Boris Johnson To Hold Emergency Coronavirus Cobra Meeting On Tuesday

Prime minister convenes emergency committee ahead of expected announcement of new restrictions.
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Boris Johnson will hold a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee on Tuesday, before an expected announcement of new coronavirus restrictions.

The prime minister will on Monday hold talks with leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as cabinet colleagues ahead of a full meeting of top ministers tomorrow.

He will then make a statement to the Commons in which he is expected to set out any new lockdown measures.

The PM has already suggested that a second wave of infections is coming, while chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance have warned that infections could reach 50,000 cases a day by mid-October without action.

The government has been working on a response to the recent uptick in infections all weekend, Downing Street said.

On Saturday, the cabinet including Johnson were briefed on the potential impact of the pandemic and potential restrictions by Whitty, Vallance and Treasury chief economic adviser Claire Lombardelli.

The PM will on Monday look to secure UK-wide agreement from devolved nations on the “next steps”, to be discussed at the government's emergency Cobra meeting.

His official spokesperson told reporters: “You can see what’s been happening over the course of the previous 72 or 96 hours.

“The PM spoke on Friday about his concerns about a second wave, there was an update to the cabinet on Saturday.

“The PM held more meetings with scientific advisers and with colleagues yesterday.

“Today he will be engaging with the devolved administrations.

“Let’s see where we get to, and tomorrow morning will be an opportunity for Cobra to discuss what next steps may be required in the coronavirus response.”

Whitty has stressed the need to “break unnecessary links between households” while health secretary Matt Hancock was unable to say whether pubs would be shut this weekend.

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