Monday, November 2, 2020
In an unfortunate turn of situations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared a month-long national lockdown across England once again. The decision arrived following a second wave of active coronavirus infections, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases above one million and overwhelming impact and pressure on the healthcare.
Prime Minister Johnson announced that the latest lockdown will begin on Thursday and continue until December 2, 2020. All residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific essential reasons like education, work, exercise, shopping for necessities, medical emergency or caring for the ones in need. All non-essential retail has been asked to remain closed and pubs and restaurants have also been asked to shut except for takeaways.
However, essential shops, schools, and universities will remain open during the lockdown. All non-essential overseas leisure travel will also be prohibited as a part of the lockdown. The government has also decided to revive its emergency coronavirus wage subsidy scheme in order to ensure that workers who face temporary lay-offs during the new nationwide lockdown receive 80% of their pay.
The United Kingdom currently has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe and has recorded more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases in a day. The imposition of stricter curbs came after scientists warned that the worst case scenario of 80,000 dead is likely to be exceeded if immediate action is not undertaken to curb the spread of the virus. Johnson announced that the time to take action has arrived as there is no alternative.
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid-19, England, England Tourism, Lockdown, United Kingdom
