English lockdown could last more than a month warns Michael Gove

England’s newly-announced lockdown could last longer than an initial four weeks and extend well into December, a a UK Government minister has admitted.

For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only BBC handout photo of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, The Andrew Marr Show.

The warning was provided by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove who warned that if the R value – the average number of people infected by one infectious person – does not drop, the restrictions could be extended.

People across England will be told to stay at home, with non-essential shops and hospitality forced to close their doors, until December 2 under the new rules announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday.

Furlough, at 80 per cent wage subsidy levels, has been extended for a month but schools, colleges, universities and nurseries will remain open in England.

The restrictions do not apply in Scotland, but could offer a window into the potential restrictions coming to Scotland if infection rates do not continue to fall.

Northern Ireland and Wales are already in their own ‘circuit breaker’ lockdowns.

The prime inister said the restrictions would end on December 2, when the Government would reintroduce local restrictions based on the latest data and trends.

But Mr Gove said it would be “foolish” to predict what would happen with the pandemic over the next four weeks, and conceded the lockdown may have to be extended.

Asked during an interview on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday whether the national lockdown could be extended, he replied: “Yes.”

Mr Gove said: “We want to be in a position where we can – and I believe that this is likely to be the case – have an approach where if we bring down the rate of infection sufficiently we can reduce measures nationally and also reduce measures regionally.

“Because the regional approach is one that, wherever possible, we want to take because again we recognise it may be the case in the future that having reduced R below 1, having reduced national restrictions, we may see a specific upsurge in specific areas which will require specific regional measures.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party would vote in favour of the latest coronavirus restrictions but warned of the “cost to that delay” in locking down.

He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show that the measures are “necessary” but criticised the Government for rejecting “out of hand” his call for a “circuit-breaker” last month.

“The lockdown now will be longer, it’ll be harder, we’ve just missed half-term and there’s a very human cost to this.

“On the day that Sage recommended a circuit-break, the daily death rate was 11, yesterday it was 326, so there’s a very human cost to this, but the measures are necessary.”

Mr Johnson, speaking on Saturday night from Downing Street, said “no responsible Prime Minister can ignore” the rising rates of Covid-19 infections, as he acknowledged that cases had not come down fast enough in the worst affected areas.

He warned that the virus is “spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisers”.

He added “unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day – a peak of mortality, alas, bigger than the one we saw in April” said overrunning of the NHS would be a “medical and moral disaster, beyond the raw loss of life”.

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