Boris Johnson has announced major new measures in the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Johnson has said that from this point forward, Britons must stay at home. They can only leave home for the following reasons;
- Shopping for basic necessities, as little as possible
- One form of exercise a day
- A medical need
- To travel to work, but only where absolutely necessary
All shops that don’t sell essential goods must close immediately and other public venues including libraries will close. All gatherings of more than 2 people are to be banned and all social events including weddings and baptisms are to be banned (funerals excluded). Parks are to remain open but police will have the powers to disperse crowds.
Police will have the powers to fine people for non-compliance against the new measures.
While not described as such by Downing Street, the measures effectively see a partial lockdown of the UK. Transport networks will not be shutdown but many are already operating reduced services.
Reminding the country of the reason for the government’s approach, Mr Johnson said, “Coronavirus is the biggest threat this country has faced for decades” and added, “If too many people become unwell at any given time the NHS will be unable to handle it.”
The government will review the new measures in three weeks and relax them, but only if appropriate.
The comments came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a special televised address to the nation on Monday evening. At the weekend, thousands of Brits were seen enjoying the sunshine, completely going against the social distancing measures previously set out.
You can watch the full statement by the Prime Minister below. For further information, check gov.uk/coronavirus
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Photo Credit: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street under licence (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
