A national lockdown in England is not inevitable to contain an increase in Covid-19 cases, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said, adding that a localised approach could work if everyone stuck to the rules for their area.

Britain has recorded over 20,000 new cases a day on average over the last week, and an average of over 200 deaths a day in the same timeframe, according to Reuters.

Raab said he thought the situation was serious, but that he was confident in the government's approach.

Asked whether a national lockdown was now inevitable, Raab said: “No, I don't think that is right, but what we are guided by is the rate of the virus.

"We've seen some evidence since we started putting in place this tiered approach that the rate of increase has slowed,” Raab told BBC TV.