Government continues to defend regional approach to rising cases
MINISTERS have continued to defend the use of regional measures to tackle rising coronavirus cases in England despite mounting pressure to call a national lockdown.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government is “striving” to avoid issuing blanket restrictions nationwide as he insisted targeted measures could slow the growth in cases.
One in five people in England will be living under the toughest coronavirus restrictions from Monday when West Yorkshire moves into Tier 3, while 58% of the population will be living under either Tier 2 or 3 measures.
Asked whether ministers had been given a “very, very bleak” presentation by scientists on Thursday about rising cases and the future death toll, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are very careful to protect the integrity of the discussions and the information we have, but we do think the situation is serious.
“Having said that, we’re confident we’ve got the right measures and framework in place – which is not to have a blanket approach – with the target measures, both (in terms of) restrictions but also financial support on the areas where the uptick is the highest.
“We have seen, since we adopted that approach, a decrease in the rate of growth, but clearly there is still an uptick in the virus. We are battling a second wave, and we’re going to do everything we can, in a targeted and focused way, to repress epress and bring those numbers bers back down.”
Asked about the potential for introducing a Tier 4 higher level of restrictions, Mr Raab said introducing further measures is an n option.
“We’re always ready y for further measures that we can take, but I think the most important thing about further measures is that we continue on the track that we’re on of targeting the virus,” he said. “The difference between now and the first lockd lockdown is we’re in a much b better place to really focu focus on where the virus is the greatest and I t think that’s right, not o only in scientific and virus management terms, but I think in t terms of the way p people feel about ta tackling this virus. “I “It’s fair that it fits the natural justice that we’re focusing on the areas where the uptick is the greatest, and we’re not taking a one-size-fits-all approach or a blanket approach or a blunt approach, so we’ll continue down that path.”
Mr Raab said the “arbitrariness of a blanket approach will be far worse than the effects of trying to be as targeted as possible”.
And he suggested scientists are backing the current course, saying: “The overwhelming scientific advice to us is targeted measures are the right way to go if you take them and you’re committed to them, and we have not just the restrictions in place but the financial support.
“They’ve got the greatest chance of being effective without the downside of the economy.”