Londoners warned they face local lockdowns if social distancing is not applied

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned Londoners that unless social distancing rules are adhered to then they do risk partial lockdowns.

Hancock said on Friday, that “One of the terrible things about this virus is it thrives on the sort of social contact that makes life worth living.”

Sky News asked the Health Secretary will he take the same action in London as he did in Northern England on Thursday evening.

Hancock said he will not flinch.

He added, “We’ve demonstrated that we’re prepared to take the actions necessary to keep people safe.

“And that was true in Leicester when we took action there. And we’re taking much more localised action in hundreds of different locations across the country.

“In the South West and the South East, thankfully, the number of cases is much lower, so we haven’t had to take this sort of action, but we don’t shy away from taking it.”

Hancock blamed the increase in coronavirus cases in North England on people failing to apply social distancing.

Cambridge University’s data places the South East and the South West transmission rate of the virus above the R rate of 1, which could see coronavirus cases surge.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) warned that “there is now evidence to suggest a slight increase in the number of people in England testing positive in recent weeks.”

Official figures released on Friday shows that one in every 1,500 people in the week to 26 July had the virus, totalling 35,700 individuals.

With just three hours’ notice 4.5m people were banned from midnight on Thursday to meet in each other’s homes in Greater Manchester and parts of Northern England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Friday that all lockdown easing measures are now on hold for the newt two weeks as coronavirus cases across England have slightly risen.