Minister says ‘no one who knew anything’ about coronavirus said things would be normal by Christmas. Boris Johnson said things would be back to normal by Christmas

Row comes as deputy chief medical officer warns crisis could last ‘until next Spring’

A Conservative minister has denied claims that the government has been too complacent and optimistic about the coronavirus pandemic – despite Boris Johnson’s own claim Britain would “return to normality” by Christmas.

Junior health minister Nadine Dorries tweeted: “No one who knew anything about the pathology of Covid-19 ever said it would be over by Christmas.”

However – as many pointed out on social media – the prime minister said in July that he expected a “significant return to normality from November at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas”.  

It comes as members of the government’s Sage group of scientific advisors expressed concern about the rising number of Covid-19 cases – and warned that the UK could be facing a serious outbreak through the autumn and winter months.

Professor John Edmunds told ITV’s Peston: “The epidemic continues to increase and then we have Christmas. And that is very difficult. What is Christmas? Well it’s meeting with your family very close. Restaurants and pubs and stuff like that.”  

The Sage member added: “It’s all high risk. And it’s all indoors. Indoors makes a difference.”

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, fellow Sage member and deputy chief medical officer, urged politicians and public health officials to think how to manage the crisis not in the short term but through “the next six months and how we get through this until the spring”.

Professor Van-Tam said the public had become “too relaxed” about the virus spreading following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Communications expert Steve Hawkes suggested the public had been made to relax because they “were told to shop, take a summer holiday and that it would be over by Xmas” – prompting Ms Dorries’ defence of the government.

There were a further 2,948 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Monday, following the 2,988 reported on Sunday, which was the largest daily figure since May.

The seven-day rate of new UK cases has risen to 21.3 per 100,000 people, just above the threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 at which the government considers imposing quarantine conditions on people travelling to the UK, if recorded in other countries.