Some restrictions may have to imposed next winter, says chief medical officer

Professor Chris Whitty said that some restrictions may have to be brought back into place next winter to control the virus.
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England’s chief medical officer told the Downing Street press conference: “If we did not do all the things all of us must now do, if people don’t take the stay at home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter with this new variant, is extraordinarily high.”

He said the risk level will gradually decrease over time with measures being “lifted by degrees possibly at different rates in different parts of the country, we’ll have to see”.

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“We’ll then get over time to a point where people say this level of risk is something society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all,” he added.

Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris WhittyChief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty
Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty

“We might have to bring in a few in next winter for example, that’s possible, because winter will benefit the virus.”

England’s chief medical officer told the Downing Street press conference that the fastest increase of the new variant is in the east of England, London and south-east, but it is “now taking off in other areas as well”.

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