Addressing MPs today in the House of Commons, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that, "Things will get worse before they get better. But I know that there are brighter skies and calmer seas ahead. But the ingenuity of science will find a way through."
His statement came as London was moved into Tier 2 with tighter restrictions on the general public as coronavirus contagion rates rise. A journalist with the Daily Mail pointed out that, "Half of England will be living under local lockdowns from Friday night. A total of 27.7 million people will be in tier two and tier three. That is 49 percent of England's 56.3 million population."
One region that has been threatened with Tier 3 is Greater Manchester, where politicians from the ruling Conservative party and the opposition Labour party alike are vehemently opposed to being placed in that tier.
One Labour MP explained that, "For them [Conservative MPs] it's more about the libertarian aspect, whereas for us it's about the support package on offer. For us, tier 3 is guaranteed destitution. It’s not just the fact that you will have minimum wage earners seeing their income drop two-thirds to £5.60 an hour, but there’s also a question of eligibility for support."
Hancock has meanwhile said that the decision on Greater Manchester will be postponed for the time being, but he continues to insist that "the threat from Covid is serious." He pointed out that over Europe, the number of cases has risen by around 40% and that the government must take action to prevent more deaths.