“WE’VE got to be humble” in the fight against the coronavirus according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He was announcing a new series of lockdown measures which will come in to force on Thursday, November 5, subject to a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.
Speaking from 10 Downing Street on Saturday, October 31, Johnson thanked people living under Tier 3 restrictions for their patience “putting up with these restrictions in their areas for so long”.
“Alas, as across much of Europe, the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable, worst case scenario of our scientific advisors, whose models as you’ve just seen now suggests that unless we act, we could see death in this country running at several thousand a day,” he continued.
“Current projections mean that hospitals in the south west will run out of capacity in just a matter of weeks, unless we act … overrunning the NHS would be a medical and a moral disaster.
“It would mean that doctors and nurses will be forced to choose which patients to treat, who would get oxygen and who wouldn’t, who would live and who would die and doctors and nurses would be forced to choose between saving COVID patients and non-COVID patients, and the sheer weight of COVID demand would mean depriving tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not millions of non-COVID patients of the care they need.”
As a result, “now is the time to take action, because there is no alternative”.
“From Thursday, until the start of December, you must stay at home, you may only leave home for specific reasons, including the education, for work if cannot work from home, for exercise and recreation outdoors with your household or on your own, with one person from another household, for medical reasons appointments … to shop for food and essentials and to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.”
This meant that all non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will be closed.
Johnson urged people not to panic buy: “essential shops will remain open, so there’s no need to stock up”.
For families and vulnerable people, Johnson said: “Single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household and children will still be able to move between homes, if their parents are separated”.
The furlough scheme will be extended throughout November rather than ending today (October 31) as originally planned.
Looking ahead, it is hoped that the country will return to a tier system in December. However, “Christmas is going to be different this year, perhaps very different,” Johnson said. “it’s my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together”.
He also encouraged people to stick to their NHS appointments: “it’s vital that we keep provision for non-healthcare groups going. Unless told otherwise, you should continue to use the NHS, get your scans, turn up for your appointments and pick up your treatments.
“We want you to continue to access these services now, and through the winter.”
Johnson also wanted to increase testing.
“We now have the immediate prospect of using many millions of cheap, reliable, and above all, rapid turnaround tests that you can use yourself to tell you whether or not you’re infectious and get the result within 10 to 15 minutes.
“we know from trials across the country in schools and hospitals that we can use these tests, not just to locate infectious people, but to drive down the disease.”
He pledged to outline his plan for a massive deployment very soon.
“The army has been brought in to work on the logistics and the programme will begin in a matter of days, working with local communities, local government, Public Health Directors organisations, of all kinds, to help people discover whether or not they’re infectious and then immediately to help them to self-isolate and stop the spread of the disease.”
He concluded: “We must act now to contain this autumn surge. We’re not going back to the full-scale lockdown of March and April, the measures that I’ve outlined are less primitive and less restrictive.
“But I’m afraid, from Thursday the basic message is the same: stay at home. Protect the NHS and save lives.”
