Boris Johnson admits EVEN TOUGHER restrictions may be needed

The Prime Minister stressed “now is the moment for maximum vigilance” amid increasing calls for tougher lockdown restrictions as case rates soar in several parts of the country.

During a visit to a vaccine centre in Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, the Prime Minister said: “We’re going to keep the rules under constant review.

“Where we have to tighten them, we will.

“We have rules in place already which, if they are properly followed, we believe can make a huge, huge difference.

“It’s now that people need to focus… when they’re out shopping, whether they’re buying cups of coffee in the park or whatever it happens to be, they need to think about spreading the disease.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, during a visit to one of the seven mass vaccination centres open across England (Eddie Mulholland/The Daily Telegraph)

Mr Johnson said that “more important than us just pushing out new rules”, people should follow existing guidance.

“In supermarkets, people need to be keeping their distance, making sure that they’re wearing masks, doing the right thing.

“We need to enforce the rules in supermarkets. When people are getting takeaway drinks, in cafes, then they need to avoid spreading the disease there, avoid mingling too much.

“Now is the moment for maximum vigilance, maximum observance of the rules.

“Of course, if we feel that things are not being properly observed then we may have to do more.”

Turning to vaccines, the Prime Minister said roughly 40 per cent of the 80-year-olds in the UK have now been vaccinated, with around 23 per cent of the elderly residents of care homes having been inoculated.

He said around two million people overall have received a vaccine and “maybe a bit more”.

He added: “We’re at about 2.4 million jabs all in across the whole of the UK.”

Among those calling for tougher lockdown rules is Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who told reporters the country is “at the most serious stage” of the pandemic “and that calls for the most serious restrictions”.

Sir Keir said: “There probably is more that we could do.

“An example is the question of whether nurseries should be open.”

It comes as Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, warned the UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infections, with the next few weeks being “the worst” of the pandemic for the NHS.

He said the vaccine rollout offered hope that lockdown restrictions could be lifted in the coming months but described the current UK death and case rate as an “appalling situation”.

During a BBC phone-in on the current high case rates, he said: “I don’t think we’re yet at the peak, I’m afraid.

“I think we will be at the peak if everybody can double down and absolutely minimise their contacts.

“The point of the lockdown is to bring that forward, but it only works if everyone really thinks about every individual interaction they have and try and minimise them.”

Prof Whitty said the new variant of coronavirus was causing a “significant problem”, telling BBC Breakfast: “We will get through together but at this point in time we’re at the worst point in the epidemic for the UK.”

Currently, around one in 50 people in England is infected.

Prof Whitty said: “There’s a very high chance that if you meet someone unnecessarily they will have Covid.”

He added: “This is the most dangerous time we have really had in terms of numbers into the NHS at this particular time.”

Asked if coronavirus is being spread outdoors, Prof Whitty said the risks were much lower than for indoors, but said problems could occur if people gathered in groups, such as huddled round a market stall.

Pressed on whether people should wear masks in all outdoor settings, he said the most important thing was actually that people stayed home unless their journey was essential.

“I think that the much more important thing is that people should not be leaving their home unless they absolutely have to,” he said.

“And where they do, try and keep their distance from people.”

He added: “In a sense tinkering with the rules may be useful, but the far more important thing is that everybody abides by the spirit of the rules that are there at the moment.”

It comes as seven mass vaccination centres open across England in a drive to ramp up the rollout of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

The Government aims to hit a target of vaccinating around 15 million people at highest risk of death and severe disease by the middle of February.

The new centres – including at a football stadium and a tennis club – will be joined later this week by hundreds more GP-led and hospital services along with the first pharmacy-led pilot sites, taking the total in England to around 1,200.