U.K. Surpasses 1 Million Virus Cases as Spread Accelerates

(Bloomberg) --

The U.K. passed more than a million confirmed cases of Covid-19 as Boris Johnson considers a month-long national lockdown across England starting next week.

There were 21,915 cases reported on Saturday, bringing the total to 1,011,660. About half of the cases have been reported this month as the expansion of testing and contact tracing fails to slow the pandemic’s spread.

“For many among this million, getting infected has meant serious illness and even death,” Dr Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England, said, warning that, “we are in an increasingly precarious situation as hospital admissions grow each day.”

England’s new lockdown, which is expected to be announced on Saturday, would mean closing non-essential shops and restaurants in England until December, according to ITV’s Political Editor Robert Peston.

Britain is the third country in western Europe to cross the million cases milestone, after Spain and France, which have already brought in national restrictions. Mortalities from coronavirus stand at 46,555, the most in Europe.

The U.K. government had tried a system of localized restrictions in England to contain the spread of the virus as winter approaches, limiting deaths and economic damage.

Wales and Northern Ireland have already diverged from England by taking stronger steps to curb the virus, including measures such as limiting restaurants to takeaway only and closing some non-essential shops, which more closely resemble the national lockdown in March.

Azeem Majeed, professor of primary care and public health at Imperial College London., however, is skeptical of tough restrictions as a long-term solution, as the virus will just come back once the measures relax. “Maybe we’re stuck with this cycle of lockdowns and partial relaxations until a vaccine becomes available,” he said.

More than 50,000 people are being infected in the community in England each day, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics. That’s about six times more than the rate at the end of September.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.