UK announces new local restrictions, reactivates three field hospitals

Determined to avoid general containment, the Conservative government decreed, Monday, October 12, new local restrictions now affecting a quarter of the British population, especially in the North, with differences that have become for some illegible.

After leading a crisis meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced MPs to a new three-tier alert system, ” way “, ” Student “ and ” very high “, supposed to simplify from Wednesday the current patchwork of restrictions for England. The other nations are competent to apply their own device.

The first level, ” way “, corresponds to measures valid for the whole of England: gatherings limited to six people and closing at 10 p.m. for pubs and restaurants. The second, ” Student “, corresponds to areas currently under local restrictions, where meetings between different households will be prohibited indoors. In regions at ” very high “, additional measures will be applied with the support of local authorities, supported if necessary by the army.

In the Liverpool region (nearly 1.5 million people), in the North West, an agreement has been reached to close pubs, bars, gyms and casinos, while discussions are underway with elected officials other areas of northern England.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also In the United Kingdom, the families of the victims of the Covid-19 still call for a public inquiry

“I know how difficult it is”

“I know how difficult it is, but we cannot give up the national health service when lives are at stake”, pleaded the Conservative Prime Minister, faced with the challenge of part of his camp opposed to overly restrictive measures, and which they consider difficult economically. “This is not how we want to live, but it is the narrow path that we must trace between the socio-economic damage of a complete containment and the economic cost of an epidemic out of control”, he justified.

The new restrictions have been greeted with hostility by local elected officials in the north of England, who consider that the employment support measures put in place by the executive are insufficient and who fear that the financial balances will be jeopardized. .

Worried about an effect “Catastrophic” on the night world of measurements “Unjust and without scientific logic”, the Federation of bars and nightclubs, NTIA, has announced that it wants to challenge them in court.

On Friday, the government announced new employment assistance measures for businesses forced to remain closed because of restrictions on activity to fight the pandemic. These companies will receive up to 3,000 pounds (nearly 3,310 euros) per month and their employees will be compensated up to two-thirds of their usual salary.

Three field hospitals “ready to welcome patients if necessary”

With more than 42,800 deaths, a record unparalleled in Europe, and nearly 618,000 positive cases, the United Kingdom is facing a new wave of contaminations which affects the entire territory and all age groups. The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 in England is now higher than it was when confinement was declared at the end of March.

Earlier today, faced with the resurgence of the new coronavirus, the British authorities announced that they would reactivate several field hospitals set up in the spring. To help the health system cope, three of the large field hospitals set up in disaster in the spring, and since put on hiatus, have been instructed “To mobilize over the next few weeks to be ready to welcome patients if necessary”, said the medical director of the health service for England, Stephen Powis.

In the most affected regions, in the north-west, the situation is such that hospital services that are not directly responsible for the epidemic are starting to see their functioning affected, health officials explained at a press conference. . These rural establishments are located in the north, but others could follow, the progression of contaminations now affecting all of the United Kingdom.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also Faced with crisis, UK abandons budget, expands emergency aid measures

The World with AFP

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here