PM Boris Johnson: Immediate action needed to slow the new variant of COVID 19
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London, Jan 5: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new national COVID-19 lockdown in England, instructing people to stay at home to contain a more contagious variant of the Corona virus. Non-essential shops and hospitality would have to remain closed, whereas the primary and secondary schools would close from Jan 5. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are also under lockdown, with schools in Scotland to be closed until at least the end of January.
On Jan 4, Soon after the govt hailed Britain’s success in becoming the first country to begin rolling out the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against COVID-19, the announcement about the new lockdown was made. British PM Johnson said that a new and more contagious variant of the Corona virus, that was first identified in the United Kingdom and is now present in many other countries, was spreading at great speed and immediate action was needed to slow it down.
The British govt has mentioned specific conditions that have been considered valid to leave home during the new lockdown. These conditions include work or volunteering where it is 'unreasonable' to work from home, education, training, childcare and medical appointments and emergencies, exercise outdoors (limited to once a day), which includes meeting one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise, shopping for essentials such as food and medicine, communal religious worship, meeting your support or childcare bubble, which also includes children to move between separated parents and activities related to moving house.
Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable have been advised to limit the time they spend outside the home. They should only go out for medical appointments, for exercise, or if it is otherwise essential and not for work or education purposes. International travel or travel around the UK is only permitted for essential reasons. Hospitality businesses such as pubs and restaurants and non-essential shops are to close, so must indoor and outdoor sports facilities including gyms and tennis courts.
Supermarkets, food shops, pharmacies and garden centres, places of worship, petrol stations and MOT services, Laundrettes, Banks and Post Offices, Doctors and dentists' surgeries and vets, Car parks, public toilets and playgrounds have been included essential businesses and services, that can stay open to the public.