The Press Stories
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opposes calls for a short “circuit breaker” lock across the UK, but says he has not rejected anything.
Key points:
- This week the UK introduced a new local and regional level locking system
- Labor has called for a nationwide lockout for 2-3 weeks
- Earlier it was reported that the Prime Minister had ignored his scientific advisers who had recommended a “circuit-breaker” lock to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The British government opted for three tier local measures this week as cases are rising rapidly.
The Liverpool area became the highest division in the country’s first division, Bars, gyms and other businesses will be closed for several months.
Mr Johnson responded that he would stick to this localized approach Opposition leader Sir Khair Stormer has called for a temporary national lockdown.
“We’m going to do that – I’m definitely not rejecting anything in the fight against the virus – but we ‘re going to do it with a local, regional approach, it’s going downhill and expelling it properly if there is a virus.”
Critics of the British government say a narrow, sharp nationwide lockout would be more effective than local measures and would spread the economic burden more fairly.
Sir Khair called for a 2-3 week lockout, a recommendation made by a study by some of Mr. Johnson’s scientific advisers this week, who found that such action could save thousands of lives.
“The optimal time for a break is always now,” co-authored with Graham Medley, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Emergencies, and Matt Keeling of the government’s Epidemiological Modeling Subcommittee.
Manchester reject call for higher alert
The regional government of Greater Manchester on Wednesday rejected efforts to move the corona virus risk to a very high level, saying infection rates and hospital admission rates in the metropolitan area were much lower than in Liverpool.
Local officials said the UK government had not provided adequate financial assistance to mitigate the economic impact of such a move.
“If the government follows its current strategy, we hope that much of the north of the UK will be trapped in Tier 3 for most of the winter, causing all the damage,” the Greater Manchester Joint Commission said.
On Tuesday night in Liverpool, spectators poured into the streets to dance and denigrate the police as pubs were closed in front of the strict new restrictions there.
Social media showed images including a video of a police car slowly moving through the crowd.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson wrote on Twitter: “These images are an insult to our city and attacking our brave police officers is unacceptable.
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“Our health service is evolving, with 300 people dying in hospital and 30 a week. Why are we in Tier 3 operations ignoring these facts?”
Northern Ireland announces strict UK restrictions
Northern Ireland on Wednesday introduced tough COVID-19 restrictions in the UK and closed schools, pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the virus.
These restrictions will last for two weeks for schools and four weeks for pubs and restaurants, although the service can be carried.
The announcement comes after talks between political parties in the region’s power-sharing government, which lasted from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.
“This is not the time for ordinary political points,” First Minister Arlene Foster told politicians at the regional assembly in Belfast.
“It’s time for solutions.”
Britain already has the worst outbreak in Europe, more than 43,000 deaths have been confirmed, and Northern Ireland has the highest infection rate in the UK.
Since the outbreak, 1,156 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people have been reported in Northern Ireland, 995 in Wales, 960 in the UK and 755 in Scotland.
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