i call the prime minister to make a
statement
prime minister johnson
mr speaker with your permission i will
make a statement on our
continuing fight against coronavirus and
how we intend to fulfill our
simultaneous objectives
saving lives protecting the nhs while
keeping our children in school
and our economy running protecting jobs
and livelihoods
this morning the deputy chief medical
officer set out the stark reality of the
second wave
of this virus the number of cases has
quadrupled in the last three weeks
there are now more people in hospital
with kovid
than when we went into lockdown on march
the 23rd
and deaths are already rising and of
course
there are those who say that on that
logic
we should go back into a full national
lockdown of indefinite
duration closing schools and businesses
telling people again to stay at home as
we did in march
once again shattering our lives and our
society
i i do not believe that would be the
right course we would not only be
depriving
our children of their education we would
do such damage to our economy
as to erode our long-term ability to
fund the nhs
and other crucial public services and on
the other side
of the argument there are those who
think that the patience of the public
is now exhausted that we should abandon
the fight
against kovid stand aside let nature
take her course and call a halt to these
repressions
of liberty and of course i understand
those emotions i understand the
frustration
of those who've been chafing under the
restrictions the sacrifices
they've made but we were if we were to
follow that course mr speaker
and let the virus rip then the bleak
mathematics dictate that we would suffer
not only an intolerable
death toll from covid we would put such
a huge strain
on our nhs with an uncontrolled second
spike
that our doctors and nurses would be
simply unable to devote themselves
to other treatments for cancer for heart
disease and hundreds more
that have already been delayed and that
would be delayed again
with serious long-term damage to the
health of the nation
and i'm afraid it is no answer to say
that we could let the virus take hold
among the young and fit while shielding
the elderly and vulnerable because the
virus would then spread with such
velocity in the general population that
there would be no way
of stopping it from spreading among the
elderly
and even if the virus is less lethal
for the under 60s there will still be
many younger people for whom
alas it remains lethal
so mr speaker we don't want to go back
to another
national lockdown we can't let
the virus rip and so we've followed
since june a balanced approach with the
support of many members
across the house to keep the r down
while keeping schools
and the economy going and controlling
the virus
by changing our behavior so as to
restrict
its spread that's why we have the rule
of six
and we have restrictions such as the a
10 pm closing time
on our hospitality sector mr speaker i
take no pleasure whatsoever
in imposing restrictions on these
businesses
many of which have gone to great lengths
to reopen as safely
as possible nor do i want to stop people
enjoying themselves
but we must act to save lives
and the evidence shows that in changing
our behavior
in restricting transmission between us
our actions are saving lives
left unchecked each person with the
virus
will infect an average of between 2.7
and 3
others but sage assess that the current
r
nationally is between 1.2 and 1.5
so we're already suppressing that r to
well below
its natural level which is why the virus
is not spreading
as quickly as it did in march
but we need to go further
in recent months we have worked with
local leaders to
counter local spikes with targeted
restrictions but this local approach has
inevitably produced
different sets of rules in different
parts of the country
that are now complex to understand
and to enforce so
just as we simplified our national rules
with the rule of six
we will now simplify and standardize our
local rules
by introducing a three-tiered system of
local covid
alert levels in england are set at
medium
high and very high the medium alert
level
will cover most of the country which
will cover most of the country
and will consist of the current national
measures this includes
the rule of six and the closure of
hospitality
at 10 pm the high alert level
reflects the interventions in
many local areas at the moment
this primarily aims to reduce household
to household transmission by preventing
all mixing
between different households or support
bubbles
indoors in these areas the rule
of six will continue to apply outdoors
where it is harder for the virus to
spread
in public spaces as well as private
gardens
most areas which are already subject to
local restrictions will
automatically move into the high
alert level as a result of rising
infection rates
nottinghamshire east and west cheshire
and a small area of high peak will also
move
into the high alert level
the very high alert level will apply
where transmission rates
are rising most rapidly and where the
nhs could soon be under unbearable
pressure
without further restrictions in these
areas the government will set a baseline
of prohibiting social mixing indoors and
in private gardens and
i'm sorry to say closing pubs and bars
we want to create the maximum possible
local consensus behind this more severe
local action so in each area we will
work with local government leaders
on the additional measures
which should be taken this could lead to
further restrictions on the
hospitality leisure entertainment
or personal care sectors but
retail schools and universities
will remain open as my right honourable
friend the chancellor
has set out the government will expand
its unprecedented economic support
to assist those affected by these
decisions
extending our job support scheme to
cover two-thirds
of the wages of those in any business
that is required to close and providing
those businesses with a cash grant
of up to three thousand pounds a month
instead of fifteen hundred pounds
every three weeks we will also provide
local authorities across england
with around a billion pounds of new
financial support
on top of our 3.6 billion pound towns
fund
and for very high areas we will give
further financial support for local test
and trace and local enforcement
and assistance from the armed forces not
from
not for enforcement but rather to
support local services
if desired in the local area
mr speaker i can report that we've been
able to reach
agreement with leaders in merseyside
local authorities in the liverpool city
region
will move into the very high alert level
from wednesday in addition to the
baseline i've outlined
this is as well as that is as well as
pubs and bars
in merseyside gyms and leisure centers
betting shops adult gaming centers and
casinos
will also close i'd like to
put on record my thanks to steve
rotherham
and his colleagues for their cooperation
in very difficult circumstances
engagement with other leaders in the
north west
the northeast and yorkshire and humber
is continuing i know how difficult this
is
they like us like everyone in this house
are grappling with very real dilemmas
but we cannot let the nhs fall over
when lives are at stake so let me repeat
uh the offer that we're making to those
local
authorities work with us on these
difficult
but necessary measures in the areas that
are rated very high in return for
more support for local test and trace
more funding
for local enforcement the offer of help
from the armed services and
the job support scheme as announced by
the chancellor
i believe not to act would be
unforgivable
so i hope that rapid progress can be
made
in the coming days regulations for all
three
coved local alert levels are being laid
today they will be debated and voted on
tomorrow
before coming into force on wednesday
we will also keep these measures under
constant review
including a four-week sunset clause for
interventions
in very high areas a postcode search on
gov dot uk
as well as the nhs kovid 19 app
will show which local alert level
applies
in each area and we're also publishing
updated guidance to explain what the
covid alert levels mean
for those who are clinically extremely
vulnerable
and while these levels specifically
apply to england we continue to work
closely with the devolved
administrations to tackle this virus
across
the whole united kingdom mr speaker this
is not how we want
to live our lives but this is the narrow
path
we have to tread between the social and
economic trauma of a
full lockdown and the massive human and
indeed
economic cost of an uncontained epidemic
with local and regional and national
government coming together
in a shared responsibility and a shared
effort
to deliver ever better testing and
tracing ever more efficient enforcement
of the rules and with ever improving
therapies with the mountains of
ppe and the ventilators that we have
stockpiled
with all the lessons we have learned in
the last
few months we are becoming better and
better at fighting
this virus and though i must warn the
house
again that the weeks and months ahead
will continue to be difficult and will
test
the metal of this country i have no
doubt
at all that together we will succeed
and i can i commend this statement
to the house