PM Commons statement on coronavirus: 2 November

Mr Speaker with your permission, I will make a statement on the measures we must now take to contain the autumn surge of Coronavirus, protect our NHS and save lives.On Saturday evening the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser described the remorseless advance of this second wave.The extraordinary efforts being made by millions of people across the countryespecially by those in very high alert areashave made a real difference, suppressing the R rate below where it would otherwise have been.But the R is still above one in every part of Englandas it is across much of Europeand the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario.There are already more Covid patients in some hospitals now than at the height of the first wave,2,000 more this Sunday than last Sunday.While the prevalence of the virus is worse in parts of the North, the doubling time in the South East and the Midlands is now faster than in the North West.Even in the South West, where inc...