LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday (Oct 4) that he expected the next few months of the Covid-19 pandemic to be bumpy, but that things would look radically different in the spring.

"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," Mr Johnson said during an interview on BBC television.

"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.

Mr Johnson said it is too early to say if local lockdowns are working as the country reported a record number of cases on Saturday.

However, significant vaccine progress is possible this year, he told the BBC.

The United Kingdom reported 12,872 new cases on Saturday, the highest level ever and almost double the number from Friday.

The Department of Health said that due to a technical error, cases not counted in previous days were added to the total.

Commenting on US President Donald Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis, Mr Johnson said he was sure Mr Trump would be fine and was receiving the best possible care.

"I'm sure that President Trump is going to be fine. He's got the best possible care... He just needs, I mean, the most important thing to do is to follow his doctors' advice; he's got superb medical advice," Mr Johnson said.

The prime minister tested positive for Covid-19 in late March and was hospitalised for a week, including three nights in intensive care. He said he was fully recovered and was not suffering from so-called "long Covid" symptoms.