British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pondering a second national lockdown as an accelerating coronavirus outbreak threatens to destroy any shoots of economic recovery and send millions back into isolation, Reuters reports.

The United Kingdom already has the biggest official Covid-19 death toll in Europe — and the fifth largest in the world — while it is borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy.

But new cases are rising by at least 6,000 per day in Britain, according to week-old data, hospital admissions are doubling every eight days, and the testing system is buckling.

Opinion

Editorial

Climate choices
Updated 15 Jun, 2026

Climate choices

The country is confronting increasingly volatile weather patterns with consequences for agriculture, infrastructure, public health and economic planning.
Brief opening
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Brief opening

WE have been here before. Throughout the weekend, there was great anticipation that a tentative framework for peace...
Environmental disaster
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Environmental disaster

IT was a heartbreaking sight. A recent news report in these pages carried a picture of a sea turtle lying half ...
Budget presser
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Budget presser

If the FBR falters, the government will find itself in hot water sooner rather than later.
Muharram precautions
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Muharram precautions

WITH Muharram due to start next week, the authorities have already begun annual exercises to ensure that the ...
Blood bequests
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Blood bequests

WORLD Blood Donor Day offers a moment of “gratitude, advocacy and renewed commitment” for thalassaemia patients...