[ad_1]
LONDON (REUTERS) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday that the coronavirus blockade has yet to end, urging people to “stay alert” to the risks as he outlined plans to begin slowly easing measures that have shut down much of the economy for almost seven weeks
While his government instructed England, he wants the other constituent nations of the United Kingdom, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to take the same approach. But there were immediate divisions, with Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying he stuck to the existing “stay home” message.
Johnson announced a limited limitation on the restrictions, which include allowing people to exercise outdoors more frequently and encouraging those who cannot work from home to return to their jobs.
“This is not the time simply to end the blockade this week,” he said in a televised speech. Instead, we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures. “
The Johnson government has faced criticism from opposition parties and others for its handling of the pandemic, and the prime minister is cautious about removing the brakes too soon.
Britain’s death toll from the coronavirus, 31,855, is the second highest in the world, behind only the United States. Most of the cases and deaths have been in England.
Opposition parties criticized the government’s decision to replace its “stay home” slogan, which appeared in the public for weeks, and dismissed the new “stay alert” message as too ambiguous.
Johnson previously tweeted a new government poster with rules including “staying home as much as possible,” “limiting contact with others” and “keeping your distance if you go out.”
In his speech, Johnson said people should continue to work from home if they could, but starting Monday, those who cannot, such as people who work in construction and manufacturing, should be “actively encouraged to go to work.”
Starting Wednesday, people will be allowed to do unlimited amounts of exercise outdoors, he said, and will be able to sit in the sun at their local park, drive to other destinations and play sports with members of their own home.
Until now, people were expected to exercise outdoors once a day, to do it locally, and despite recent periods of warm weather, they told him not to go to the parks to sit in the sun.
Johnson still has to obey social distancing rules, Johnson said, adding that the fines would increase for those who break them.
He detailed an alert system that goes from level 1, where the virus is no longer present, to level 5, the most critical, which will allow the government to point out the risks in different parts of England and decrease or increase restrictions whenever it is. necessary.
Sturgeon, from Scotland, said the only modification he was making to the blocking measures was to allow people to exercise more than once a day.
“(That) is the only change that the Scottish government judges is safe to make at this time without risking a rapid resurgence of the virus,” he said at a press conference.
Sturgeon also said he had asked the UK government not to use its “alert” advertising campaign in Scotland.
Occupational health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth also criticized the slogan “stay alert.” “A lot of people will be puzzled,” she told BBC TV. “This virus really exploits ambivalence and thrives on ambiguity, we need clarity at all times.”
SLOW AND CAUTION
Britain’s economy, the fifth largest in the world, has been affected by the pandemic and blockade measures.
The government has faced constant questions from Labor and others about why the country was not blocked before, why it has struggled to administer mass tests, and why there has been a shortage of protective equipment for doctors and care workers.
Johnson himself is recovering after falling seriously ill with Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, last month.
The Sunday Times reported that scientific advisers had told the government that deaths could exceed 100,000 by the end of the year if the closure measures are relaxed too quickly. As of Sunday, Britain had reported some 219,183 confirmed infections.
Johnson said that before June 1, the government may be in a position to begin the gradual reopening of stores and take elementary students to schools in stages.
By July at the latest, and if infection rates support it, there could be a reopening of at least part of the hotel industry and other public places, provided they are safe and reinforce social distancing, he added.
With the death rate falling and hospital admissions, Johnson said it would be “crazy” to allow a second increase in infections.
The changes will be closely monitored at the local, regional and national levels and the government “would not hesitate to stop” if there are outbreaks, he said.
[ad_2]
