Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary calls for tough national lockdown as Britain is ‘heading for a coronavirus nightmare’
GOOD Morning Britain's resident doctor has called for a tough new national lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Dr Hilary Jones said the government's new tier system and the restrictions imposed are not enough in the light of the rising hospital admissions for Covid-19.
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Speaking to Kate Garraway and Susanna Reid on this morning's show, Dr Hilary explained why he didn't think tiers would halt the spread.
He said: "The death rate lags behind the hospital rate which is going up so people are in for a long time with this virus, so down the line we may see a rise in death rates just like they're seeing in Belgium.
"What happens in one region will happen in another as people meet up, so it tends to happen everywhere else. The more people that meet up the more it spreads there are rising numbers around the counrty.
On lockdown, he said: "I think it should be a national one. Get the NHS prepared, we can do a lot of planning now which will help in the future."
"People are seeking clarity. The bottom line is you can have all these tiers that you can't impose easily but the one thing is, the sensible thing is, to protect your family by doing what you need to do avoid those people flouting the rules."
The government announced on Monday, October 12, which tier each part of England falls into - and what rules they will be subject to.
Our map shows the areas in the three-tier lockdown, with Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton in the strictest Tier Three, and areas including Greater Manchester, Durham and Leicestershire in Tier Two.
Most parts of the UK will remain under the current regulations for the "medium" category - meaning the "rule of six" will continue to apply and the 10pm curfew must be observed.
But Liverpool has become the first area to go into strict Tier 3 measures.
That means all pubs, bars, betting shops, gyms and casinos will have to shut.
It comes as the PM said on October 12 that cases have quadrupled in just three weeks - adding: "These figures are flashing at us like dashboard warnings in a passenger jet."
During the Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said: "We are entering a new and crucial phase of our fight against coronavirus, because the number of cases has gone up four times in four weeks and it is once again spreading among the elderly and vulnerable.
"There are already more Covid patients in UK hospitals today than there were on March 23 when the whole country went into lockdown and deaths, alas, are also rising once again."