Keir Starmer has suggested he would back further Covid curbs, saying “the tougher the restrictions now the quicker we get the virus back under control”.
Answering questions following a speech to the Fabian Society’s new year conference, the Labour leader said he was “still worried” by the number of infections despite signs they are falling.
[eafl id=”3714″ name=”999Inks 468×60″ text=”Affiliate HTML Code ‘999Inks 468×60′”]
He said the “sense that we are through the worst” of the third wave is wrong, as he welcomed further restrictions on travel announced by the Government on Friday.
Starmer explained:
Nobody likes restrictions but the tougher the restrictions now the quicker we get the virus back under control, the quicker we reduce the number of hospital admissions and the quicker we get that number of deaths, tragically, down…
(The NHS) is really under strain at the moment and we need to do whatever we can to reduce that strain, particularly in the next few weeks, which are going to be critical.
It comes as tougher restrictions have come into force in Scotland, with everyone on the mainland told not to leave or remain outside their home except for essential purposes.
Entering businesses to purchase takeaway food and drinks has also been stopped, with premises required to operate using a hatch or counter at the door. Drinking alcohol in public outdoors has also been banned, along with non-essential click-and-collect services.
Meanwhile, Professor John Edmunds, a leading epidemiologist, warned that the new Brazilian strain of coronavirus is likely to have already entered the UK.
And quarantine-free travel to the UK will end on Monday in an attempt to keep new coronavirus strains out of the country, Boris Johnson has announced.
The prime minister said anyone flying into the country from overseas will have to show proof of a negative Covid test before setting up. The government has also banned flights from South America, Portugal and Cape Verde over the emergence of a new variant in Brazil.
