Won’t rule out another Covid lockdown, says UK PM Boris Johnson
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Even though many of the Covid rules, including the mask mandates, have been removed, the health authorities have been on alert over the new variant XE being reported in the country
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hinted at another lockdown should new Covid variants and sub-variants emerge.
Johnson downplayed the prospect of imposing another strict lockdown but said that he would be open to taking any measures if new variants of concern emerge badly affecting the children.
In an interview to Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies for GB News on Friday, he said, “I want to avoid any such thing ever happening again and I can’t rule out something, I can’t say we wouldn’t be forced to do non-pharmaceutical interventions again of the kind we did.
"I think it would be irresponsible of any leader in any democracy to say that they’re going to rule out something that can save lives. And I believe the things we did save lives.”
So far, according to The Guardian, the number of infections in some parts of the UK have been witnessing a massive drop.
Infections were rising recently driven by the highly contagious form of Omicron called BA.2 which is now thought to make up 90 per cent of infections.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested that the UK has been showing signs of plateauing.
Even though many of the Covid rules, including the mask mandates, have been removed, the health authorities have been on the toes over the new variant XE being reported in the country.
“I’m not going to take any options off the table, but I don’t think it will happen. We’re now in the phase, and this is the view of all the advisers I talk to, where the virus is losing its potency overall and we’ve got a massively vaccinated UK population,” he was quoted as saying.
When he asked whether some of the Covid restrictions imposed between March 2020 and July 2021 had been “inhuman”, Johnson said, “I do.”
“I understand why people feel that, and I think people felt that particularly the loss of the ability to see their loved ones in care homes, or to meet properly for funerals... I mean, it was just appalling, to say nothing of the loss of religious services that matter so much to people’s spirit. So, I totally understand that.”
(With inputs from agencies)