Boris Johnson warns bumpy COVID winter; mulling 'three-tier lockdown'

British Prime MinisterBorisJohnson has said he expectsthe next few months of the COVID-19 pandemic to be bumpy.

According to British media,Johnson is planning a three-tier lockdown ''traffic light'' lockdown system for the United Kingdom. It will contain an Alert Level One which will include the pubs and bars.

The tough new measures were outlined in a document leaked by The Guardian, were parallel to the complete lockdown measures in March.

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In picture: The three-tier 'traffic light' lockdown system

It comes as Britain recorded nearly 23,000 more new cases of the novel virus on Sunday.The total number of COVID-19 infections in the country stands at just over 480,000, with more than 2,400 patients in hospital.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation,Johnsonsaid he knew many people were furious with him over perceived inconsistencies and confusion surrounding the local measures, but he was seeking to strike a balance between public health and the wider needs of society and the economy.

"In these areas, and I appreciate the fatigue that people are experiencing, but we have to work together, follow the guidance and get the virus down whilst keeping the economy moving, that's the balance we're trying to find," he said in an interview.

"I know people are furious at me and they're furious at the government, but I've got to tell you, in all candour, it's going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond, but this is the only way to do it."

Johnsonhad to correct himself on social media on Tuesday after getting his facts wrong while answering a question about social distancing rules that apply to a large swathe of England.

During his Sunday interview,Johnsondenied a suggestion that the local restrictions were not working given infection rates were still rising in the affected areas and there was no end in sight to the measures.

"I'm afraid it's simply too early to say," he said, adding that the advice to the government was that it was necessary to wait and see if the R number, the reproduction rate of the virus, started to come down.

Striking a more optimistic note,Johnsonsaid he expected the scientific equation to change over the coming months with progress on testing and on vaccines, which would enable the government to take a different approach.

"If you talk to the scientists, they're all virtually unanimous that by the spring things will be radically different and we'll be in a different world, that is the normal cycle of a pandemic like this," he said.

Asked about past promises and forecasts he had made that had not been matched by reality, such as his prediction that Britain's test-and-trace system would be "world-beating",Johnsondefended his rhetoric.

"This is a pandemic in which people need to understand that there is hope," he said. "We will get through this very well."