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Up to 690 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants – The situation of the crown in the north of England is of great concern to health experts. Therefore, Prime Minister Johnson is in a bind, because a new lockdown is not an option.
By Thomas Spickhofen, ARD-Studio London
Carl Hindley is the owner of the Pure Night Lounge in Liverpool. “We are already on the brink,” he says on the BBC. In the last two weeks, sales have fallen enormously, from 20 to 30 percent. However, Hindley should expect his club to close again soon.
Currently 600 new infections are measured per 100,000 inhabitants per week in Liverpool, 530 in Manchester and even 690 in Nottingham. Northern England, in particular, is firmly dominated by the virus. “We are at an important crossroads,” say government advisers and scientists such as Peter Horby, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford. “The number of infections is increasing, the number of hospital admissions is increasing, as is the number of deaths. I’m afraid we are at a sensitive point.”
The health system threatens to become overloaded again
The equipment in hospitals is better now than it was in the spring, though, Horby says. And you also know more about the virus. But as in March, the task now is to avoid overloading the health system.
“We must not go back to a situation where we postpone important treatments and then have a traffic jam.” All treatments with and without Covid-19 would have to be done. “And that will only work if we reduce the spread of the virus. We are already noticing how some hospitals in the north are under pressure again.”
Help for Needy Businesses Announced
In the House of Commons, Boris Johnson wants to announce on Monday how and where things will go. The head of government wants to avoid a national shutdown at all costs. On Friday, his finance minister, Rishi Sunak, announced a new aid package to save jobs: the government wants to take over two-thirds of the salary if a company has to close again because of Corona. “I hope this gives people and the business community a safety net in what can be a difficult winter,” Sunak said.
Sunak’s words suggest radical shutdowns are planned.
