Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for a two to three-week “circuit breaker” lockdown across England to help stop the second wave of COVID-19 taking place across the country.
In what marks a major change of policy, Sir Keir said the government was failing to get to grips with the pandemic.
The leader of the opposition said: “There is no longer time to give the prime minister the benefit of the doubt. The government’s plan simply isn’t working. Another course is needed. That is why I am calling for a two- to three-week circuit break in England – in line with Sage’s recommendation.
“A temporary set of clear and effective restrictions designed to get R back below 1. And to reverse the trend of infections and hospitalisations.
“This would not mean closing schools. But if this happens imminently….it can be timed to run across half-term to minimise disruption. But a circuit break would require significant sacrifices across the country.
“It would mean only essential work and travel. That everyone who can work from home should do so. Non-essential offices should be closed. Household mixing should be restricted to one household except for those who’ve formed support ‘bubbles’.
“And all pubs, bars and restaurants would be closed for two-to-three weeks – but compensated so that no business loses out because of the sacrifices we all need to make. It should also mean the UK Parliament moves to remote working.
“A circuit break would also provide an opportunity to reset and to rectify some of the mistakes the Government has made. In particular to get a grip on testing and hand over track and trace to local authorities.”
It comes after it emerged that the government’s top scientific advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) released minutes of a meeting that showed that Boris Johnson‘s government ignored advice to impose a national two or three-week lockdown to prevent an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases which it said could have disastrous consequences.
The government has instead devised a new three-tier system for dealing with the pandemic, a move Sir Keir said he wants to work but said it was clear the prime minister’s strategy was failing.
Sir Keir’s intervention came during what is his first monthly press conference and comes a day after Johnson unveiled his new COVID alert system.
Taking a more localized approach as opposed to a national lockdown previously, under the new system, areas will now be labeled as medium, high, or very high risk which will lead to a number of interventions relative to the seriousness of the outbreak of the virus.
The prime minister told Parliament that the number of cases had quadrupled in the last three weeks however said he refused to accept that the country needed another full lockdown.
