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New rules on the coronavirus in England that prohibit social gatherings of more than six people will not remain in force “longer than necessary,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
“This sacrifice is vital to control the virus in the long term,” he told deputies.
The law takes effect on Monday and will be enforced by a £ 100 fine.
Hancock was also interrupted by some MPs when he spoke about the government’s plans for mass coronavirus testing, after concerns that it was unrealistic.
Scientists and health professionals have said that the technology for the government’s plan for faster testing “does not yet exist,” and there are already problems with laboratory capacity.
Groups of six
The new “rule of six” was established by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, as the UK reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the fourth day in a row.
It is applied both indoors and outdoors and for all ages, although there are some exceptions, such as work meetings.
On Thursday, Scotland changed its rules on socializing to a maximum of six people inside and outside, but unlike England, they must be from two households and children under 12 are exempt.
- What are the new rules?
- The new rules in Scotland
“As the medical director said yesterday, we must learn from the recent experience of countries like Belgium that have successfully implemented these measures to combat a similar increase in infections,” Hancock said in Parliament on Thursday.
“These are not measures that we take lightly. I understand that for many it will mean changing long-awaited plans or missing precious moments with loved ones, but this sacrifice is vital to control the virus in the long term and save lives.” .
“And I promise that we will not keep these rules in place for longer than necessary.”
Earlier, Hancock’s colleague, Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps, said that if everyone played by the rules “we might as well be at Christmas time to look at it again.”
Former government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson said it will take about “two to three weeks” to see what effect the social distancing measures have.
“So we have to wait at this point and see how much we flatten the curve and then if that’s not enough to bring the breeding number below one, for the epidemic to start to slow down again, then yes, we may have to take drastic measures in other areas. “
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Professor Ferguson, whose advice to the prime minister led to the UK shutdown, said it was inevitable that the virus would resurface in all age groups.
And when asked about government pressure to get people back to work, Professor Ferguson added: “Certainly, I think we should hesitate and maybe pause in the headlong rush to get everyone back to offices. .
“But some people have to work and I fully understand the concerns in many quarters that everyone who works from home has an economic impact, particularly in city centers.”
At a glance: What are the new rules?
- The law will not allow social gatherings of more than six people in England. from Monday, September 14
- The new rule applies to people in private homes, indoor and outdoor, and places like pubs, restaurants, cafes, and public outdoor spaces
- That applies to all ages
- Rule does not apply to schools and workplaces, to people living together or in the same support bubble, or to weddings, funerals, and organized team sports
- The full list of exemptions also includes protests and political activities subject to “strict risk assessments”, jury duty and emergency assistance.
- People who ignore the police could be fined £ 100 – double with each violation up to a maximum of £ 3,200
Mr. Hancock was also asked about the government’s testing plan.
The government’s next immediate goal is to increase testing capacity to 500,000 tests per day by the end of October. Currently, the testing capacity is reported to be 350,000 per day, which includes swab tests (which check to see if you currently have the virus) and antibody tests (which check if someone has already had the virus).
But the government is also planning “Operation Moonshot,” which aims to see millions of evidence processed every day.
This would involve the use of a new type of test, which has not yet been implemented, which includes swabs or saliva and can give results in 90 or even 20 minutes.
Hancock was interrupted by some opposition MPs when he described “Moonshot”, responding: “I am absolutely determined to get there.
“And if all goes well, and if the technology goes wrong, it will be possible for even challenging sectors like theaters to move closer to normal before Christmas.”
He said the approach was being tested and steps are being taken to verify the new technology before a desired national rollout.
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A man wipes his mouth in Bolton, facing local lockdown restrictions
Earlier, the president of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said it was unclear how Operation Moonshot would work, given the “huge problems” currently seen with the laboratory’s capacity.
And other scientists warned about the dangers of false negatives and false positives.
On Thursday, Scotland launched its new contact tracing app, and Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged as many people as possible to download it.
The contact tracing app being developed in England ran into glitches and is currently being tested after a facelift.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from England’s Test and Trace program showed mixed performance.
There has been a slight improvement in response times for tests (results for people going to test centers and mobile units are done in 23 and 20 hours, respectively, on average) two weeks ago, both had been slipped more than 24 hours.
But for the second week in a row, contact trackers were only able to reach less than 70% of the close contacts of infected people, well below the target of 80%.
Dr Layla McCay of the NHS Confederation said the figures were a “cause for grave alarm”.
In other developments:
- The number of people who have died from the virus worldwide reaches 900,000
- A new law will also require companies such as pubs, restaurants, hair salons and cinemas to record customer contact details and keep them for 21 days.
- The government has released its coronavirus guidance for universities before students return later this month, with full online learning only as a last resort.
- The disruption of hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant that the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has skyrocketed, new figures show.
- Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg isolates himself at home after one of his children showed symptoms of coronavirus
