London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Covid: No new measures in England but we rule nothing out, says PM

Covid: No new measures in England but we rule nothing out, says PM

The government needs to "reserve the possibility" of bringing in new Covid rules in England as cases of the Omicron variant surge before Christmas, the prime minister has said.

Boris Johnson did not announce any new measures but said ministers were "looking at all kinds of things".

The PM said the data was being reviewed "hour by hour" and there were still "some things that we need to be clearer about before we decide to go further".

He urged people to exercise caution.

A further 91,743 Covid cases were reported across the UK on Monday, the second highest daily total on record.

The government's scientific advisers say new restrictions may be required very soon - and have suggested reducing the size of groups that can meet and closing venues where there is a high risk of transmission.

But Mr Johnson faces opposition to new restrictions from within his party. Nearly 100 Tory MPs voted against the government's decision to bring in Covid passes last week, while Brexit minister Lord Frost resigned from government at the weekend over "coercive measures" to tackle Covid.

Speaking after a two-hour cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson said the arguments for taking action were "very, very finely balanced".

He added: "Unfortunately I must say to people that we will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public, to protect public health, to protect our NHS. And we won't hesitate to take that action."


Asked about the prospect of further restrictions before or after Christmas, Mr Johnson said: "We are looking at all kinds of things to keep Omicron under control and we will rule nothing out.

"But at the moment, what I think we want people to focus on is exercising caution - so ventilation, masks in the appropriate places, all the usual stuff about washing hands, but remember how contagious Omicron really is."

The prime minister said "what really matters is for everybody to get vaccinated and get boosted".

He also acknowledged the impact that recent behavioural changes by some people, such as cancelling bookings, were having on businesses in the hospitality sector, saying the economic impacts would be kept "under constant review".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged the government to provide "immediate support" to businesses in the hospitality, retail and culture sector to prevent jobs being lost, saying in a tweet that "time is running out".


Analysis

By Damian Grammaticas, political correspondent

The PM had been urged to give clarity. The nation was waiting to hear if there would be more restrictions coming - and if so, what and when?

Boris Johnson and his cabinet had spent more than two hours deliberating. But what Mr Johnson told us didn't answer those questions.

On how serious things are, he said there were still "uncertainties" and "we should keep the data under review".

On what possible action might come, he said: "We are looking at all kinds of things."

Could it still happen before Christmas? "We will rule nothing out," he replied.

So this was a decision by the PM not to do more right now, despite the fact he said cases were "surging".

Was that because of doubts around the cabinet table? Or because the PM - as he pointed out - believes people are already adapting their behaviour and he wants more time to see if that's enough to control the spread of Omicron?

Perhaps, but it perpetuates the uncertainty. And, as the scientists have said, delay has consequences in itself, because cases continue to rise.

Leaked notes from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggest that, without intervention beyond current Plan B rules in England, hospital admissions could reach 3,000 a day.

And the BBC has been told that civil servants have produced three options for future Covid measures, ranging in severity from low to medium and high.

Deputy PM Dominic Raab earlier refused to guarantee that no new rules - such as a circuit-breaker lockdown - would be brought in, saying: "We've said we can't make hard, fast guarantees... it depends on the severity of the Omicron cases."


Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting accused Mr Johnson of having "absolutely nothing new to say, no plan whatsoever".

He told Radio 4's PM programme: "Boris Johnson is paralysed by weakness because of fear of his own backbenchers... no-one wants to bite the bullet and level with the public this side of Christmas."

And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised Boris Johnson's "indecision", arguing he was providing "more chaos and confusion" at a time people "urgently need clarity and reassurance".

The current rules for England - known as Plan B - include Covid passes for certain events, face masks in more places and people being urged to work from home if they can.

Other nations of the UK have similar rules, though Scotland has gone further by asking people to limit social contact to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas.

However, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Monday that people in Scotland would not face fresh restrictions on Christmas Day gatherings.

Wales has also ordered nightclubs to close from 27 December.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said health experts were not calling for further restrictions as they know they "can be very damaging to people's health and wellbeing", but added officials feel it is "now a question of when rather than if" they will be needed.

He said: "If the Plan B measures and boosters prove not to be enough, [experts] expect the government to respond quickly and pre-emptively in the national interest to the range of advice and modelling it has."

There were 1,024,833 people given a Covid-19 vaccine dose on Saturday - the highest single daily jab figure on record - more than 940,606 of which were booster or third doses.

Vaccinations dropped to 919,521 on Sunday, which is still the fourth highest total on record - beaten only by the number of doses administered on Thursday and Friday.

The news means 50.4% of the UK population - nearly 29 million people - have had a booster dose, with 81.8% having had two jabs and 89.5% one dose.



Boris Johnson: "We will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public"

Nicola Sturgeon says she wants "people to have clarity about what we are expecting of them" ahead of Christmas Day





Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×