Prime minister Boris Johnson announced a second national lockdown for England on Saturday following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

Pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will have to close for four weeks from Thursday, he said.

But given that he also said Christmas may be “very different” this year suggests that the new coronavirus restrictions introduced over the weekend could perhaps last beyond the four-week period.

In fact, cabinet minister Michael Gove yesterday admitted that the national lockdown may indeed be extended beyond 2 December, stating that this was merely a “review” date.

He told BBC’s Andrew Marr that the government will “always be driven by the data”.

However, Downing Street has reportedly slapped down Gove for suggesting the new four-week lockdown could be extended, amid fresh confusion over Covid-19 policy.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC there would “be no effective exit on 2 December unless the government uses this time to fix test, trace and isolate”.

He has called for the lockdown to stay in place until the R rate is below 1.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, chairman of the Wellcome Trust and Sage member, also featured on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday.

He said the proposed end date of the four-week lockdown was “useful” but people should not be “fixed on it”, adding that it would be “much better to extend lockdown for another couple of weeks prior to Christmas”.

The first snap poll has revealed strong support for the latest steps taken, with 72% of people in England supporting another lockdown.