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Summary
- New stay at home rules to last till 15 February in England and 31 January in Scotland
- A complete shutdown of schools and businesses to contain the coronavirus spread
The British prime minister Boris Johnson announced last night that there would be a complete shutdown of the schools and businesses across England beginning today, as the Covid-19 cases rise at an alarming rate. He informed that the hospitals are under tremendous pressure from the rising cases since the beginning of the pandemic. This lockdown would be similar to the one announced last year during spring. The stricter rules are expected to last until mid-February, said Johnson.
In a similar move, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister has announced that a new lockdown is being enforced from the midnight of January 5 across Scotland. These restrictions are going to last till the end of this month, she said. Scotland registered 1900 new cases of the deadly virus on January 4.
(Image Source: © Kalkine Group 2020)
Johnson said that despite the new lockdown, one thing was different from the last year. It is that the nation has rolled out the biggest vaccination program in its entire history. He informed that Britain had inoculated more people as compared to the rest of the Europe as a whole, which is a big achievement.
He added that by the end of February, if things go as planned, the UK would have given the first vaccine dose to all people in the main four priority groups chosen by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation.
Let us now take a closer look at the details of both these lockdowns.
England
- People to ‘stay at home’ except for reasons similar to the last March lockdown – essentials, buying food, medical needs, work if not possible from home, and exercise
- Schools and colleges to close; support and childcare bubbles to continue
- Individuals allowed to meet one person from another household for the purpose of outdoor exercising
- Outdoor sports venues to close except outdoor playgrounds
- Restaurants can offer food delivery but alcohol takeaway not allowed
With the new restrictions, business leaders are worried about the limited amount of financial support. Adam Marshall, director general, British Chambers of Commerce said that affected firms should be given some additional support to survive the tough period.
Scotland
- Individuals can leave home merely for essential services similar to the last spring lockdown
- People not to go to workplace even in cases where work-from-home is not possible
- Only two people from up to two households are allowed to meet outdoors; this excludes under 11 kids who may play outside with each other
- Places of worship closed
Further, Northern Ireland is also going to have an extended period of remote learning with new set of tighter rules to be announced today, according to media sources.
