More local lockdowns and social distancing measures are on the cards

Editorial: With large localised restrictions announced, there’s a need for daily press conferences at No 10 to return so the public can stay informed

A social distancing public notice on a street in Birmingham (EPA)

A day after disingenuously dismissing media speculation about a two-week national lockdown in England, Downing Street confirmed that a “circuit break” of temporary restrictions is under consideration in an attempt to halt the worrying rise in coronavirus infections.

Not for the first time during the pandemic, the government’s strategy emerged through selective briefings, nods and winks. It would be much better if Boris Johnson levelled with the public and explained why such restrictions are back on the table earlier than his ministers and advisers expected. With the national emergency far from over, there is a strong case for bringing back the daily press conferences at No 10 so the public can hear directly from ministers and their scientific and medical experts. The briefings contributed to the sense of national effort early in the pandemic, a mood that has sadly been lost and which the government needs to recreate for the planned restrictions to work.

The latest local lockdown measures in the north come into effect on 22 September, and will stop multiple households from mixing in private homes and gardens – while a 10pm curfew will be in effect on pubs and restaurants across parts of the northwest. Mr Johnson still hopes to avoid a second national lockdown – with good reason, given the chilling effect on the economy. But with new infections running at a 6,000 a day between 4-10 September, almost double the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics, it suggests we are heading inexorably towards something close to one. The speed of the increase, rather than the actual number, is rightly causing the most alarm.