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Original caption: The second outbreak is fierce, British Prime Minister Johnson announced another complete lockdown. Source: The Associated Press
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Boris Johnson) announced on Saturday (October 31) local time, that as the epidemic continues, England will begin a second total lockdown for a month to slow the spread of the virus. A few hours before this decision was made, the number of new corona infections in the country surpassed the dismal 1 million milestone.
The latest blocking measures will take effect from Thursday (November 5) and will end on December 2.
Johnson told a news conference that people will have to stay home if it is not for necessary purposes (such as education, medical treatment or grocery shopping). Bars and restaurants must be closed, except for take away food. Some industries that cannot work from home, such as construction and manufacturing, will also be exempt from this restriction.Unlike the first full closure this spring, UK primary schools, universities and other campuses will remain open during the closure.
Extension of financial aid for unemployed employees
In addition, Johnson also announced that during the shutdown, the British government will extend the financial assistance program for employees on leave.Ensure that temporarily unemployed workers receive 80% of their salary.。
The UK introduced an 80% wage subsidy program in March, which expires on Saturday. The UK Finance Ministry said that after the government extends the employment subsidy program, companies will only need to cover 5% of labor costs.
The UK Treasury also stated that it will extend the mortgage payment holidays for homes and businesses, and they will also receive a monthly subsidy of up to £ 3,000 (US $ 3,881).
The second outbreak is fierce
For the past few weeks, out of economic concerns, Johnson has been calling for opposition to a national lockdown, preferring to adopt partial restrictions. Now, with the second most dangerous epidemic, he has to change his approach.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the current average weekly number of new cases in the UK has surpassed 22,600, which is much higher than the data during the first peak this spring, when the average weekly number of cases new was only 4,800. . Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all implement their own epidemic prevention policies.
Currently, the number of confirmed cases in the UK has exceeded one million, reaching 1,014,793, and the death toll has reached 46,645.
Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said on Saturday that the predictive model showed thatIn the coming winter, the number of deaths from Covid-19 in the country may be “double or more” than the first wave. He warned that if no action is taken, the British National Medical Service System’s hospital utilization rate will exceed its peak at the end of November, and the capacity for additional beds will peak in December.
In recent weeks, Europe has once again become the “epicenter” of the global epidemic. Before the UK announced this measure, Germany and France also announced new nationwide lockdown measures last week to contain the epidemic before Christmas.
