Head Lines
    Headlines
  • Telangana Assembly passes TSRTC merger Bill
  • 'Money Heist'-Inspired Cyber Criminals Arrested For Conning Noida Businessman
  • SC to monitor cases of crime against women in Manipur
  • Veg thali cost surges 28% in July amid soaring food prices
  • IIM Lucknow launches executive programme in AI for Business
  • Govt to open research park at top educational institutions to promote science & tech
  • US to send Ukraine first $200 million of arms freed by $6.2 billion 'error'
  • Reliance Retail says it is set to lead the retail industry in the coming decade
  • Karnataka High Court accepts petition challenging provisions of Real Estate Regulatory Act
  • ‘I’m doing this for Pewdiepie’: MrBeast challenges T-Series, will fight to become YouTuber with maximum subscribers

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell people on Tuesday to work from home and will impose new curbs on pubs, bars and restaurants in a bid to tackle the swiftly accelerating second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

In an address to parliament at 1130 GMT and then to the nation at 1900 GMT, Mr. Johnson will stop some way short of a full national lockdown of the sort he imposed in March.

 

“We know this wont be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS,” Mr. Johnson will say, according to excerpts of his remarks distributed by his Downing Street office.

The measures come after senior medics warned on Monday that Britain faced an exponentially growing death rate within weeks unless urgent action was taken.

U.K. raises coronavirus alert as infections rise ‘exponentially’, heightened curbs from Thursday
 

The new curbs will restrict the hospitality sector to table service only, by law.

Just weeks after urging people to start returning to work, Mr. Johnson will advise them to work from home if they can. He will also order all pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality sites across England to start closing at 10 p.m. from Thursday.

“One of the things we are going to emphasise is that if it is possible for people to work from home, we are going to encourage them to do so,” Michael Gove, the minister for the cabinet office, told Sky News. “There is going to be a shift in emphasis.”

While millions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are already under some form of restriction, Mr. Johnson is not expected to announce a fully fledged lockdown of the kind seen in March.

Experts advice

Britain will face an exponentially growing death rate from COVID-19 unless the government moves urgently, Chris Whitty, the government's chief medical officer, and Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser, said.

The United Kingdom already has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe - and the fifth largest in the world - while it is borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy.

Coronavirus | U.S. closes in on 2 lakh deaths weeks before election
 

Mr. Gove, one of Mr. Johnson's most senior ministers, said there were many roles that could not be performed at home, in areas from manufacturing and construction to retail.

“We need to balance, obviously, the need to ensure that people can continue to work, and indeed critically - continue to go to school and benefit from education, against taking steps to try to reduce the virus, which is why if we can limit, or appropriately restrain, social contact, that is what we are trying to do,” he said.

“The second shutdown begins”, read the front-page headline of the Daily Telegraph while the Daily Mail said: “U.K. slammed into reverse”.

Shares in Britain's listed pubs and restaurant groups fell sharply on Monday in anticipation of the move. While there is no consistent policy nationwide, the move will advance closing time by at least an hour for most areas.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had agreed with local council leaders and public health experts on new COVID-19 restrictions to be put to central government, in an attempt to stem the outbreak in the capital.

comments

No Comments Till Now.

Write Your Story