Johnson said the government had to make “incredibly difficult” judgments during the pandemic. The government said there would be an investigation into the leak. Johnson had planned to announce the lockdown in Parliament on Monday, but was forced into early action after the Times of London reported the news. “There is no spare capacity in the tank to be able to fund a lockdown, even for three to four weeks.”Ī government program that has paid the wages of millions of furloughed employees during the pandemic was due to end Saturday, but will be extended during the new lockdown. “People have borrowed up to the hilt and spent money in order to get COVID-secure,” said Kate Nicholls of pub and restaurant industry group Hospitality U.K. Owners of businesses that have struggled to get back on their feet since the first lockdown was eased said the impact of new closures would be devastating. Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said in response to the lockdown announcement, “There’s no denying these measures are necessary and I’m glad that the government has finally taken the decision that it should have taken weeks ago.”īut Johnson is under pressure from some members of his Conservative Party, who oppose tighter restrictions because of the economic damage they cause. London School of Hygiene epidemiologist John Edmunds, a member of the government’s scientific advisory group, said that even with the new lockdown, Britain was facing “deaths in tens of thousands from this wave.” Throughout the pandemic, many British scientists and public health experts have accused Johnson of being too slow to act. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Saturday that for now people in Scotland should not travel to or from England, “except for essential purposes.” set their own public health measures, with Wales and Northern Ireland already effectively in lockdown and Scotland under a set of tough regional restrictions. The new restrictions would apply to England. Scientists say the true number of cases is much higher because not everyone with the virus is tested.Īny new lockdown will need Parliament’s approval, and a vote is scheduled for Wednesday. The United States, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Argentina and Colombia have also recorded more than 1 million cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Britain’s death toll from the coronavirus is 46,555, the highest in Europe, with 326 new deaths announced Saturday. Official figures announced Saturday recorded 21,915 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing Britain’s total since the start of the pandemic to 1,011,660. The government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the mortality rate had “potential to be twice as bad, if not more” than it was during the pandemic’s first European wave, if nothing was done.Īs European countries such as France, Germany and Belgium in imposing a second lockdown amid surging caseloads, it looked inevitable that Johnson would have to follow. The scientists warned COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths could soon surpass the levels seen at the outbreak’s spring peak, when daily deaths topped 1,000.
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