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After persisting for weeks with local and regional restrictions, Johnson announced over the weekend that a new nationwide lockdown would take effect starting Thursday and ending on December 2.
FILE: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech during his visit to Dudley College of Technology in Dudley, central England, on June 30, 2020. Image: AFP
LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday defended his belated decision to impose a second coronavirus lockdown, as critics said it could have saved “thousands” of lives by acting earlier.
After persisting for weeks with local and regional restrictions, Johnson announced over the weekend that a new nationwide lockdown would take effect from Thursday and end on December 2, aligning England with other parts of the UK and Europe.
Scientific models show that without immediate action, the number of deaths during the winter months could double those of the first wave earlier this year, and hospitals would soon be overwhelmed, Johnson told the House of Commons.
“I really regret the anguish these measures will impose, particularly for companies that have just recovered,” he said.
“But now it is clear that we must do more together.”
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of a “catastrophic leadership failure”, but Johnson vowed “not to apologize” for resisting a previous national shutdown, given the impact on lives, mental health and livelihoods.
“I think it was right to try all possible options to control this virus locally,” he said.
The intensified response came as Britain surpassed one million cases, while its number of coronavirus-related deaths is approaching 47,000, the worst figure in Europe.
LAST ORDERS
The government is expanding a UK-wide leave scheme to support salaries for staff in closed companies that was due to expire on October 31.
Lisa Wright, who runs the King’s Arms pub in the Yorkshire town of Askrigg, welcomed the change in license, saying another national closure was “inevitable.”
“But it is still very sad,” he told AFP.
“You know, we are here to provide service. We are here to give people a little relaxation time, and that has to end again. And that is quite difficult to take as a business.”
Starting Thursday, non-essential retailers in England will close, including hospitality venues like pubs and restaurants, except for takeaways.
Resting members of Johnson’s Conservative party, warning of further damage to the faltering economy, threatened to challenge the prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.
Conservative supporter Charles Walker said he would vote against a “more drift toward an authoritarian and coercive state,” but the restrictions will remain approved with the support of opposition parties.
‘ERROR CATALOG’
Labor’s Starmer noted that government scientists, in late September, had called for a two-week “circuit breaker” during the October midterm school holidays.
Johnson rejected that proposal at the time, saying just a fortnight ago that calls for another national shutdown were “the height of absurdity.”
“I cannot forgive the catalog of mistakes that have cost lives and livelihoods,” Starmer told a virtual annual meeting of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
“The central lesson of the first wave was ignored: that to control this virus you have to act early and decisively, and that if you don’t, the cost to people’s health and the health of the economy is very, very much. “worse.”
CBI CEO Carolyn Fairbairn said the measures will be “truly devastating for businesses.”
But Professor Andrew Hayward, one of the scientists advising the government on coronavirus planning, said the September proposal would have caused much less damage.
“I think if we had chosen a two-week circuit break at that time, we would definitely have saved thousands of lives,” he told BBC radio.
“And clearly we would have inflicted substantially less damage to our economy than the proposed four-week shutdown.”
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