British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says there is light at the end of the tunnel on Covid-19 as England entered its second countrywide lockdown - for four weeks - to prevent a rising number of cases and deaths from the virus.
"The UK government and the devolved administrations are working together on a joint approach to the Christmas period, because all of us want to ensure families can come together, wherever they live," he told a media conference on Thursday.
"The advice I've received suggests that four weeks is enough for these measures to make a real impact so these rules will expire. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
Johnson said he hoped Britain could return to some form of normality before Christmas if people stick to the rules as England enters its second countrywide lockdown for a month.
"I have no doubt that people will be able to have as normal a Christmas as possible and we will be able to get things open before Christmas."
He said the country would rely on testing and better therapeutics and medicines to deal with Covid-19 if vaccines in development have only a limited success in tackling the virus spread.
"If you talk to the scientists, they say ... they believe things will start naturally to improve in the spring for a variety of other reasons such as the natural rhythm of these viruses and the improvement in weather conditions, which will mitigate against the spread of the virus."
He said the test and trace programme has not had the impact the government wanted but it is improving.
"I understand people's frustrations with NHS test and trace and it has come in for a lot of criticism and clearly it has taken too long for people to get their results sometimes, but they are improving," he told a media conference.
"Yes, it hasn't had as much impact as we would have wanted, but there's no doubt that by identifying people who have the disease, identifying the localities where people have the disease, we've been able to get the R (rate) down in a way that I don't think we would otherwise have done."
Britain reported 24,141 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday and 378 deaths from the virus, slightly down on figures from the day before, government data showed.
The cumulative toll for those who died within 28 days of a first positive Covid-19 test in the United Kingdom now stands at 48,120 while the number of people who have tested positive is 1,123,197 according to the data.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19, the foreign office said on Thursday.
"The Foreign Secretary was today informed that an individual with whom he has been in recent close contact has tested positive for coronavirus," a foreign office spokesman said.
"In line with government regulations and NHS Track and Trace rules, the Foreign Secretary has taken immediate steps to self-isolate for the required period. He will continue to work remotely during this time."
