LONDON – Stadiums and concert halls in England may reopen in the fall, but nightclubs will remain closed. All schools will welcome students in September, but wedding receptions will be limited to 30 people. And although pubs and restaurants reopened in England earlier this month, local authorities will be given new powers to close them when coronavirus cases flare up.
As Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a roadmap on Friday to simultaneously ease blockade restrictions and stem the spread of the coronavirus in the coming months, steps toward reopening came with a clear warning: there will be no “return significant “to normal” until November at the earliest, and “possibly in time for Christmas”.
Britain has suffered more than any other European country from the coronavirus, with more than 45,000 deaths and almost 300,000 infected, although it has managed to significantly reduce the number of victims after they sharply increased in April and May.
Still, the shutdown has shaken businesses large and small, with at least 650,000 jobs lost in the pandemic’s first months, and the country is expected to record its biggest annual drop in GDP in 300 years.
Now, as the country prepares for a second wave of coronavirus infections, Johnson is walking a tightrope as he tries to restart the economy, people will no longer be encouraged to work from home starting next month, while ensures that the country’s health service is not overwhelmed.
“I know that some will say that this plan is too optimistic, that the risks are too great and that we will not overcome the virus in time,” Johnson added at a press conference from Downing Street.
Britain should “hope for the best,” he added, but “plan for the worst.” The changes she announced on Friday apply only to England, as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have broad freedom to set their own guidelines in response to the pandemic.
Analyzing what will be possible and what will not be possible in the coming weeks and months, Johnson made it clear that until there is a widely available vaccine and there is no increase in new cases, the British must be prepared to bounce back and forth. other. between smoothed restrictions and new stops.
“The schedule that I’m about to set is conditional,” Johnson said. “It is contingent that each of us remain alert and act responsibly.”
However, any changes in the future are likely to be localized, Johnson said, as England moves from “general” measures to “specific” measures. Local authorities will be given extended powers to cancel events or close public spaces if they face outbreaks, as was the case in Leicester, 100 miles north of London, where a second closure was imposed.
On Friday, Johnson also announced that the government would provide an additional three billion pounds ($ 3.75 billion) for Britain’s revered National Health Service, which was the subject of widespread adulation even when the government was accused of mishandling the crisis.
“We are making sure that we are ready for winter and we are planning the worst,” Johnson said.
Perhaps more than in any other European country, opposition politicians, experts and organizations in Britain have denounced the authorities’ response to the pandemic as fraught with failure and false promise.
Britain has been one of the most affected countries in the world, as the pandemic has disproportionately affected minorities, devastated their nursing homes, and exacerbated concerns about the economic prospects for a Brexit no deal.
A plan to track coronavirus infections has largely failed, and Johnson’s announcements have left many baffled. When Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings ignored the shutdown measures, the protest turned against the prime minister, just months after his Conservative Party won the parliamentary election by overwhelming applause.
Johnson gave a careful tone on Friday when he announced that authorities would soon stop encouraging people to work from home. It is up to companies to develop plans for a gradual return to work.
“Instead of the government telling people to work from home, we will give employers more discretion and ask them to make decisions about how their staff can work safely,” he said.
Mr. Johnson’s announcements also paved the way for the possible reopening of West End theaters, although operators have long said that organizing an audience and maintaining social distancing would not be feasible.
In England, pubs and restaurants were allowed to start housing customers inside earlier this month, and indoor gyms and pools may reopen next week, at the same time that masks will be mandatory in stores. and supermarkets.
