England heads back into lockdown for a month

England is being sent back inside, a return to a national lockdown after a troublesome surge of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday another 21,915 people were registered as new cases, and 326 died across the UK. Since the start of the pandemic in the UK there have been 1,011,660 cases and 46,555 deaths, a statistical death rate of 4.5%.

The BritishPM Boris Johnson says the second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the country’s health service. The UK which has ended up with the highest official death toll in Europe from Covid-19, is tying to cope with more than 20,000+ new cases a day. Health officials are warning of a “worst case scenario” of 80,000+ dead.

The news of the new lockdown measures was leaked to the media so Mr. Johnson had to hastily convene a public press announcement. He says that the 1-month lockdown across England will start after midnight on Thursday and last until December 2.

People will only be allowed to leave home for specific reasons such as education, hopping for essentials, work, exercise or caring for the vulnerable. “We must act now. Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day.

”The government is reviving its emergency coronavirus wage subsidy scheme to ensure workers who are temporarily laid off during a new England-wide lockdown receive 80% of their pay.

• Essential shops, schools, and universities will remain open

• Elite sports will continue, amateur sports for adults and children will be asked to stop

• Pubs and restaurants will be shut apart from for takeaways

• Outbound international travel will be discouraged, except for work

• All non-essential retail will close

• Places of worship will remain open for private prayer, tfunerals will be limited to close family members only

The measures bring England into line with measures in France and Germany. Johnson was earlier criticised by political opponents for moving too slowly to initiate the first national lockdown, which ended up running from March 23 to July 4.

The British PM eventually succumbed to a bout with Covid-19 in late March and was hospitalised in early April. Mr. Johnson has been saying for months that it will not be necessary.

Credit: The Thaiger