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UK to go under lockdown as COVID-19 cases cross 1 million

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered England to go under a month-long lockdown starting from Thursday as the COVID-19 cases across the United Kingdom cross one million.

Johnson, on Saturday evening, conducted a press conference in haste at the Downing Street after news of a lockdown leaked to local media.

The British PM said that the one-month lockdown across England would kick in at a minute past midnight on Thursday morning November 5, and last until December 2.

The prime minister told that the measures were to prevent a “medical and moral disaster” for the NHS.

He also warned that Christmas may be “very different”, but said he hoped taking action now would mean families can gather.

The United Kingdom, which has the biggest official death toll in Europe from Covid-19, and the second wave of coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the health service.

As reported by the BBC, the new restrictions to be  implemented are as following: 

  • People will be told to stay at home except for specific reasons
  • These include work which cannot be done from home, childcare or education, exercise outdoors, medical reasons, essential shopping, providing care for vulnerable people or for volunteering, and visiting members of your support bubble
  • Meeting indoors or in private gardens will not be allowed, but individuals can meet one other person from another household outside in a public place
  • Non-essential retail will close but can remain open for click-and-collect delivery
  • Pubs, bars, restaurants will have to close, but can still provide takeaway and delivery, excluding takeaway of alcohol
  • Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities, such as gyms and swimming pools, will also close, along with entertainment venues and personal care facilities such as beauty salons
  • Places of worship will close, unless they are being used for funerals, to broadcast acts of worship, individual prayer, formal childcare, or essential services such as blood donation or food banks
  • Construction sites and manufacturing workplaces can remain open
  • Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies will not be able to take place except in exceptional circumstances, and funerals will be limited to a maximum of 30 people
  • Children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated
  • Clinically vulnerable people will be asked to be “especially careful” but people will not be asked to resume shielding
  • Overnight stays, staying in a second home, and holidays will not be allowed – including in the UK and abroad – although there are exceptions, such as work trips
  • People will be told to avoid all non-essential travel by private or public transport

Saman Siddiqui

I am a freelance journalist, holding a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and an MS in Peace and Conflict Studies, associated with the electronic media industry since 2006 in various capacities. Here at OyeYeah, I cover a range of genres, from journalism to fiction to fashion, including reviews, and fact findings. 

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