Christmas will be lockdown-free despite high case numbers, Boris Johnson says

There is no evidence to indicate that a Christmas lockdown is “on the cards” with the government sticking to its current plan to tackle coronavirus, Boris Johnson said.

Despite high daily case numbers, the Prime Minister said there is no reason to activate Plan B.

Asked if he could guarantee a good Christmas, he did not answer directly, saying: “I see no evidence whatsoever to think that any kind of lockdown is on the cards.”

The Prime Minister said that while the Government was closely monitoring the situation, there was no need to act at this stage.

“We’re watching the numbers every day. Yes it’s true that cases are high. But they do not currently constitute any reason to go to Plan B,” he said.

Covid infection levels have risen across UK

His comments follow calls by the NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association, as well as a number of prominent scientists, for the Government to take steps to ease the growing pressures on the health service.

Coronavirus infection levels have risen across the UK, with the most recent estimates from the Office for National Statistics showing the same proportion of people in England have Covid-19 as at the peak of the second wave.