England has "probably" reached the limit of easing the coronavirus lockdown, or is close to it, the Chief Medical Officer declared today.
Chris Whitty warned a recent spike in cases means it may no longer be possible to ease social distancing measures any further.
And he signalled there could be new clampdowns to come in order to allow other areas - like schools - to reopen. Prof Whitty said the rise showed we have "probably reached near the limit - or the limits - of what we can do in terms of opening up society." He added: "We are at the outer edge of what we can do".
The grim comments shatter Boris Johnson's claim just days ago that Brits could return to "significant normality" by Christmas.
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