PM announces 3-week lock-down across UK

[IlonaM]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-uk-lockdown-boris-johnson-speech-today-update-latest-advice-a9420086.html

Prime minister Boris Johnson has imposed an unprecedented three-week nationwide lockdown across the UK in an attempt to bring a halt to the coronavirus outbreak.

All British households have been told to stay at home except for a strictly limited set of purposes - with police having powers to enforce the instructions with fines.

Shops selling non-essential goods have been ordered to close, along with libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship.

Weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies are being stopped, but funerals will continue to go ahead. And all public gatherings of more than two people - except for members of the same household - will be banned.

From Monday evening, people will only be allowed to leave their homes for:

- Shopping for basic necessities ?as infrequently as possible?;

- One exercise outing a day - for example a run, walk or cycle;

- Medical needs or caring for a vulnerable person;

- Travelling to and from work, but only if this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

The new measures came after the UK death toll from Covid-19 reached 335, with a further 46 people who tested positive for the virus dying in England, and foreign secretary Dominic Raab told all Britons overseas to come home now.

They mean the UK following countries like Italy, Spain and France into stringent restrictions on day-to-day life to suppress the virus, after weeks in which Britain has maintained a lighter-touch approach based on voluntary rather than mandatory actions.

Mr Johnson?s decision to step up action, agreed at a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall, came amid widespread concern over large numbers of people congregating at parks, beaches and outdoor markets over the weekend.

In a televised address to the nation recorded in 10 Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: ?In this fight we can be in no doubt that each and every one of us is directly enlisted.

?Each and every one of us is now obliged to join together, to halt the spread of this disease, to protect our NHS and to save many many thousands of lives.

?And I know that, as they have in the past so many times, the people of this country will rise to that challenge.

?And we will come through it stronger than ever.

?We will beat the coronavirus and we will beat it together.

?And therefore I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.?

Mr Johnson described coronavirus as ?the biggest threat this country has faced for decades?.

He warned: ?Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope, because there won?t be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses.

?And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger.

?To put it simply - if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it, meaning more people are likely to die, not just from coronavirus but from other illnesses as well.

?So it?s vital to slow the spread of the disease.

?Because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment at any one time, so we can protect the NHS?s ability to cope - and save more lives.?

Speaking alongside a Union flag, Mr Johnson thanked Britons who have complied with advice to stay at home where possible and to maintain ?social distancing? when outside.

But he said: ?The time has now come for us all to do more.

?From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home.

?Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households.?

And he added: ?You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

?You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home.

?You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine ? and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.

?If you don?t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.?

Mr Johnson said: ?No prime minister wants to enact measures like this.

?I know the damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people?s lives, to their businesses and to their jobs...

"But at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost.

"And yet it is also true that there is a clear way through. Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7,500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.

"With the time you buy ? by simply staying at home - we are increasing our stocks of equipment, we are accelerating our search for treatments, we are pioneering work on a vaccine.

"And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible killer."

[sweetgirl]

This is no lockdown..... The lockdown is yet to come!!!

People are not listening, this will now be monitored

[Blah Blah]

I agree sweetgirl. A lock down involves police enforced curfews and the other stuff. BUT, people were warned and failed to heed the advice given. The PM had no choice.

[dbboy]

The actual Rules from .Gov.UK 23/03/2020

NEW RULES ON STAYING AT HOME AND AWAY FROM OTHERS

The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.

When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection. That is why the government is now (23 March 2020) introducing three new measures.

1. Requiring people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes

2. Closing non-essential shops and community spaces

3. Stopping all gatherings of more than two people in public

Every citizen must comply with these new measures. The relevant authorities, including the police, will be given the powers to enforce them ? including through fines and dispersing gatherings.

These measures are effective immediately. The Government will look again at these measures in three weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows this is possible.

1. STAYING AT HOME

You should only leave the house for one of four reasons.

● Shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible.

● One form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.

● Any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.

● Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.

These four reasons are exceptions - even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.

These measures must be followed by everyone. Separate advice is available for individuals or households who are isolating, and for the most vulnerable who need to be shielded.

If you work in a critical sector outlined in this guidance, or your child has been identified as vulnerable, you can continue to take your children to school.

2. CLOSING NON-ESSENTIAL SHOPS AND PUBLIC SPACES

Last week, the Government ordered certain businesses - including pubs, cinemas and theatres - to close.

The Government is now extending this requirement to a further set of businesses and other venues, including:

● all non-essential retail stores - this will include clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets, excluding food markets.

● libraries, community centres, and youth centres.

● indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, arcades and soft play facilities.

● communal places within parks, such as playgrounds, sports courts and outdoor gyms.

● places of worship, except for funerals attended by immediate families.

● hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, caravan parks, and boarding houses for commercial/leisure use (excluding permanent residents and key workers).

3. STOPPING PUBLIC GATHERINGS

To make sure people are staying at home and apart from each other, the Government is also stopping all public gatherings of more than two people.

There are only two exceptions to this rule:

● where the gathering is of a group of people who live together - this means that a parent can, for example, take their children to the shops if there is no option to leave them at home.

● where the gathering is essential for work purposes - but workers should be trying to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace.

In addition, the Government is stopping social events, including weddings, baptisms and other religious ceremonies. This will exclude funerals, which can be attended by immediate family.

DELIVERING THESE NEW MEASURES

These measures will reduce our day to day contact with other people. They are a vital part of our efforts to reduce the rate of transmission of coronavirus.

Every citizen is instructed to comply with these new measures.

The Government will therefore be ensuring the police and other relevant authorities have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings where people do not comply.

They will initially last for the three weeks from 23 March, at which point the Government will look at them again and relax them if the evidence shows this is possible.

[Clutterqueen]

IlonaM Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cor

> onavirus-uk-lockdown-boris-johnson-speech-today-up

> date-latest-advice-a9420086.html

>

> Prime minister Boris Johnson has imposed an

> unprecedented three-week nationwide lockdown

> across the UK in an attempt to bring a halt to the

> coronavirus outbreak.

>

> All British households have been told to stay at

> home except for a strictly limited set of purposes

> - with police having powers to enforce the

> instructions with fines.

>

> Shops selling non-essential goods have been

> ordered to close, along with libraries,

> playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of

> worship.

>

> Weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies are being

> stopped, but funerals will continue to go ahead.

> And all public gatherings of more than two people

> - except for members of the same household - will

> be banned.

>

> From Monday evening, people will only be allowed

> to leave their homes for:

>

>

> - Shopping for basic necessities ?as infrequently

> as possible?;

>

> - One exercise outing a day - for example a run,

> walk or cycle;

>

> - Medical needs or caring for a vulnerable

> person;

>

> - Travelling to and from work, but only if this is

> absolutely necessary and cannot be done from

> home.

>

>

> The new measures came after the UK death toll from

> Covid-19 reached 335, with a further 46 people who

> tested positive for the virus dying in England,

> and foreign secretary Dominic Raab told all

> Britons overseas to come home now.

>

> They mean the UK following countries like Italy,

> Spain and France into stringent restrictions on

> day-to-day life to suppress the virus, after weeks

> in which Britain has maintained a lighter-touch

> approach based on voluntary rather than mandatory

> actions.

>

> Mr Johnson?s decision to step up action, agreed at

> a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in

> Whitehall, came amid widespread concern over large

> numbers of people congregating at parks, beaches

> and outdoor markets over the weekend.

>

> In a televised address to the nation recorded in

> 10 Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: ?In this fight

> we can be in no doubt that each and every one of

> us is directly enlisted.

>

> ?Each and every one of us is now obliged to join

> together, to halt the spread of this disease, to

> protect our NHS and to save many many thousands of

> lives.

>

> ?And I know that, as they have in the past so many

> times, the people of this country will rise to

> that challenge.

>

> ?And we will come through it stronger than ever.

>

> ?We will beat the coronavirus and we will beat it

> together.

>

> ?And therefore I urge you at this moment of

> national emergency to stay at home, protect our

> NHS and save lives.?

>

> Mr Johnson described coronavirus as ?the biggest

> threat this country has faced for decades?.

>

> He warned: ?Without a huge national effort to halt

> the growth of this virus, there will come a moment

> when no health service in the world could possibly

> cope, because there won?t be enough ventilators,

> enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and

> nurses.

>

> ?And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries

> that also have fantastic health care systems, that

> is the moment of real danger.

>

> ?To put it simply - if too many people become

> seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be

> unable to handle it, meaning more people are

> likely to die, not just from coronavirus but from

> other illnesses as well.

>

> ?So it?s vital to slow the spread of the disease.

>

> ?Because that is the way we reduce the number of

> people needing hospital treatment at any one time,

> so we can protect the NHS?s ability to cope - and

> save more lives.?

>

> Speaking alongside a Union flag, Mr Johnson

> thanked Britons who have complied with advice to

> stay at home where possible and to maintain

> ?social distancing? when outside.

>

> But he said: ?The time has now come for us all to

> do more.

>

> ?From this evening I must give the British people

> a very simple instruction - you must stay at

> home.

>

> ?Because the critical thing we must do is stop the

> disease spreading between households.?

>

> And he added: ?You should not be meeting friends.

> If your friends ask you to meet, you should say

> No.

>

> ?You should not be meeting family members who do

> not live in your home.

>

> ?You should not be going shopping except for

> essentials like food and medicine ? and you should

> do this as little as you can. And use food

> delivery services where you can.

>

> ?If you don?t follow the rules the police will

> have the powers to enforce them, including through

> fines and dispersing gatherings.?

>

> Mr Johnson said: ?No prime minister wants to enact

> measures like this.

>

> ?I know the damage that this disruption is doing

> and will do to people?s lives, to their businesses

> and to their jobs...

>

> "But at present there are just no easy options.

> The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that

> many lives will sadly be lost.

>

> "And yet it is also true that there is a clear way

> through. Day by day we are strengthening our

> amazing NHS with 7,500 former clinicians now

> coming back to the service.

>

> "With the time you buy ? by simply staying at home

> - we are increasing our stocks of equipment, we

> are accelerating our search for treatments, we are

> pioneering work on a vaccine.

>

> "And we are buying millions of testing kits that

> will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible

> killer."

Please help the key workers as described in Boris' speech tonight.