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At the end of the year, the UK is about to usher in the biggest Christmas and New Years holidays of the year. However, whether it is the third round of lockdown triggered by the severity of the new corona pneumonia epidemic or the difficult Brexit negotiations that are still ongoing and are likely to face a “difficult Brexit” situation. “This Christmas and New Year holidays in Britain are not easy.
Although the UK has started the new corona pneumonia vaccination from 8 December, issues such as long vaccine delivery time and slow vaccination progress have often occurred, resulting in to the limited positive effect of the vaccine in the prevention and control of the British epidemic at this stage. Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, recently warned that although the mass vaccination program has started, if people do not comply with quarantine requirements, new cases of crowns will again “catastrophically” increase. He stressed that it is crucial to ensure that 20 million people are vaccinated before the government substantially relaxes restrictions.
And the facts are as the experts say. The British “Guardian” reported on the 18th that the number of newly confirmed cases in the UK on the 17th was as high as 35,383, which is the highest number of recently confirmed cases in a single day. What is more concerning is that the total number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the UK has exceeded 1.98 million, but only 4,264 have been cured and cumulative deaths have exceeded 66,000. The number of confirmed cases currently exceeds 1.91 million. The confirmed population has put tremendous pressure on the British healthcare system. According to The Guardian, the number of confirmed patients with new coronary pneumonia currently receiving treatment at the hospital has reached 18,000, an increase of 3,000 from last week. More and more hospitals in England have already experienced a shortage of beds, patients have to be transferred to other hospitals and some operations have also been canceled.
This week’s report in the Independent newspaper cited a warning from the head of the British public health system in England that London-area hospital beds will be exhausted in a few weeks. Based on the current situation, as of January 5, 2021, the London area of hospitals will face a gap of 600 emergency beds and 1,500 ordinary beds. The report also revealed that earlier this week, the daily increase in the number of emergency patients in London’s district hospitals was 9%.
Faced with the serious epidemic situation, various parts of the UK have started to consider resuming the national blockade that was just lifted on December 2. The BBC reported that due to the high number of new confirmed cases every day and the epidemic has no obvious signs of relief, all regions of the UK are reassessing the current epidemic situation and have or are preparing to implement control measures. more stringent. Northern Ireland and Wales will regain lockdown on December 26 and 28, respectively. Scotland and England are also considering entering a lockdown.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously proposed that there should be no more than 3 families attending the same meeting on December 23-27, but they should follow epidemic prevention and control guidelines, such as wearing masks indoors or organize the meeting outdoors as much as possible. Travel restrictions will also be temporarily lifted during the holiday season. However, the steep curve of new cases in recent days has made the implementation of a total lockdown and preventing people from gathering over the Christmas and New Year holidays have become the focus of recent British public opinion. The Johnson administration has been questioned by all parties in recent days.
The British Medical Association asked government officials to reconsider the Christmas epidemic prevention regulations, and two of Britain’s leading medical journals rarely published joint social criticism, opposing the government to make an exception for the Christmas holidays to relax. The restrictions. “The Guardian” reported on the 15th that the “British Medical Journal” and “Health Service Journal” criticized the British government for making a “reckless” decision, which is “another big mistake that will cost many people.” Scientists and doctors warned that the lax policy of allowing family gatherings during Christmas will lead to an increase of at least 4,000 patients with new coronary pneumonia. Former British Health Minister Jeremy Hunt also believes that the government should consider changing the holiday epidemic prevention plan, otherwise the national post-holiday health system will face a “very, very dangerous situation. and uncertain “. He also said that the British government must make a difficult and weighed decision repeatedly. It would be a tragedy if large numbers of Britons died from new coronary pneumonia in late January and early February, when vaccination began in the UK. The attitude of the Johnson administration also faltered. Although he admitted that the cancellation of the Christmas and New Year holidays was “cruel,” he went from insisting on the New Year’s party plan on the 14th to refusing to rule out the possibility of a third total blockade on the 19th.
Also tangled up by senior British officials are the Brexit negotiations that will expire on January 1, 2021. Under the previous agreement between the UK and the European Union, the two sides must agree on specific Brexit details before New Years Day 2021 , and pass them in the British Parliament and the European Parliament respectively, otherwise trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union will return directly to the framework of the World Trade Organization to “hard Brexit”. “The way to end Brexit that lasted more than three years.
So far, UK and EU negotiators are still wrestling over the details of the Brexit deal, such as whether EU fishing vessels can fish in British waters and whether the relevant deals, including the € 750 billion economic recovery plan. EU euros, violate the principle of fair competition. The two sides are stagnant. Recently, British public opinion has gradually increased concerns about a “hard Brexit”. The British “Financial Times” reported that the President of the European Commission, von der Lein, posted on social media that there are still major differences between the UK and Europe, especially on the issue of fishing rights. According to the report, Johnson has made it clear that he cannot accept the EU’s request – that is, within eight years after Brexit, EU fishing vessels will still be able to fish in British waters.
New Year’s Eve is approaching, and both Britain and Europe have declared that there is not much time left for each other. Whether it’s choosing to leave the EU with a deal or a “hard Brexit” without a deal, Britain and Europe keep gambling. The Confederation of British Industry recently stated that since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the impact of Brexit has been unpredictable and UK business investment has continued to be held back by uncertainty. The agency predicts that UK business investment will fall 17.5% in 2020.
Representative business organizations, including the Federation of British Industry, are concerned that this uncertainty will hamper investment in the new year. The agency also predicted that the British economy will fall 1.7% in the fourth quarter of this year, leading to a general economic recession of 11.1% in 2020, making it the worst year for the British economy since 1709.Return to Sohu to see more
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