The British Prime Minister – Boris Johnson has announced England’s second national lockdown after the total number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases crossed the 1 million mark.
U.K. has a total of 10,11,660 cases and there have been 46,555 casualties. In the last 24 hours, it reported 21,915 fresh cases and 326 casualties. The second national lockdown will begin from November 5, 2020 and will end on December 2, 2020.
Johnson was supposed to announce the lockdown on Monday, i.e., November 2, 2020. However, certain newspapers leaked the news and therefore, Johnson had to make the announcement on Saturday, i.e., October 31, 2020.
Taking it to twitter, Johnson tweeted, “In this country, as across much of Europe, the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst case scenario of our scientific advisers. If we fail to take action, then there is a real risk of depriving non-Covid patients of the care that they need from the NHS.”
In this country, as across much of Europe, the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst case scenario of our scientific advisers.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 31, 2020
If we fail to take action, then there is a real risk of depriving non-Covid patients of the care that they need from the NHS (1/10)
Asking the people to follow rules, Johnson tweeted, “We will get through this – but we must act now to contain the spread of coronavirus. While Christmas will be very different this year, it is my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now, we can allow families across the country to be together.”
We will get through this – but we must act now to contain the spread of coronavirus.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 31, 2020
While Christmas will be very different this year, it is my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now, we can allow families across the country to be together. (9/10)
In the second national lockdown, people can only go out if they have a specific purpose such as buying essentials, medical reasons, education, work (if they are unable to work from home), exercise and for recreation. A person going out cannot be accompanied by more than 1 person.
Single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household, and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.
Schools, universities and playgrounds will stay open. Pubs, restaurants, non-essential businesses, including hair salons and gyms will remain closed. While the Government has discouraged all sorts of non-essential travel, it has allowed people to travel abroad for work, provided they adhere to quarantine rules of England. The measures will only apply to England, as healthcare is handled by the devolved Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Initially, Johnson was not in favour of imposing the second national lockdown as it puts the economy on the backfoot but in the light of present scenario he took the decision. Johnson was also believed to be under pressure after U.K.’s top health practitioners had called for a second lockdown to contain the pandemic. They had also warned that if strict actions are not taken, National Health Service’s bed capacity would be full by first week of December 2020.
As per the estimates of the Office for National Statistics, every 1 person out of 100 has COVID-19. This average was 1 in 200 in October 2020. At the start of the COVID-19, it was 1 person of every 2,300.
The condition is same across the Europe. Germany and France have already announced lockdown after the second wave hit their country. Germany has a total of 5,31,790 cases and there have been 10,483 casualties. France has 13,73,036 cases and there have been 36,494 casualties. Belgium, with 4,29,229 cases and 11,625 casualties, has also announce lockdown.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), there have more than 10 million COVID-19 cases in Europe. Of this, 1.5 million cases were reported last week. The Regional Director for Europe at WHO – Hans Henri P. Kluge has said that casualties rose by 32% in the past week in Europe.
