BRITAIN could face another lockdown in October if Covid cases surge again, a minister suggested today.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi refused to rule out the return of some restrictions during the Autumn half-term to get the virus under control.
But he expressed hopes a successful booster jabs campaign will help the UK avoid a full shutdown which would be “the worst thing we can do”.
He said that will mean the country can “continue, I hope, on a one-way street of keeping the economy open without having to regress into other non-pharmaceutical interventions.”
A government spokesman confirmed there are “contingency plans” in place but insisted they “would only be re-introduced as a last resort to prevent unsustainable pressure on the NHS”.
He added “it is not true” to suggest that ministers are actively “planning a lockdown or firebreak around the October half term”. A senior Sage scientist has said the Government is already preparing for a mini “firebreak” lockdown if hospital admissions spiral.
