London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Stay at home as coronavirus is about to get a lot worse, Boris Johnson warns

Boris Johnson has urged people to work from home if they can and avoid pubs, bars and theatres, however stopped short of telling schools to close.

It comes as the UK’s death toll from the coronavirus reached 55, with 1,543 people confirmed to have been infected.

Giving a press conference this evening, Mr Johnson said elderly people and those with the most serious health conditions should ‘shield’ themselves for 12 weeks.

‘It is now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming, faster in some parts of the country than in others,’ he said ‘It looks as though London is a few weeks ahead.’

He said Londoners must ‘pay special attention to what we are saying about avoiding non-essential travel.’

The prime minister set out the need for ‘drastic action’ to tackle the ‘fast growth’ of coronavirus.

For the latest coronavirus updates and coverage in the UK and around the world click here.

He said that according to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) ‘it looks as though we are now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve’ in the number of cases.

‘Without drastic action cases could double every five or six days,’ he said.

Mr Johnson said anyone who lives with someone who has a cough or a temperature should stay at home for 14 days.

He also urged unnecessary visits to care homes to stop to protect the vulnerable.

From tomorrow, mass gatherings will not be supported by emergency workers in the way that they are normally.

Mr Johnson added: ‘This advice about avoiding all social contact is
particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with
some health conditions.’

The press conference comes as the World Health Organisation urged countries to ‘test, test, test’ every suspected case of Covid-19 as it is impossible to ‘fight a fire blindfolded’.

However, the UK’s policy is to test only those in hospital already, or those at a care home or prison infected with the virus.

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty insisted that the UK’s testing regimen was robust.

He said there was ‘complete surveillance’ testing in intensive care, hospitals were also testing patients with pneumonia and GPs were testing in the community.

‘We do intend to continue to scale up testing,’ he said, adding efforts were already ‘substantial’ with more than 44,000 tests conducted.

At the moment tests were only useful for people who were currently sick, but it would be ‘transformational’ if there was a way to find out whether people had previously had it.

That would show what proportion of people can get the disease without any symptoms, he said, adding that Public Health England was ‘very rapidly’ developing such a test.

Professor Whitty added: ‘We really would encourage (people) not, if they have mild or moderate disease, to phone 111 because we need to protect the service for those who are in greatest need.

‘But, (it’s) really important to stress, if anyone’s health starts to deteriorate significantly then they should phone 111 or contact health services in the way that they usually would.’

He said: ‘We are enormously proud of what our colleagues in the NHS and Public Health have done so far to delay this in a safe way and an enormous amount of work has gone on to do that.

‘The next few weeks and months are going to be extraordinarily difficult for the NHS in all four nations.

‘We know that our colleagues will rise to this challenge, but we know it is going to be very hard indeed, but we have enormous faith in them.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
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
×