Trending
Andy Burnham says he’s against another lockdown and there’s ‘no justification’ for further Covid restrictions
‘Lockdowns hurt peoples’ mental health, it obviously hurts the economy and so the government has a difficult job to do…’
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has opposed potential new Covid restrictions, saying there is ‘no justification’ amid only a ‘small rise in cases’.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester yesterday, the mayor was quizzed about his thoughts on new restrictions and lockdown measures being implemented in response to the rise in Omicron cases across the UK.
There, Burnham said that he is against another lockdown, noting that he doesn’t see any ‘justification’ for any further restrictions.
He outlined that there is only a ‘small rise in the number of cases’, saying that the position in hospitals ‘isn’t really changing’.
Burnham said: “I would say there is a need for being proportionate here. The schools are about to break up. If I look at our figures, it’s the 0-15 range where the highest number of cases are, and schools I think… are part of what increases transmission.
“I think we just need to be careful at this moment in time because lockdowns hurt peoples’ mental health, it obviously hurts the economy and so the government has a difficult job to do… but it needs to be proportionate.
“It needs to carry the public with them.”
The Prime Minister is reportedly hosting an emergency Cabinet meeting today as the UK braces for the reintroduction of lockdown restrictions.
No 10 / Flickr
According to reports, Boris Johnson will meet his top team at 2pm as he comes under mounting pressure to tackle the surge in Omicron variant cases before they get out of control and overwhelm the NHS.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has refused to rule out any lockdown rules being implemented before Christmas, with him saying over the weekend that there are ‘no guarantees in this pandemic’.
Discussing the rumoured lockdown on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Javid said: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic, I don’t think. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review.”
He added that the government are continuing to assess the ‘fast-moving’ situation, saying: “We’ve seen with Omicron there’s a lot that we still don’t know about Omicron. That’s the truth of the matter. The reality is there’s a lot of uncertainty.”