point.

‘We have a choice, and the choice is if everybody follows the rules and does the self-isolation if they need to, follows the rule of six, which is really simple and clear, and the basics, hands, face and space, then we can avoid further measures. 

‘But the alternative to that choice is that we will have to bring in more action. And we don’t want to do that, but every single person has a part to play in this and everybody watching has a choice: do you follow the rules or not? And if everybody follows the rules, then we’ll be able to get the virus under control.’ 

With his ministers locked in debate this weekend over whether to introduce a second lockdown that would devastate the economy, the Prime Minister announced that he was creating a new legal duty for people to self-isolate if they test positive for the virus or are told to do so by Test and Trace staff.

‘I don’t want to see more measures, more restrictive measures. But unfortunately if people don’t follow the rules that is how the virus spreads,’ Mr Hancock added.

‘It comes down to individual choices of the 60million people who live in this country as to whether we can keep it there with a local lockdown approach or whether we have to take further national action.’ 

Boris Johnson has been desperate to avoid another nationwide lockdown amid concerns about the economic damage it will inflict just as activity was beginning to pick up again.

However, as of Tuesday, around 13.5 million people across the UK will be facing some form of local restrictions as the authorities grapple with the disease.

In what could be a hammer blow for businesses, London mayor Sadiq Khan is reportedly pressing for new coronavirus restrictions for the capital on Monday, including a 10pm pub curfew, believing the city is just ‘two or three days’ behind the hotspots of the North West and North East of England.

Asked if London office employees could be advised to work from home from some point next week, Mr Hancock told Times Radio: ‘Well, I wouldn’t rule it out.’

But there has already been pushback from the PM’s own backbenches. Tory Windsor MP Adam Afriyie said: ‘If the aim is to save lives, it feels morally wrong, irrational and scientifically questionable, to enact destructive lockdown measures that may prevent one COVID death today, but kill several people tomorrow. 

‘In consequence MPs and minister must carefully reflect and debate lockdowns, before driving people from their jobs, restricting NHS access, crashing the economy, cutting billions from tax-take to exchequer & crushing civil liberties. 

‘We know more about Covid today and must take it into account.

And Professor Carl Heneghan, director for the centre of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, told Sky News the country cannot afford to introduce ‘harsh measures’ immediately to curb the spread of Covid-19, adding: ‘What we have to do now is slow down, this is a long winter.’

‘What we’re seeing is that the virus is operating in a seasonal way.

‘As we’ve gone back to schools, actually what’s happened now is we’ve seen about a 60% increase in consultations for all the acute respiratory infections and that’s what’s driving the problems in the Test and Trace programme.

‘All the young children who have coughs and colds and these infections, one is called rhinovirus.

‘As we look at the data, Covid is operating in a similar seasonal way, and mirroring those respiratory infections, so what we have to do now is slow down, this is a long winter.

‘We can’t afford to go now with harsh measures … the impact on the economy here is going to be significant.

‘What happens is as soon as you pause and then open up again, it tends to come back.

‘We still have to be vigilant about ensuring the infections stay manageable across the board.’ 

The Health Secretary also told Britons to grass up their neighbours if they break the rules – and admitted he would do it himself.  

The Health Secretary said people should ‘absolutely’ tell police if they see rule breakers as he warned he could not rule out a second national lockdown if rules continued to be flouted.

But the Government appears to be at sixes and seven over whether Britain should become a nation of narks, with contradictory views around the Cabinet.

Mr Hancock’s comments were at odds with Boris Johnson’s position, after the Prime Minister said last week that he did not like ‘sneak culture’ and urged people to inform on neighbours as a last resort, ‘if there is some huge kind of Animal House party taking place … hot tubs and so forth, and there is a serious threat to public health’.

However Home Secretary Priti Patel had earlier backed people informing on their neighbours if they were breaking the new rules, adding: ‘It’s not dobbing in neighbours, it’s all about us taking personal responsibility.’ 

Asked this morning on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday if he would report a neighbour Mr Hancock said: ‘Yes, and everybody should. And the reason for that is that the way we control this virus is by breaking the chains of transmission.’

Repeating this view later on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show he added: ‘I’m not in this for a popularity contest. I’m in this to keep the country safe.’  

The development came as:

• The number of daily cases reached 4,422, the highest level since early May, with scientists fearing that infections are growing between two and seven per cent each day, with a national R rate between 1.1 and 1.4;
• Sources said that Mr Whitty was on ‘resignation watch’ over fears he may quit if Ministers resist his calls for tougher restrictions – but Mr Johnson is said to be in Whitty’s ‘grip’;
• Supermarkets ran out of online delivery slots as the spectre of a second national lockdown prompted fears of panic buying, as Morrisons introduced limits on the number of shoppers across its 500 supermarkets for the first time since the height of the pandemic in March;
• Hospitality industry leaders warned they faced ‘economic disaster’ from a second lockdown with one in five of their venues – rising to a third in London – still closed and 900,000 employees on the Treasury furlough scheme which runs out at the end of October;
• No 10 reacted angrily to a ‘brutal and personal’ report in The Times claiming that Mr Johnson was miserable and short of money;
• Mr Sunak called for tough measures to balance the Treasury’s books in the wake of the Covid crisis, including a freeze on benefits and public sector pay, as officials mocked Mr Johnson’s ‘Operation Moonshot’ plan for mass testing as ‘Operation Moonf***’;
• Anti-vaccine protesters clashed with police in London; leading to 32 arrests;
• A third of the people recorded to have died from Covid in July and August may actually have passed away due to other causes, researchers at Oxford University suggested;
• The British Medical Association called on the Government to consider further tightening rules about who can meet, in the wake of the rise in daily cases.

Mr Hancock added: ‘If everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns, but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if that’s what’s necessary. I don’t rule it out, I don’t want to see it.’

Under a ‘carrot and stick’ approach, four million people on low incomes who cannot work from home will receive a £500 lump sum if forced to self-isolate. 

But fines for those breaching the rules, which come into effect a week tomorrow, will start at £1,000 – rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders and ‘the most egregious breaches’, which would include business owners who threaten self-isolating staff with redundancy if they do not come to work.

Mr Hancock this morning told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday the nation was at a ‘tipping point’ and there was a choice between following the current rules like the Rule of Six and self-isolation ‘or we will have to take more measures’.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party supported the action that would target ‘a small number’ of people.

‘There are a few people that are breaking the rules and something has to be done about that,’ he told Ridge on Sunday.

‘But it’s not going to be the silver bullet … we have a testing system that, when we need it to be effective, is barely serviceable.’ 

He added that reporting neighbours for suspected breaches of the rule-of-six restrictions should be done cautiously, saying: ‘It depends on the circumstances. If someone is repeatedly flouting the rules, I think all of us would want to do something about it and I think that’s where the majority of people are.

‘What I’ve seen in policing across the country is actually it being done by consent, cajoling people, getting people to do the right thing, and I think that’s how we need to go forward.

‘I don’t disagree with the Government that in the rare cases where people are flouting the rules, something’s got to be done about it, so we support them on that.’

He also warned the Prime Minister that he needed to take immediate and hard-hitting action to avoid a miserable Christmas for millions of British families.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, the opposition leader said: ‘He has to act swiftly and decisively now to get infections under control so that Christmas is not lost.

‘We were promised world-beating testing, but we haven’t even got a serviceable system.

‘It is astonishing that the Government didn’t anticipate that we would need to boost testing when children went back to school and people went back to work.’

However reports today suggested that the PM might be prepared to relax any stringent new lockdowns over Christmas to provide some much-needed respite to families.

‘The PM is anxious to avoid being portrayed as Scrooge,’ a source told the Sun on Sunday.

‘He’s fully aware that millions of people are making big sacrifices to defeat this virus and is considering ways to allow them to experience the joy of Christmas for at last part of the holiday season.’

Plenty of people were seen in on Saturday in large crowds at Stables Market in Camden, London, and in Nottingham, where people hit the pubs before they potentially close their doors again.

Long queues were seen around Nottingham, with security having to step in and ask people to space out more due to zero social distancing going on. Police and community protection were doing patrols. 

A sharp rise in the number of cases over recent weeks has triggered alarm in Downing Street, with the Government’s scientific advisers pushing for a ‘circuit breaking’ second lockdown – but Ministers led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak are warning of the devastating economic impact.

A No 10 source admitted last night: ‘It’s not looking good.’

In a carefully choreographed move, the advisers, including Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, are expected to release data showing the rise in cases at a public event tomorrow.

Mr Johnson could then make a televised appearance on Tuesday to set out new measures.

The extent, and the duration, of the new rules are still being discussed by Ministers, but are likely to include a nationwide curfew on pubs and a ban on the mixing of households.

Meanwhile senior Tories are planning to try to stop ministers imposing new coronavirus lockdown restrictions without the say of Parliament.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, has said he intends to table an amendment which would require the Government to put any new measures to a vote of MPs.

The move comes as Boris Johnson announced that anyone in England who refuses to obey an order to self-isolate could face a fine of up to £10,000.

Sir Graham told The Sunday Telegraph that he would take the opportunity to seek to amend the legislation when the Government comes to renew the emergency powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020.

The move is likely to attract significant support from Conservative MPs unhappy at the extensive powers taken by ministers with little or no parliamentary scrutiny.

Sir Graham told the Telegraph: ‘In March, Parliament gave the Government sweeping emergency powers at a time when Parliament was about to go into recess and there was realistic concern that NHS care capacity might be overwhelmed by Covid-19.

‘We now know that the NHS coped well with the challenge of the virus and Parliament has been sitting largely since April. There is now no justification for ministers ruling by emergency powers without reference to normal democratic processes.

‘It is essential that going forward all of these massively important decisions for family life, and affecting people’s jobs and businesses should be exercised with proper supervision and control.’

Mr Hancock said the number of hospital admissions for coronavirus was rising and would be followed by an increase in the number of deaths.

‘We have seen in other countries when the case rate shoots up, the next thing that happens is the numbers going into hospital shoot up,’ he told Marr.

‘Sadly, we have seen that rise, it is doubling every eight days or so – people going into hospital – then, with a lag, you see the number of people dying sadly rise.’

But he added that it is still possible that there could be a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the year.

‘There is still hope that we will get one of the vaccines over the line this year. The Oxford vaccine is still at the front of the queue. More likely is next year, and probably the early part of next year.

‘We have got the cavalry coming over the next few months – the vaccine, the mass testing and the improvements in treatments – but we have got to all follow the rules between now and then to keep people safe.’ 

The Prime Minister said last night: ‘The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they’re at risk of passing on coronavirus. 

‘And so nobody underestimates just how important this is, new regulations will mean you are legally obliged to do so if you have the virus or have been asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.

‘People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines.

‘We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives’.

Under the new rules, Test and Trace call handlers will make regular contact with those self-isolating and will pass on suspicions about those breaking the rules to local authorities and the police. 

But one Government adviser, Professor Robert Dingwall, argued that it would be premature to reintroduce tougher measures, especially as existing rules have become ‘unenforceable’ because people do not buy into the spirit of the restrictions.

‘There is a sense among some of the scientific advisers that the Government is perhaps jumping the gun,’ he said. 

‘It’s a bit premature to say that we’re on this exponential growth curve when we may just be drifting up to a stable situation at a slightly higher level than we were a few weeks ago, which you would expect with the re-opening of the economy.’

Prof Dingwall also asked whether ‘we are drifting towards a situation where people are quite comfortable with the idea that 20,000 people will die every year from Covid as we are comfortable with the idea that 20,000 people will die every year from influenza. And we shrug our shoulders and get on with our lives.

‘We need to be having more of a national conversation that starts from the lives of ordinary people and what is practical to achieve, and what the costs of these measures are.’  

Professor Heneghan added: ‘There’s no evidence right now of what’s called a second wave.’

Asked if Prime Minister Boris Johnson was wrong in that assertion, he told Sky News: ‘I get for our ministers this is an incredibly complicated area, some of the issues we’re talking about require five or six years of healthcare experience to really get your head around.

‘This is about good advice, to the Prime Minister, to the Health Secretary, that allows a wider range of expertise to come on board, and if they did that they might look at the problem slightly different.

‘I think over the next few weeks if we can see a slower, analytical approach to the data, and a different approach to the advice, the Prime Minister might see a subtle change in his language that reflects a need to normalise what’s going on.

‘This is a seasonal effect now, if it becomes worse and it impacts on disease, then, yes, that’s the point when we have restrictive measures, but that time is not now.’

Has the second wave of panic-buying begun? Ocado and Sainsbury’s warn delivery slots are booking up fast as Britain braces for second lockdown 

By EMER SCULLY for MailOnline 

Ocado and Sainsbury’s have warned customers that delivery slots are booking up fast – as fears of a second wave appear to be fuelling the return of panic-buying.

The online supermarkets pasted notices on their ‘pick a slot’ page warning customers the sites were experiencing high demand.

Ocado’s read: ‘Delivery slots are selling out faster than usual. If you can’t find a slot now, please use the ‘Next 3 days’ button to see available slots further in advance.’

It comes as Government scientists spooked Boris Johnson with warnings of hundreds of daily coronavirus deaths ‘within weeks’ as they said: ‘There is no alternative to a second national lockdown’. 

A notice on Sainsbury’s delivery slots page said: ‘Slots are still in high demand. We have been working hard to expand our service.  More slots are now available and we are able to offer some of them to other customers. 

‘Customers who are vulnerable will get priority access and are able to book slots in advance of anyone else. We’re releasing new slots regularly so please check back if you can’t see any available.’

Meanwhile Tesco was fully booked until Wednesday with an available slots all priced at £5.50 – and there were no available spaces until Monday at Asda. 

The Prime Minister is now threatening to ‘intensify’ coronavirus restrictions as he blames the British public for the rise in cases – despite his repeated pleas for people to return to their desks and eat out at pubs and restaurants in a bid to resuscitate Britain’s economy. 

It has led to concerns the nation could return to the days of panic shopping seen at the beginning of the pandemic in March. 

On March 19 shoppers formed queues outside supermarkets up and down the country from 6am and stripped shelves bare by 9am.

And Ocado was forced to shut down its website and app on March 18 after being swamped with orders. 

Customers were not be able to book a new delivery or edit existing orders. 

It comes as the Prime Minister looks to ditch his Rule of Six and introduce fortnight-long ‘circuit breakers’ nationwide for six months, following claims that it was ‘inevitable’ that a second wave would hit the country last night.  

The new approach to get the UK through winter would see it alternate periods of stricter measures, including bans on all social contact between households and shutting down hospitality and leisure venues like bars and restaurants, with intervals of relaxation. Schools will be shut as a ‘last resort’, a Whitehall source claimed.

It is understood that the new ‘circuit break’ shutdown could be announced via television press conference on Tuesday, in a move reminiscent of the Government’s behaviour during the peak of the pandemic.  

Visiting the Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre construction site near Oxford, Mr Johnson said: ‘What I can certainly say about parents and schools is we want to keep the schools open, that is going to happen.

‘We want to try and keep all parts of the economy open as far as we possibly can – I don’t think anybody wants to go into a second lockdown but clearly when you look at what is happening, you have got to wonder whether we need to go further than the rule of six that we have brought in on Monday, so we will be looking at the local lockdowns we have got in large parts of the country now, looking at what we can do to intensify things that help bring the rate of infection down there, but also looking at other measures as well.’ 

Officials, including England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, are thought to be arguing for tough restrictions as panic within official circles grows. 

Today the Government’s original lockdown architect, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, recommended ‘rolling back’ freedoms ‘sooner rather than later’ by ‘reducing contact rates between people’.  

The epidemiologist, who was sacked from SAGE for flouting his own lockdown rules, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Right now we’re at about the levels of infections that we were seeing in late February, if we leave it at another two to four weeks we will be back at levels we were seeing more like mid March. 

‘That’s going to clearly cause deaths… I think some additional measures are likely to be needed sooner rather than later, the timing of any more intensive policy, temporary policy, is open to question’. 

But the measures are thought to have been met with protests from Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has warned against introducing new blanket restrictions by pointing to huge damage already inflicted to the economy.

Government sources claim that Mr Sunak gave ‘sombre warnings’ to the Prime Minister as he highlighted the severity of the damage caused to the UK economy as a result of the March lockdown – while Mr Johnson shrugged off the ‘grim’ economic forecasts, claiming that ‘he was confident it will all be OK in the end’.  

Business leaders echoed the Chancellor’s concerns and warned that a second lockdown would tank the economy, with the British Chambers of Commerce saying: ‘Uncertainty and speculation around future national restrictions will sap business and consumer confidence at a delicate moment for the economy’.