ON LOCKDOWN
Boris Johnson lockdown announcement: What did the PM say in his speech today?
BORIS Johnson addressed the nation today, October 31, to make important new announcements in relation to new coronavirus lockdown measures.
The had PM previously vowed he would do "everything in his power" to avoid a national lockdown, however despite this he announced the whole of England will be plunged into a strict new lockdown which is set to last until December.
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What did Boris Johnson announce today?
The PM addressed the nation at 6.30pm today from Downing Street.
Mr Johnson introduced a month of tough new nation-wide Covid restrictions after Government scientific advisers warned that a longer and more widespread lockdown is now necessary.
Since the first national lockdown imposed in March, the PM has resisted pressure to introduce nationwide restrictions, opting instead for a localised tier system.
But strict new measures will be introduced on Thursday and are set to last until December 2.
All non-essential retail will close and people have been told to stay mostly at home, though schools will remain open.
Pubs and restaurants in England will also close from midnight on Thursday, unless they serve takeaway or delivery services.
However, unlike the last lockdown, schools, colleges and universities will remain open.
Other measure include the banning of international travel and people will not be allowed to mix indoors.
Internal UK-wide travel is set to be discouraged but the furlough scheme will be extended.
The clamp down is an attempt to curb the more than 85,000 people which could die from a second wave of coronavirus, a paper from the Government's Sage group warned.
Different regions would reportedly be allowed to come out of the national lockdown at different points under tiering measures and depending on the rate of infection.
What did he say in his last announcement?
Earlier this month, Boris Johnson introduced a tiered lockdown system to simplify local coronavirus lockdowns across the UK.
However, experts now warn that this is not enough, predicting deaths from the virus could peak just before Christmas if a stricter approach is not taken soon.
In the past few days government scientists presented the PM with “grim” data on the second wave, despite the R-rate falling.
Experts warned a circuit breaker style two-week lockdown would now not be long enough to curb infections.
Grim projections looking at all outcomes have left Downing Street fretting about the festive period, and the spread of the virus.
A national lockdown would signal a major U-turn from Boris, who has repeatedly insisted he wants to pursue a regional approach.
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However, politicians and scientists want to bring infection rates down far enough so loved ones can gather safely for Christmas.
Papers presented at a meeting on Friday between the prime minister, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, show that "all models suggest a significantly higher peak than those estimated at any point in the current 'Reasonable Worst Case Scenario'" reports.
The document is reported as saying "median peak infections are projected to be 50 per cent to 150 per cent greater" than those in the first wave.
Members of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have backed the introduction of more stringent measures.
Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar said the consequences of sticking with the current "insufficient" restrictions would be "much worse" than going for a second lockdown.
The director of the Wellcome Trust said: "The sooner we act, the sooner we can start to recover. It will be a very difficult few weeks now and no one can underestimate the toll that will take on people.
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"But the consequences of sticking with the current insufficient restrictions would have been much worse."
The policy shift is expected to come after new data showed the extent of coronavirus cases across England.
The Office for National Statistics estimated Friday that 1 in 100 people in England, well over half a million, had the virus in the week to Oct. 23.
The U.K. is recording more than 20,000 new coronavirus infections a day, and government statisticians say the true figure is far higher.
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The U.K. has Europes highest coronavirus death toll at more than 46,000.
Britain is on the brink of passing 1,000,000 coronavirus cases as the country nears a grim milestone.
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Boris Johnson ‘considering national lockdown next week’ in England
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