Babak Belurs

Sabtu, 31 Oktober 2020

Coronavirus: England to enter month-long lockdown from Thursday, PM announces - Sky News

England will enter a month-long lockdown from Thursday, Boris Johnson has announced.

Until 2 December, people in England will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons, such as education, work or food shopping.

Mr Johnson, speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Saturday evening, said there was "no alternative" to a second period of national lockdown restrictions.

He said that "no responsible prime minister" could ignore the rising number of coronavirus infections across England.

Mr Johnson warned of a greater number of COVID-19 deaths this winter than during the first wave of the pandemic, in the spring, without tougher measures.

Follow live coronavirus updates

Schools, colleges and universities will remain open while those who cannot work from home, such as construction or manufacturing workers, will be encouraged to continue going to their workplaces.

Pubs, bars and restaurants will close across the country, although they will be able to offer takeaway and delivery services.

Non-essential shops, hairdressers and leisure and entertainment venues will also be shut.

The prime minister said the furlough scheme, which has seen the government pay a proportion of peoples' wages during the COVID-19 crisis but was due to end on Saturday, would now be extended through November.

Different households will be banned from mixing, although support bubbles and childcare bubbles will remain and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.

Gyms will be shut but people can continue to exercise for unlimited periods outdoors, either with people from their own households or on a one-to-one basis with one person from another household.

People will be able to travel internationally for work, but won't be allowed to go abroad for holidays.

Premier League football and other elite sports will be allowed to continue, due to the testing regimes in place for professional sportspeople, but amateur sports will be put on hold.

MPs are expected to vote on the fresh measures on Wednesday.

The prime minister said there was a need to be "humble in the face of nature" with the virus "spreading even faster than the reasonable worst case scenario of our scientific advisers".

"Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day - a peak of mortality, alas, far bigger than the one we saw in April," he added.

The government's scientists have warned that hospitals could run out of beds by early December without new measures.

And Mr Johnson warned that "the risk is that for the first time in our lives, the NHS will not be there for us and for our families".

The prime minister added: "We will get through this, but we must act now to contain this autumn surge

"We are not going back to the full-scale lockdown of March and April.

"It is less prohibitive and less restrictive, but from Thursday the basic message is the same; stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives."

Until now, the government has been pursuing a localised approach to COVID-19 restrictions, with England divided into three levels of measures, depending on local infection rates.

The government's aim is that, after the month-long period of tougher national measures, different parts of the country will be released back into the existing three tiers, depending on regional transmission rates.

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Johnson's top ministers were briefed by the government's scientists prior to a remote cabinet meeting.

The prime minister also held talks with senior Conservative MPs.

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2020-10-31 19:29:01Z
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Coming up: Boris Johnson holds press conference as lockdown considered | Coronavirus - The Telegraph

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Coming up: Boris Johnson holds press conference as lockdown considered | Coronavirus The TelegraphView Full coverage on Google News
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2020-10-31 18:28:17Z
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Coronavirus: Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK surpass one million mark - Sky News

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has now surpassed the one million mark, according to the latest government figures.

On Saturday, the UK recorded 21,915 positive coronavirus cases, slightly fewer than the 24,405 recorded the day before.

The country also recorded 326 COVID-19 related deaths on Saturday, up slightly from the 274 recorded on Friday.

The latest numbers brings the total number of cases recorded in the UK to 1,011,660, and the total number of deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive test to 46,555.

It follows the government's scientific advisers saying England breached its "reasonable worst-case" scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.

Modelling suggests there is an average of 43,000 to 74,000 new infections per day in England, significantly above the reasonable worst-case scenario of between 12,000 to 13,000 throughout October.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) also warned the number of daily deaths in England is in line with that scenario, but "is almost certain to exceed this within the next two weeks".

Later today, Boris Johnson is set to announce a month-long lockdown of England, Sky News understands.

The measures, which will run through November until 2 December, will see the closure of pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.

The prime minister is expected to move the whole of England into tougher COVID-19 measures when he holds a Downing Street news conference later today.

This will also see a nationwide ban on different households mixing inside homes, although schools, universities and colleges will remain open.

Construction work will be encouraged to continue, while courts and parliament will also remain open.

Until now, the government has been pursuing a localised approach to COVID-19 restrictions, with the country having been divided into three levels of measures, depending on local infection rates.

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2020-10-31 17:06:42Z
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Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to announce month-long lockdown across England, Sky News understands - Sky News

Boris Johnson is set to announce a month-long lockdown of England, Sky News understands.

The measures, which will run through November until 2 December, will see the closure of pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.

The prime minister is expected to move the whole of England into tougher COVID-19 measures when he holds a Downing Street news conference later today.

Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around the world

This will also see a nationwide ban on different households mixing inside homes, although schools, universities and colleges will remain open.

Construction work will be encouraged to continue, while courts and parliament will also remain open.

Until now, the government has been pursuing a localised approach to COVID-19 restrictions, with the country having been divided into three levels of measures, depending on local infection rates.

With the whole of England now set to enter tougher national measures for a number of weeks, it is understood the government's plan is for different parts of the country to later be released back into the existing three tiers at different times, depending on transmission rates.

On Saturday, the UK recorded 21,915 positive coronavirus cases, slightly fewer than the 24,405 recorded the day before.

The country also recorded 326 new COVID-19 related deaths, up slightly from the 274 recorded on Friday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has estimated that 568,100 people in households were infected with coronavirus in the week ending 23 October.

Meanwhile, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has said England has breached its "reasonable worst-case" scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.

The prime minister will set out the new national measures at a Downing Street news conference later today.

He is expected to be joined by England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser.

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Johnson's top ministers were briefed by the government's scientists prior to a remote cabinet meeting.

The prime minister also held talks with senior Conservative MPs, with influential backbencher Steve Baker having met with Mr Johnson in Number 10.

Asked if England was about to enter a second lockdown, Mr Baker said after the meeting: "The truth is there's more nuance than that here.

"Like you, I need to look forward to what the prime minister says. I don't actually know what he's going to say tonight."

Mr Baker added he had been offered "an amazing opportunity to robustly scrutinise the arguments, the data, the forecasts of where we're going".

"What I would say to people is, the prime minister's got very, very difficult choices to make, and I would encourage all members of the public and MPs to listen extremely carefully to what the prime minister says today and over coming days," he said.

:: Subscribe to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

In September, Mr Johnson warned of the "disastrous" economic consequences of a second national lockdown.

He subsequently introduced a three-tiered system for localised restrictions in England, although Labour later called for it to be replaced by a two to three-week "circuit break" national lockdown.

Government ministers had been staunchly defending their three-tiered approach in recent days, in the face of growing calls for it to be abandoned in favour of fresh national action.

As recently as Friday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News that the three-tiered system was the "right approach" compared to the "blunt tool" of an England-wide lockdown.

A number of Tory MPs are likely to be angered by the introduction of tougher nationwide restrictions, although former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said he "would rather a PM brave enough to change his mind than one who risks lives by sticking his head in the sand".

Wales and Northern Ireland are currently already in periods of national lockdown, which are due to end next month in both countries.

Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, reiterated on Saturday that any announcement by the prime minister would apply to England only and his country's "firebreak" lockdown will end on 9 November.

Meanwhile, a new five-level system of coronavirus restrictions is set to come into effect in Scotland from Monday.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Saturday that she would "take account of any developments in England", although she stressed that the "prevalence of the virus is currently lower in Scotland than in other parts of the UK".

The expected announcement of tougher nationwide restrictions on Saturday comes on the same day as the end of the furlough scheme, which saw the government initially pay 80% of wages of employees whose firms had been affected by the pandemic.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has replaced the furlough scheme with the Job Support Scheme, to begin from Sunday, which will see employees have two-thirds of their wages covered by the government if their businesses are affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

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2020-10-31 16:37:43Z
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Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to announce month-long lockdown across England, Sky News understands - Sky News

Boris Johnson is set to announce a month-long lockdown of England, Sky News understands.

The measures, which will run through November until 2 December, will see the closure of pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.

The prime minister is expected to move the whole of England into tougher COVID-19 measures when he holds a Downing Street news conference later today.

Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around the world

This will also see a nationwide ban on different households mixing inside homes, although schools, universities and colleges will remain open.

Construction work will be encouraged to continue, while courts and parliament will also remain open.

Until now, the government has been pursuing a localised approach to COVID-19 restrictions, with the country having been divided into three levels of measures, depending on local infection rates.

On Saturday, the UK recorded 21,915 positive coronavirus cases, slightly fewer than the 24,405 recorded the day before.

The country also recorded 326 new COVID-19 related deaths, up slightly from the 274 recorded on Friday.

The Office for National Statistics has estimated that 568,100 people in households were infected with coronavirus in the week ending 23 October.

Meanwhile, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) have said England has breached its "reasonable worst-case" scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.

The prime minister will set out the new national measures at a Downing Street news conference later.

He is expected to be joined by England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser.

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Johnson's top ministers were briefed by the government's scientists prior to a remote cabinet meeting.

The prime minister also held talks with senior Conservative MPs, with influential backbencher Steve Baker having met with Mr Johnson in Number 10.

Asked if England was about to enter a second lockdown, Mr Baker said after the meeting: "The truth is there's more nuance than that here.

"Like you, I need to look forward to what the prime minister says. I don't actually know what he's going to say tonight."

Mr Baker added he had been offered ""an amazing opportunity to robustly scrutinise the arguments, the data, the forecasts of where we're going".

:: Subscribe to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

In September, Mr Johnson warned of the "disastrous" economic consequences of a second national lockdown.

He subsequently introduced a three-tiered system for localised restrictions in England, although Labour later called for it to be replaced by a two to three-week "circuit break" national lockdown.

Government ministers had been staunchly defending their three-tiered approach in recent days, in the face of growing calls for it to be abandoned in favour of fresh national action.

As recently as Friday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News that the three-tiered system was the "right approach" compared to the "blunt tool" of an England-wide lockdown.

Wales and Northern Ireland are currently already in periods of national lockdown, which are due to end next month in both countries.

Meanwhile, a new five-level system of coronavirus restrictions is set to come into effect in Scotland from Monday.

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Coronavirus: Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK surpass one million mark - Sky News

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has now surpassed the one million mark, according to the latest government figures.

On Saturday, the UK recorded 21,915 positive coronavirus cases, slightly fewer than the 24,405 recorded the day before.

The country also recorded 326 COVID-19 related deaths on Saturday, up slightly from the 274 recorded on Friday.

The latest numbers brings the total number of cases recorded in the UK to 1,011,660.

It comes as Boris Johnson is set to announce a month-long lockdown of England, Sky News understands.

The measures, which will run through November until 2 December, will see the closure of pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.

The prime minister is expected to move the whole of England into tougher COVID-19 measures when he holds a Downing Street news conference later today.

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'A new lockdown will be far worse for businesses' - BBC News

By Mary-Ann Russon
Business reporter, BBC News

'I feel like I'm in a dictatorship'

Frances Bishop, 29, founded children's retail chain The Pud Store, based in South Yorkshire, five years ago.

Children's retail entrepreneur Frances Bishop

"I feel like I'm in a dictatorship. I know they're saying they're reviewing the Tier 3 rules every 28 days, but there's been no communications from the council business groups on what they're basing these restrictions on," says Ms Bishop, who has three stores.

"It feels like you're being asked to operate a business, pay your taxes, pay your staff and try to keep your head above water, in a room that's on fire and clouded with smoke."

She says that a big problem is that stores are allowed to be open, but customers are not allowed to come, so footfall has "fallen off a cliff".

The situation has had an impact on her mental health, and Ms Bishop says that she has never felt more alone as a business owner, at a time when her employees are looking to her for leadership and support.

"I'm watching my life's work be undone everyday and I'm throwing everything at it," she says.

'The rest of us need to get back to work'

Charlie Mullins, boss of Pimlico Plumbers, says that the government "needs to listen to businesses and people in the real world".

He thinks another lockdown will "finish many businesses off", and is also concerned about the toll of coronavirus restrictions on people's wellbeing.

"They're basically going the wrong way about it. The virus is going to be here for a while, we've got to learn to work around it, we can't surrender to it," he tells the BBC.

"We need to protect the elderly and vulnerable, of course, but the rest of us need to get back to work."

His view strongly echoed that of Mr Johnson.

Mr Mullins said his firm has attended over 200,000 house calls through the pandemic and not one employee or customer has caught the coronavirus.

"The last furlough scheme they did was too generous, it's created an atmosphere of, 'I want to work from home and stay at home'," he says.

"Boris must stand firm and ignore the fear junkies who want to play Russian roulette with our economy."

'We need clarity on Christmas'

Businesses have been telling the BBC since September that they are worried about Christmas - traditionally the most important time of the year for the hospitality, retail and event industries.

"People are trying to book Christmas parties, we don't know if we can accept them - it's tending towards being a total disaster. The hospitality industry cannot afford to have a poor December this year," says Gary Forrest, chief executive of the High Street Group, which owns a large chain of bars, restaurants and hotels across the north-east of England.

Mr Forrest was particularly frustrated that pubs and restaurants such as his have invested in measures to protect their customers, but now the industry "seems to be bearing the brunt of the government's restrictions".

"They told us to bring in table service - and the cost of table service is huge, your salary costs go up exponentially - and all the technology changes, but then they still come along and say, 'now you still need to shut the bars at 10pm'," he says.

"I'm worried about the 300 people we employ, who've got mortgages and rent to pay."

Mr Forrest wants to see a system where venues are certified by the local authorities and regularly checked to ensure compliance with safety rules.

And he wants more support for firms and venues located in parts of the UK where restrictions are in place, but fall short of a full lockdown with mandatory closures.

He says the support for businesses operating in this 'Tier 2' environment is not sufficient.

'We've got to get past the pandemic'

But not all business leaders are against the government's coronavirus restrictions.

Debbie Marks is chief executive of Qube Events, one of the North's largest luxury event companies organising large scale weddings, corporate events, private parties and galas — and now Christmas decor specialists.

"We need the restrictions to be lifted on how many people can come to an event, because 15 people is really not viable for our industry - but we need to bring an end to the pandemic, so if having a lockdown is what we need, then that's what needs to be done."

Ms Marks says she already has an order book full of events starting from next March, and that the UK has to get through the pandemic to the other side so that the events industry can resume.

However, she says that isn't possible without support from the government.

"I'm devastated about the support the government has not given our industry. We've been completely ignored, and we're a billion pound industry," she explains.

A government spokesperson said: "At all stages we have been guided by medical and scientific advice, and have taken the necessary action in order to rightly strike a balance between protecting jobs, the economy and saving lives.

"We have always been clear that we keep these measures under constant review so they do not have to be in place for any longer than is necessary."

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2020-10-31 13:25:00Z
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Sabtu, 31 Oktober 2020

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'I feel like I'm in a dictatorship'

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