Priti Patel speech: What time is the home secretary’s announcement?
PRITI Patel will address the nation tonight after Britain saw a record 1,820 Covid deaths announced yesterday. The Home Secretary is likely to give the public a final warning to stick to lockdown rules – or face an even tougher crackdown. ???? Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates What time is the […]
PRITI Patel will address the nation tonight after Britain saw a record 1,820 Covid deaths announced yesterday.
The Home Secretary is likely to give the public a final warning to stick to lockdown rules – or face an even tougher crackdown.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
What time is the press conference tonight?
The press conference will be held at 5pm tonight, January 21.
The announcement comes after a concerning study last night showed the start of lockdown has failed to drive down cases in the way it has in the past.
The Imperial College London study carried out swab tests on 142,900 volunteers between January 6 and 15, finding one in 63 people now have the virus in England.
This is a 50 per cent jump on the last report in December.
Who is speaking?
Home Secretary Priti Patel will host the press conference, starting with an address to the nation.
Ministers are doing regular press conferences to keep the public updating during the third national lockdown – which is due to last until at least the middle of February.
She will be accompanied by Martin Hewitt, Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England regional medical director for London.
What is Priti Patel expected to say?
The Home Secretary will beg Brits to follow the rules and may threaten even tougher action if the numbers don’t start to climb down.
Earlier this week Ms Patel said it was a “long way” until restrictions can start to be lifted.
And Boris Johnson today warned that the new Covid strain is “much more contagious” when questioned whether the lockdown may not be eased until the summer.
The Prime Minister told reporters: “I think it’s too early to say when we’ll be able to lift some of the restrictions.
“We’ll look then (February 15) at how we’re doing but I think what we’re seeing in the ONS data, in the React survey, we’re seeing the contagiousness of the new variant that we saw arrive just before Christmas – there’s no doubt it does spread very fast indeed.
“It’s not more deadly but it is much more contagious and the numbers are very great.”
He said it is “absolutely crucial” to obey the current restrictions “in what is unquestionably going to be a tough few weeks ahead”.
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How can I watch it?
You can watch the press conference on The Sun website at 5pm.
Alternatively, you can watch the announcement on the government’s official twitter account.
Follow our coronavirus blog to get the latest updates on the pandemic.