U.K.’s Johnson Blames ‘Complacent’ Public for Surge in Covid
- Premier says Britons were not disciplined enough in the summer
- Government scientists warn cases are growing exponentially
Shoppers walk through Liverpool city centre, on Sept. 18.
Photographer: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images
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Boris Johnson said people in the U.K. became “complacent” about social-distancing rules in recent months, as his own scientific advisers warned it was still “highly likely” that the coronavirus epidemic is growing exponentially across the country.
In a BBC interview, the prime minister blamed the rise in cases on the “fraying of people’s discipline” over the summer and said the rules weren’t obeyed or enforced properly. “We came together as a country, we got the numbers down and I’m afraid some of the muscle memory has faded,” Johnson said.