Why UK is hurtling toward 'circuit break' second coronavirus lockdown

Britain is hurtling towards a second all-out lockdown as ­figures show the coronavirus epidemic now DOUBLING in size week on week. The Government’s scientific advisers claim the national R rate could now be 1.4 – meaning on average every 10 people infected are infecting 14 others. Nationally, there were a further 4,422 confirmed UK cases of coronavirus recorded on Saturday and 27 deaths – up from 4,322 confirmed cases on Friday, the first time the daily total of positive tests had exceeded 4,000 since May 8. The Government’s original lockdown architect, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, warned tougher restrictions were needed “sooner rather than later”. The epidemiologist – who resigned from government scientific advisory group Sage in May for flouting his own lockdown rules – said: “Right now we’re at about the levels of infections we were seeing in late February. If we leave it at another two to four weeks we will be back at levels we were seeing more like mid-March.