REPORTS suggesting there could be further Covid restrictions in October have been described as “nonsense” by a Dorset MP.

According to the i newspaper, October half term could be extended, and some travel restrictions could be reintroduced.

Face coverings could also return while the government are reportedly considering a return to social distancing and a limit on social gatherings.

However, Sir Robert Syms, MP for Poole, said it was “nonsense” and prime minister Boris Johnson was “bullish” about the future.

He said: “I think it is a totally nonsense story with an anonymous source saying there could be a firebreak in the half term.

“The department of education put out a press release saying there are no plans to have a firebreak.

“It is not necessary. The numbers in hospitals are relatively low, people go into hospital and come out in a few days.

“I think things are going pretty well, we are getting back to normal and are learning to live with something that will be around for a while.

“I heard Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson at a drinks party, and both were pretty bullish about the future.”

Asked on his thoughts on the Coronavirus Act 2020 being extended for six months, Sir Robert said he would vote against it.

He added: “There’s no need to [extend the Act]. Governments hate giving up power.

“If we have a future crisis, we can bring in new laws but for the moment we should let it pass.”

MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, said it was “about time we started to get a grip” and said we must live with Covid.

He said: “The country is almost completely double jabbed now, we have to live with it in the same way we live with flu.

“We can’t have, as a default, a rush to lockdown. What matters is hospitalisations and deaths.

“Where I am at the moment, the sun is shining, the temperature is high, infection rates are high but hospitalisations are under control.

“We have to stop curtailing our lives and our freedoms, it is not the threat it was a year ago.”