Prime minister Boris Johnson warns a second coronavirus wave could hit UK 'in two weeks'

The PM is said to to be ‘extremely concerned’ by new outbreaks ‘bubbling up’, both at home and across Europe, it has been reported.

It comes hours after Mr Johnson warned there are signs of a second wave sweeping Europe.

Mr Johnson said: ‘The most important thing is for everybody in all communities to heed the advice, to follow the advice, not to be spreading it accidentally and get it right down and we'll be able to ease the restrictions across the country.

‘But clearly we now face, I'm afraid, the threat of a second wave in other parts of Europe and we just have to be vigilant and we have to be very mindful.’

Despite the number of UK cases remaining relatively low, rises were recorded each day last week for the first time since the peak of the virus in April.

Locally, Havant has seen a significant increase in its infection rate, latest figures show.

It recorded a jump to 3.2 confirmed cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people for the week ending July 25, up from 0.8 the previous week.

As of yesterday (July 27), there have been 364 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Havant, with a rate of 289.3 cases per 100,000 resident population.

In East Hampshire, the rate has also increased from 2.5 to 4.1.

But rates across Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham have dropped.

The news comes as the government implemented a 14-day quarantine rule for visitors returning to the UK from Spain.

SEE ALSO: No new Covid deaths in Hampshire care homes for first week since records began

Advisers have been warning of a potential second wave of the pandemic this winter.

However, there are now fears it could hit sooner.

A Downing Street source told the Daily Mail: ‘The PM is extremely concerned by what he's seeing abroad and fears we could be seeing the same thing here in a fortnight.

‘People have got to realise we are still in the middle of a pandemic.

‘He wants to go further on opening things up and getting people back to work, but he knows it'll be his head on the block if things go wrong.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.