UK Health Sec Matt Hancock faces a backlash after stating that on Thursday night, the UK government applied new guidelines on closure rules for some areas of North West England, which were “absolutely clear. ”
During an interview with Sky News on Friday, Hancock defended the government’s hasty late-night announcement regarding restrictions being imposed on parts of Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire in response to spikes in coronavirus cases. .
Hancock rejected claims that the new guide was confusing, insisting that they were “crystal clear,” and designed to cause as little disruption as possible. He said rules had been established to reduce the transmission of the fatal disease from one home to another.
Matt Hancock says “the rules are absolutely clear” and adds that “the evidence shows that the greatest risk in terms of the spread of this virus in this area is transmission at home when people are seen in their homes … and also friends and family visit “pic.twitter.com/q7xI4z91Ng
– SkyNews (@SkyNews) July 31, 2020
The ban, which came into effect at midnight three hours in advance, restricts the mixing of two or more known homes in all interior settings, be they homes or social spaces such as pubs, cafes, restaurants. However, people in the affected areas will still be able to mix with strangers in these places, and even go on vacation with another home.
UK media reported that some local public health directors did not know about the new guide until Hancock made an announcement in a short video after 9 p.m. BST on Thursday.
The government finally released the guide at 22 minutes past midnight. Notably, while individuals will be fined £ 100 for breaking the rules, the law to enforce this does not yet exist.
Chaos reigned for people in the affected northwestern regions with accusations of mixed messages and meaningless new rules, which ran until Friday morning. Many people on Twitter have had problems with whom households can and cannot interact with and where.
A commenter tweeted: “So they can’t go to each other’s house anymore … but everyone can meet up at the pub and go on vacation together.”
Someone else suggested that the new guideline had to do with safeguarding “Profits” made by companies to the detriment of the families they socialize.
So basically it amounts to “People can’t get together unless big business benefits from it.” Gotcha
– Oi, Mario, pipe down (@JohnSlaterITFC) July 31, 2020
Others rated the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis as a “S ** t show” urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration to focus on the ultimate solution, such as improving its much-maligned Covid-19 test and trace system.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is responsible for one of the affected regions, told Sky News that he supports the restrictions to prevent people from dying of coronavirus.
However, in what was perhaps a veiled excavation at Hancock, he said that UK ministers had “A habit of saying something and after a few hours until the details emerge.”
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