As the government’s ‘enforcement week’ rumbles on, Priti Patel addressed the nation on Tuesday evening over the need for the public to play by the rules. While the Home Secretary was keen to praise the vast majority of people who have followed the lockdown rules so far, she said a minority were ‘putting the health of the nation at risk’ by flouting the restrictions.
With the daily death toll at 1,243 (the number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK), Patel stressed that the pandemic was at a very dangerous point and everyone would need to play their part — whether voluntarily or not. The Home Secretary warned that those who ‘do not play [their] part’ will be dealt with by ‘our selfless police officers — who are out there risking their own lives every day to keep us safe’.
In the Q&A session that followed, Patel was repeatedly asked whether the current restrictions were tough enough — even if everyone followed them.
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