British ICU doctor says violators of coronavirus rules 'have blood on their hands'

A doctor in the intensive care unit of the Whittington Hospital in London says that those who do not wear masks and socially distance "have blood on their hands."

Professor Hugh Montgomery made the comments on BBC Radio 5.

"It is making me actually very angry now that people are laying the blame on the virus, and it is not the virus, it is people, people are not washing their hands, they are not wearing their masks," Montgomery told the station. "People are not doing what they should be doing."

"Anyone who's listening to this who doesn't wear their mask, behaves like this, they have blood on their hands," Montgomery continued. "They are spreading this virus. Other people will spread it and people will die. They won’t know they have killed people but they have."

Montgomery offered no evidence that this is the cause of the virus's spread.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in the UK over the month of December despite intense lockdown restrictions being imposed by the nation's government.

Most of England has seen the closure of all businesses deemed non-essential by the government under tier 4 restrictions. Social gatherings with people outside one's household are also restricted under the government's rules, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that citizens "[could not] proceed with Christmas as planned."

The rest of England, with the exception of the Isle of Scilly, is under tier 3 restrictions. Such areas limit social gatherings to six people, bars and restaurants may only offer pick-up and delivery, and indoor entertainment venues must remain closed.

Nevertheless, cases across the United Kingdom continue to rise.