England could face "national action" and "very extensive local lockdowns" in the event of a winter coronavirus wave, the British government has said, with a "worst-case scenario" of 80,000 deaths. "A second wave is clearly visible in other parts of the world," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Times newspaper. "Cases go up again, and we have to use very extensive local lockdowns or take further national action.
We don't rule that out but we don't want to see it," he said. Britain has been one of the country's hardest hit by the disease, with over 41,000 dead, but has eased lockdown restrictions recently as hospitalisations and deaths dropped.