A Conservative MP has warned that “winter is coming” and predicted the government could impose fresh restrictions on Britons in the coming months.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce this evening that all remaining social distancing measures will be lifted on July 19th.
While welcoming the prospect, Mark Harper, chairman of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group (CRG), however, warned that “it’s only a number of weeks until the autumn arrives” and with it the rise in seasonal respiratory diseases, meaning the government could attempt to bring back lockdown and social distancing in the colder seasons.
Mr Harper, who has branded the government’s lockdown powers “draconian”, wrote for the Conservative Home website on Monday: “Anyone who thinks I’m being too pessimistic should take a look at the small print in Government documents, which offer more than a hint that the Government is intending to reintroduce restrictions this winter.”
The MP for the Forest of Dead quoted documents published last week from the influential Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) that stated that “stronger measures may be desirable for autumn and winter”.
The CRG chairman wrote: “There’s also an emphasis on retaining a low prevalence of cases ‘even if hospitalisations and deaths are kept low by vaccination’ which doesn’t seem very far away from a Zero Covid strategy.- READ MORE
Listen to the insightful Thomas Paine Podcast Below --