England Goes On Lockdown

Places around the world have experienced a massive surge in Coronavirus cases in the past month. A specific place, England, has decided that a second country-wide lockdown is much needed since they have hit an astounding one million COVID-19 cases, according to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who got the information from health officials. The government believes that acting fast is the only way to maintain the increasing number of cases. Surrounding countries in the United Kingdom, like Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland were not part of this strict lockdown. They have their own specific guidelines that best fit the number of cases in their country. 

Based on the information CNN found, the lockdown will take place from Thursday, November 5 until Wednesday, December 2. This is considered to be a very strict lockdown, because pubs, restaurants, and non-essential businesses will close down. Only education (school and universities) will remain open. Citizens are only allowed to leave their house for specific things. Those things include shopping for groceries, health reasons, or work, says the government. However, most people are encouraged to work at home if they have the ability to. 

Before this decision to shut down the country, the Prime Minister said he wanted to “avoid the misery of another lockdown”. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told CNN that England’s top scientists have been recommending a lockdown for weeks. Calum Semple, who is a consultant respiratory paediatrician and a member of the government, claims that the virus was “running riot” across the country and that “we need tighter restrictions”. The hope is that the lockdown will give England time to recuperate and successfully get a hold of the rising Coronavirus cases before the winter season. 

According to a major study done by BBC News, since the lockdown, England’s cases have fallen by about a third since the start of the lockdown. Cases are still very high, but improvement was seen in places that have been hit hard by the virus. The country knows they have to continue to work hard towards avoiding another surge of cases, especially with Christmas fast approaching.