Local lockdowns could be used if coronavirus cases rise, says Raab

The government could impose geographically targeted measures to combat coronavirus such as locking down specific cities if an easing of restrictions in England brings a rise in new cases, Dominic Raab has said.

The foreign secretary defended the decision to allow bigger outdoor gatherings and other new freedoms, which has prompted alarm from some government scientific advisers, but said he accepted it was a “delicate and dangerous moment”.

Asked what would happen if the relaxing of rules, which allow groups of up to six people to meet outdoors from Monday, brought a rise in infections, Raab said the government did not want to reimpose national restrictions.

“What we really want to avoid is any re-entering of the lockdown,” he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show. “If we had a second spike, in the way you’ve described, it would obviously be bad on public health grounds, but it would be bad for the economy, and I think it would be bad for public confidence.

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“So the really important thing is, as we take the measures, if there’s any uptick in any particular locality or setting, we’ve got the ability to take targeted measures. And that’s why the test and tracing system will help us not just bear down on the virus, but take further steps along our roadmap to bringing life back to something a bit more resembling normal.”

Asked if this meant the possible lockdown of an entire city, such as Greater Manchester, Raab replied: “We will make sure we’ve got the panoply of measures that can be taken in a targeted way. I’ve been following the geographic data for weeks now, and there are slight variations. But overall we’ve made good progress across the four nations, across regions, in bringing down the virus.”

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Quizzed again on whether this meant the possible targeted lockdown of certain cities or areas, he said: “We’ve definitely got the ability and we will target specific settings or particular regions, or geographic areas, yes, absolutely. And that gives us the confidence to make sure-footed steps forward in the way that we’re doing tomorrow.”

The government is facing intense pressure over its decision to ease restrictions, with a number of scientists who attend Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, warning it has come too soon, with England still recording about 8,000 new infections a day.

In a separate interview with Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, Raab said it was up to politicians to “take the final judgment call” on such decisions.

“You’re right to say that the scientists won’t always agree,” he said. “That is actually the essence of the Sage group. There are, at any one time, 25 scientists who are participating, and a whole range of other sub-groups, and the expert advice that they get. And frankly, with a new pandemic it would be totally surprising if they all agreed in unanimity.”

The government had previously said it would not ease restrictions before its own traffic-light system of coronavirus alert, set by the UK’s new Joint Biosecurity Centre, had moved from four to three.

Raab told the Andrew Marr Show that the level was “transitioning from level four to level three”, but that the decision would be made by the Joint Biosecurity Centre when it was fully up and running.

But, he said, progress had been made, with the number of new cases and of critically ill Covid-19 cases falling: “Because we’ve made that progress, steadily, slowly, surely, week in, week, out, we can – very gradually, very carefully – take the steps that we are taking tomorrow.”

He added: “Of course, we won’t take any further steps, or indeed we’ll have to take further restrictive measures, if we find any uptick in the virus.”

A key element of the gradual opening is the new test and trace system, under which new local outbreaks are meant to be snuffed out by tracing teams identifying people who have been in contact with coronavirus patients and getting them to self-isolate for 14 days.

Raab said the system, which has also faced criticism for being far from completely ready, has the capacity to trace the contacts for up to 10,000 cases.

Asked how many people had been traced so far, Raab said: “I don’t have the exact figures, because it’s only been running since Thursday, but they will be set out this week.”