British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that he could intensify the closure of the coronavirus if people do not follow the rules because his government supports the strictest enforcement.
Johnson said any “complacency” about the disease has been misplaced, although a vaccination program is well underway and 2.2 million people have been shot so far.
But he dared to undermine his own appeal to the public to stay home and act responsibly when it emerged he had taken a bike ride through London on Sunday.
‘Of course, if we bird that things are not being observed properly, then we may have to do more, ‘Johnson said on Monday during a visit to a vaccination center at a sports stadium in Bristol, south-west England. The effects of the vaccine are a ‘race against time’, with the country at a ‘very dangerous moment’ as infection rates rise, he said.
Britain is facing the most difficult period of the pandemic, with hospital admissions up 22% in a week to more than 32,000, and the death toll now stands at more than 80,000. Last week, Johnson announced a third national exclusion, a move that threatens to push the UK into another recession and exacerbate the damage caused by the first exclusion to 300 years.
The vaccination program is the key to economic recovery, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak told lawmakers on Monday.
The government intends to start easing the restrictions after February 15, the target date when Johnson wants all 15 million of the most vulnerable people and their carers to get at least one vaccination.
Although Britain is far ahead of other European countries in the development of vaccines, a new, more contagious variant of the disease is pushing the health service to a breaking point. Medical advisers and officials are becoming increasingly concerned that the public is not following the rules, and that hospitals will soon be overwhelmed.
Cycling
Johnson said the lock-in rules should be properly applied in grocery stores and encouraged people to think carefully before leaving home for any reason. Hospitals are under intense pressure due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, with oxygen supply in some areas short, he said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said everyone is responsible for ensuring the rules are followed.
“I am delighted that the police are stepping up their enforcement, but it’s not just about the government and the rules we set, or the police and the work they do, it’s about how everyone acts,” he said. said a press conference. . “I applaud the action Morrisons did today,” he said. “This is the right approach.”
The prime minister’s office faced questions about his own actions after the London newspaper Evening Standard reported that Johnson was driving around the Olympic Park, 11 km east of his official residence, at about 14:00. Government official guidance allows people to leave their homes for exercise, but recommends that people stay within their ‘local area’.
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Hancock said long-distance bike rides and 11-mile hikes are allowed under the rules.
But the episode threatens to wage another battle over the behavior of Johnson’s former assistant Dominic Cummings, who was accused of breaking breaking rules last spring by driving more than 250 kilometers from London when the country was told to return home. stay. Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his trip.
In other developments:
- Sunak warned that the country’s third exclusion, which began last week, means ‘the economy is going to get worse before it gets better’
- The NHS said the consequences of relaxing the rules over Christmas had not yet been seen
- 40% of those over 80 have fired at least one vaccination, with a total of 2.6 million shots fired so far
- The government has published its delivery plan, promising to vaccinate tens of millions of people by spring, with “at least” 2 million injections being performed each week at more than 2,700 vaccination sites in the UK.
– With the help of Stuart Biggs, Alex Morales, Joe Mayes and Deirdre Hipwell