UK PM Johnson warns of new restrictions as second wave of COVID-19 'inevitable'

With UK nearing 400,000 coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on September 18, warned that new restrictions might be needed adding that the country was facing an ‘inevitable’ second wave of COVID-19. Britain had successfully curbed the spread of the lethal respiratory infection, however, cases soared in the past few weeks, taking the nationwide toll to 388,416. The number of positive cases almost doubled to 6,000 per day, hospital admissions, especially in Northern England and London.

Following the surge, ministers have reported being considering a second lockdown, Guardian reported. Addressing the issue, Johnson said that the rise in the cases was a part of second-wave that was now unstoppable.

"We are now seeing a second wave coming in...It is absolutely, I'm afraid, inevitable, that we will see it in this country," Johnson said at a press conference.

Possible restrictions 

Talking about the imposition of another nationwide lockdown instead of local restrictions, the 56-year-old reckoned that he did not want to ‘get into another lockdown at all’. However, he did rule out the possibility of increased restrictions. In addition, he said that looking at the current situation in the country, he wondered if the country needed to go further than the six-member rule. The recently imposed rule caps the presence of members at a social gathering to six.

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According to data collected by the John Hopkins University of Medicine, Britain has reported the fifth largest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the world taking the total to 41,821. The UK now stands behind just after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico. The UK's official number of new positive cases shot up by nearly a thousand on Friday to 4,322, the highest since May 8.

This comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that a second national lockdown would be a "last line of defence", following the introduction of stricter local measures in the north of England. Speaking on UK broadcaster Sky, the Health Secretary said citizens should "come together" to follow recent measures brought in by the government, such as social distancing measures, wearing masks, and the "rule of six" preventing more than six people from gathering.

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