LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered a new national blockade on England to contain an increase in COVID-19 cases that threaten to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccination program reaches a critical mass.
The announcement came just hours after the government hailed Britain’s success in becoming the first country to launch the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against COVID-19.
Johnson said a new, more contagious variant of coronavirus, first identified in the United Kingdom and now present in many other countries, is spreading rapidly and immediate action is needed to slow it down.
“As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than ever since the pandemic began,” Johnson said in a televised address to the country.
“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more together to bring this new option under control,” he said.
“Therefore, we have to enter a national blockade, which is hard enough to contain this variant. That means the government is instructing you to stay home again. “
Non-essential stores and hospitality should remain closed, while primary and secondary schools would close on Tuesdays for all students except vulnerable children and whose parents are key workers.
Johnson said the disruption meant it would not be possible for all exams to take place this summer – the second year in a row that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on students’ education and plans for the future.
Johnson said that if the vaccine was released as planned and the number of deaths responded to the blockade measures as expected, it should be possible to start the exit from the blockade by mid-February.
However, he called for caution on the timetable and called on everyone to abide by the rules.
The UK economy suffered a historic collapse of almost 20% between April and June 2020, as certain business areas were closed by the first blockade.
The new measures, which allow companies such as construction companies to remain open, could cost about 10 percent of economic output as long as they last, said Julian Jessop, a member of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank.
NEW VACCINE LAUNCHED
As Britain faces the sixth highest number of deaths in the world and cases have reached a new high, the country’s chief medical officers said the spread of COVID-19 risked overwhelming parts of the health system within 21 days. .
The increase in the number of cases was determined by the new version of COVID-19, officials say, and while they acknowledge that the pandemic is spreading faster than expected, they say there is light at the end of the tunnel – vaccinations.
Johnson’s government earlier claimed a scientific “triumph” as Britain became the first country in the world to begin inoculating people with photos of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dialysis patient Brian Pinker, 82, received his first vaccination outside of a trial.
“I am so excited to receive the COVID vaccine today and I am very proud to have it invented in Oxford,” said the retired maintenance manager, just a few hundred meters from where the vaccine was developed.
But even with vaccines launched, the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to rise.
More than 75,000 people in the UK have died from COVID-19 within 28 days of a positive test since the beginning of the pandemic. 58,784 new cases of coronavirus were reported on Monday.
Just hours before Johnson, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon imposed the strictest blockade on Scotland since last spring.
The decentralized administration in Wales has said that all schools and colleges there should switch to online learning by 18 January.
Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon, Alistair Smout and Guy Faulconbridge; Montage by Gareth Jones