London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Covid-19: Next two weeks 'crucial' for ending England lockdown

Covid-19: Next two weeks 'crucial' for ending England lockdown

The next two weeks will be "absolutely crucial" if England's lockdown is to end as planned on 2 December, a government scientific adviser has said.

Prof Susan Michie said the public must resist breaking the rules in order to "be in a position" to spend the festive period with loved ones.

News of a potential vaccine would make "no difference" to the current wave but could lead to complacency, she added.

The prime minister has said the current restrictions will "expire" next month.

Prof Michie, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was too early to know what should replace the measures when they end, with the coming fortnight being key.

She said: "They're going to be a very challenging two weeks, partly because of the weather, partly because, I think, the promise of a vaccine may be making people feel complacent."

But she said data showed adherence to lockdown rules had been "pretty steady since the summer".

It comes as the UK recorded a further 26,860 Covid cases on Saturday, along with 462 deaths within 28 days of positive test.

Pubs, bars and restaurants as well as non-essential shops have been forced to close during the four-week lockdown in England.

Boris Johnson has previously insisted the measures will end as scheduled but Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said measures could last beyond 2 December.

Prof Michie said people had to "get their resolve together" and resist any urge to break the rules, in order to maximise the chance of leaving lockdown.

However, she said she was "quite hopeful" after tough measures in Wales and Northern Ireland brought transmission rates down.



Wales finished its 17-day firebreak lockdown restrictions on Monday. Much of Northern Ireland's economy was placed under tight measures on 16 October.

Scotland introduced a four-tier system on 2 November after ending national curbs on the hospitality industry. Areas in the west of Scotland have been warned they may be placed under the highest level of restrictions next week.

It comes after documents released by Sage on Friday, and dated 4 November, warned that a return to the tiered system of coronavirus restrictions in England after lockdown ends could see infections rise again.

On Friday, Sage said that the R number - the rate at which the virus spreads - for the UK had fallen to 1-1.2, with experts believing it is already below 1 in some places.

If the R number is lower than one then the disease will eventually stop spreading

Dame Anne Johnson, professor of epidemiology at University College London, said the evidence suggested tier three restrictions had brought the R value down but it was not clear if they would get it under 1.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×