Winter is coming and it will be difficult. This is in essence the message Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted to convey by announcing, Tuesday, September 22, new restrictions for the British, in order to ” block the route “ virus by avoiding as much as possible a second general confinement.
Faced with difficult choices – how to ward off the second wave of Covid-19 without completely ruining the national economy or sacrificing the education of young people – the tenant of 10 Downing Street chose targeted measures: a “curfew” between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will come into effect Thursday, September 24 for pubs, cafes and restaurants in England.
Put in place on September 14, the “rule of six” (groupings limited to six people from two different households indoors or outdoors) will already be reinforced: from September 28, weddings should not invite more than 15 people. , burials will be limited to 30 people. The fine will double to 200 pounds sterling (around 220 euros) on the first offense and additional police personnel will be assigned to comply with the rules.
The return of conferences or sports gatherings, initially scheduled for early October, has been canceled. Finally, barely a month after inviting the British to return to the office, Mr Johnson sent them the opposite slogan from the House of Commons: ” Stay and work at home if you can. »These restrictions have “Nothing to do with a return to generalized containment in March” But “They could perhaps last six months”, warned the Prime Minister.
“Decisive measures”
In an almost coordinated fashion, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced approaching measures during the day. From Edinburgh, the Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed the “curfew” for pubs, restaurants and cafes, and clarified that the Scots will “Have to work from home if they can” for “Avoid a second confinement”. Scotland, however, goes further, as does Northern Ireland regarding gatherings: two different households will no longer be able to visit each other.
Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty, the two main scientific advisers to Downing Street, had prepared the ground as early as Monday, September 21, describing a very worrying health situation, and advised “Decisive measures”. “The number of infections is now doubling about every week. At this rate, we will be at 50,000 contaminations per day by mid-October ”, against about 4,000 per day in mid-September, assured Patrick Vallance.
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