Coronavirus: Some social distancing to remain in place until Covid-19 vaccine found, Gove says

Minister warns public must learn to live with ‘some degree of constraint’ for many months

Some level of social distancing will remain until a coronavirus vaccine has been developed, even though the government is working to restore people’s lives to “as close to normal as possible”, Michael Gove has said.

Mr Gove warned that people would have to live with “some degree of constraint” for many months and suggested the British public would have to accept a “new normal” going forward.

His comments came as the UK’s official death toll from Covid-19 rose to 28,446 on Sunday.

“Ultimately, unless and until we have a vaccine then I suspect that we are going to have to live with some degree of constraint because of the nature of the virus,” the Cabinet Office minister said during the daily press briefing.

“But we obviously want to, wherever possible, and consistent with the measures on public health, restore people's lives to as close to normal as possible.”

He added that the government would pursue a “phased approach” to easing the lockdown, with Boris Johnson, the prime minister, setting out future measures on Thursday.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said it was “really difficult” to know how the virus would play out in the coming months.

He acknowledged it was “impossible to say” when a vaccine or effective treatment would be available, although he said there was “hope” that a solution would be found sooner than it might have been 10 or 20 years ago.

“It's certainly true to say that we will need to adapt to a new normal until we get to that point," he added.

Human trials of a vaccine developed by Oxford University began last month, with scientists aiming to have a million doses ready by September if efficacy tests go well.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly cautioned that an effective vaccine is unlikely to be available for 12 to 18 months.

Professor Chris Whitty, the UK’s chief medical adviser, also said last month that neither a vaccine or a drug to treat Covid-19 were likely this year.

The government will trial its NHS contact tracing app on the Isle of Wight this week before it is rolled out later this month, with the hope that the app can help with the easing of social restrictions.

Additional reporting by PA