Boris Johnson has ordered England into a new national lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass
“As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic,” Johnson said in a televised address to the country.
With most of the country already under extreme measures, it’s clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control,” he said.
“We must therefore go into a national lockdown, which is tough enough to contain this variant. That means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home.”
Non-essential shops and hospitality would have to remain closed, while primary and secondary schools would close from Tuesday for all pupils except vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers.
Johnson said the disruption meant it would not be possible for all exams to go ahead this summer — the second academic year in a row in which the pandemic has played havoc with pupils’ education and future plans.
Johnson said that if the vaccine rollout went as planned and the number of deaths responded to the lockdown measures as expected, it should be possible to start moving out of lockdown by the middle of February.
The stay at home order means that people should only leave the house for essential reasons which are:
Go to work if you are unable to work from home
• To shop for essentials and necessities including food and medicine
• To exercise, which can be with up to one other person from outside your household or bubble. The exercise should ideally be limited to once per day and the guidance will be to try to do this locally.
• To provide care or help to a vulnerable person
• To attend medical appointments or seek medical care or fleeing the threat of harm or violence
Where travel is necessary, people should aim to stay local, and walking or cycling should be chosen above public transport.
