Scientists are reportedly advising Boris Johnson to increase social distancing rules – as staying two metres apart isn’t enough to stop coronavirus spreading.
Members of the Sage scientific advisory panel are claimed to have called for the “one metre plus” rule should be replaced by “two metres plus”.
This means that ideally people should stay three metres away from each other, as the mutant Covid strain causes infections to soar across the UK.
The Daily Mail reports that experts believe the move will help.
A Downing Street spokesman told the newspaper: “There are no current plans to change social distancing rules.
“However, everything is kept under review.”
The UK’s Covid-19 pandemic is at its worst point and hospitals won’t get quieter until February, the Health Secretary has warned today.
And Matt Hancock warned the Government would not rule out tightening lockdown restrictions further still.
He said there are 32,294 people in hospital with the coronavirus across the UK, while daily admissions are above the first wave.
Hancock told the Downing Street press conference: “We’re at the worst point of this pandemic.”
A total of 3,718 hospital admissions of people with Covid-19 in England were reported for January 9, NHS England figures also showed.
This is slightly below the record number of 3,967 admissions reported for January 6, but up 18 per cent on the equivalent figure a week ago on January 2.#mirror
