This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/stay-at-home-uks-johnson-ramps-up-response-to-virus/2020/03/23/23d31a76-6d65-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_world

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
‘Stay at home’: UK’s Johnson ramps up response to virus UK clamps down to fight virus, but confusion still reigns
(about 13 hours later)
LONDON — Britain has become the latest European country to go into effective lockdown to deal with the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday sweeping curbs on everyday activity including the banning of any gatherings of more than two people who do not live together. LONDON — Confusion rippled through Britain Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a three-week halt to all non-essential activity to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.
As well as instructing the public to “stay at home” for all but a few exceptions, Johnson said he was ordering shops that don’t sell essential goods, such as food and medicines, to close immediately. Streets were empty but some subways were full. Hairdressers were closed but construction sites were open. Divorced parents wondered whether their children could continue to see them both.
In as somber an address to the nation as any prime minister has arguably delivered since World War II, Johnson said it was critical to prevent the virus from spreading between households and that police would be authorized to break up gatherings of more than two people from different households in public in order to deal with the “biggest threat this country has faced for decades.” The government has ordered most stores to close, banned gatherings of three or more people who don’t live together and told everyone apart from essential workers to leave home only to buy food and medicines or to exercise.
“I must give the British people a very simple instruction,” the prime minister said while seated behind a desk. “You must stay at home.” “You must stay at home,” Johnson said in a somber address to the nation on Monday evening.
The measures announced mark a departure from the British government’s until-now more relaxed approach to the worldwide pandemic, which has stood in contrast to the lockdowns put in place elsewhere in Europe, notably in Italy, France and Spain. Though Britain has already closed schools, bars and restaurants and urged people to stay home, the advice for people to keep their distance have either been ignored or not understood fully enough — concerns over the strategy were stoked over the past weekend when many of the country’s open spaces were packed out in the sunny weather. But photos showed crowded trains on some London subway lines Tuesday morning amid confusion about who was still allowed to go to work.
Under the measures which Johnson did not term as a lockdown, people will only be allowed to leave home for a few “very limited purposes” to relieve the pressure on the National Health Service, Johnson said. Julia Harris, a London nurse, said her morning train to work was full.
These include shopping for basic necessities “as infrequently as possible,” one form of exercise a day done alone or with household members, medical reasons or travelling to work that cannot be done from home or that is “absolutely necessary.” “I worry for my health more on my commute than actually being in the hospital,” she said.
“That’s all — these are the only reasons you should leave your home,” Johnson said. “To ensure compliance with the government’s instruction to stay at home, we will immediately close all shops selling non-essential goods, including clothing and electronic stores and other premises, including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship.” Sporting goods chain Sports Direct said its shops would remain open, arguing that selling exercise equipment was an essential service. It reversed course after an outcry from the public and officials.
Social events, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, will also be stopped. Funerals are exempt. Parks will also remain open for exercise, but any gatherings will be broken up. Many building sites remained open, with construction workers among those crowding onto early-morning subways.
Johnson said the police will have the power to enforce the new requirements, including through fines and dispersing gatherings, and that these emergency measures will be in place for at least three weeks, subject to constant review. Electrician Dan Dobson said construction workers felt “angry and unprotected,” but felt they had to keep working.
Johnson has come under mounting pressure to introduce tougher measures in response after many people were seen out in public over the weekend not properly observing the government’s social distancing recommendations of staying at least two meters apart. “None of them want to go to work, everyone is worried about taking it home to their families,” he said. “But they still have bills to pay, they still have rent to pay, they still have to buy food.”
Officials at Snowdonia National Park in Wales, for example, introduced its own restrictions and urged the government to be more explicit with its social distancing advice after its “busiest visitor weekend in living memory.” And responding to the visibly high use of parks and the London Underground during the outbreak, London Mayor Sadiq Khan implored people to stay at home unless they “absolutely need to” move about the city. British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak defended keeping construction sites open, insisting it could be done safely.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock had earlier expressed frustration at the failure of many to abide by the government’s restrictions, describing those who gathered in groups up and down the land as “very selfish.” But London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: “I cannot say this more strongly: we must stop all non-essential use of public transport now. Employers: please support your staff to work from home unless it’s absolutely necessary. Ignoring these rules means more lives lost.”
The U.K. had the 10th-highest number of virus cases in the world, 5,903, and the sixth-highest number of virus-related deaths as of Monday, according to tallies from Johns Hopkins University. British government figures showed that 54 more people with the virus had died since Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 335. Many families were also confused by the new rules.
New infections are seemingly increasing at an exponential rate, raising concern that the country will be on a trajectory like Italy’s in a week or two if containment efforts are not successful. After Johnson said people should not mingle outside of their household units, separated parents asked whether their children could still travel between their homes. In a series of television and radio interviews, Cabinet minister Michael Gove initially said children should not move between households, before clarifying that it was permitted.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever or coughing. But for some older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Over 100,000 people have recovered, mostly in China. The restrictions are the most draconian ever imposed by a British government in peacetime. But they don’t go as far as lockdowns in Italy and France, where people need a document authorizing their movements.
“The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost,” Johnson said. “And yet it is also true that there is a clear way through .… And therefore, I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.” The government said police would have powers to break up illegal gatherings and fine people who flout the rules. But some expressed doubts about whether the lockdown could be enforced.
Britain has lost thousands of police officers during a decade of public spending cuts by Conservative-led governments. Johnson has promised to recruit 20,000 more police officers, but those efforts are still in the early stages. Unlike some other European countries, Britons do not carry ID cards, another factor complicating enforcement efforts.
“There is no way really that the police can enforce this using powers. It has got to be because the public hugely support it,” Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, told the BBC.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever or coughing. But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Hospitals in Italy and Spain have been overwhelmed by the critically ill.
Britain has recorded 6,650 coronavirus cases and 335 deaths. Intensive care departments in London, the hardest-hit city, are being inundated with COVID-19 patients. Johnson warned that the National Health Service could be overwhelmed within weeks unless people took the lockdown seriously.
Critics say British authorities have acted too slowly to avert an Italy-scale crisis. Schools were closed less than a week ago, and pubs and restaurants were only shuttered on Friday.
Andrea Collins, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said the new restrictions were welcome but didn’t go far enough.
“The ‘absolutely’ necessary to go to work is still being used by some when it is not required — I think we need permits across controlled areas to go to a workplace,” she said. “Home working is hard for many but it is possible, we just need to adapt to a new way of being.”
______
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Pan Pylas contributed to this story,
___
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.