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London, Thanasis Gavos
A third general lockdown for all of England “strong enough to contain the coronavirus.” announced in a speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
As he said, the country’s chief physicians recommended that all areas be included in the fifth and highest level of restrictions, as otherwise the NHS national health system is threatened with saturation and collapse.
Johnson said citizens now have an obligation to stay home except in limited cases, that is, go out for necessary purchases, work if telecommuting is not really possible, provide assistance to vulnerable people, for health reasons and exercise a once a day, as well as to escape domestic violence. In daily exercise one can be accompanied by a person with whom he does not live.
Furthermore, again after the first lockdown in spring, the most vulnerable citizens are called to isolate themselves for their protection.
All secondary technical schools and colleges will be closed from tomorrow, except for vulnerable students and the children of workers in critical positions. However, the kindergartens will be open, while the bubbles of child care and support will remain.
According to the British prime minister, he expects schools to reopen after the February holidays, which this year are scheduled for the 15-19 week of the month.
Explaining the lockdown, Johnson said the NHS was under more pressure than ever in the pandemic. In one week, the number of hospitalizations in England rose by a third, to almost 27,000, more than 40% more than the peak of the first wave.
He attributed the deteriorating condition to the new mutated strain of the coronavirus, which, he said, scientists say is 50% to 70% more contagious.
He confirmed that he was calling the House of Commons on Wednesday to pass the law establishing the shutdown, but stressed that the new measures must be implemented immediately.
Boris Johnson noted, however, that there is a big difference compared to last spring’s shutdown and that is the development of vaccines against the coronavirus.
He said Britain had vaccinated more citizens than the EU member states combined.
He set a schedule for the progress of vaccinations, saying that if all goes well by mid-February, everyone who falls into the first four priority categories will be vaccinated – that is, all nursing home residents and workers, all citizens over 70 years old. all front-line medical and nursing staff and all extremely vulnerable citizens.
This will allow many of the restrictions to be lifted, Johnson said, although he noted that it would take an additional two to three week delay to build immunity from the last vaccinated and another period to ease pressure on the NHS.
Concluding his speech, the British prime minister said the next few weeks will be the most difficult, but said he was confident that the country was entering the final stage of the pandemic with the arrival of vaccines, which he called a “miracle of The science”.
According to government directives that followed Johnson’s eight-minute speech, all stores are closed in areas where they were still open, the restaurant will remain open for home delivery and packaged meals only, all sports facilities will be closed but Las major professional leagues such as the Premier League, playgrounds will remain open, as well as places of worship, but only for prayer, and students are asked not to return to universities but to attend classes from their place of current residence until at least the middle of February.
Previously, the local government of Scotland announced a new general lockdown in late January, and Wales and Northern Ireland made the same decision.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
