BRITAIN SHUTS UP SHOP
PM says: Avoid going to all pubs, restaurants and cinemas Millions told to stay at home for at least 12 weeks Without isolation, ‘corona could kill 260,000’
BRITAIN is facing the biggest shutdown of normal life since the Second World War. In a dramatic move, Boris Johnson urged people to work from home and stay away from pubs, restaurants, cinemas and other social gatherings to try to slow the spread of coronavirus.
He said all non-essential contact should stop, as should unnecessary travel, including visits to loved ones in care homes.
Mr Johnson acknowledged last night the measures were ‘draconian’ but insisted they would save lives. ‘This is a very substantial
change in the way we want people to live their lives,’ he said.
‘I don’t think there has been anything like it in peace time.’
The move came after ministers were warned the death toll from the virus could hit 260,000 unless dramatic measures were taken immediately.
The clampdown could last for months as ministers battle to reduce the peak of the epidemic to a level the NHS can manage, potentially saving thousands of lives.
Government figures published last night suggested the death toll might be reduced below 20,000 if all possible measures were taken, including school and university closures, which are not yet on the agenda.
But it warned that restrictions might have to stay in place until a vaccine is found – perhaps 18 months or more.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: ‘This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. People should be thinking of a minimum of weeks to months and depending how it goes it could be longer. It is really important people realise they are in for the long haul.
‘But if we are to defend the ability of the NHS to treat people, if we are to minimise mortality, we have got to see this as a long game.’
Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s chief medical officer, said the new measures were designed to ‘protect our whole population’ and try to prevent intensive care and respiratory wards ‘being overwhelmed’.
In a stark warning, she added: ‘Even with excellent care, some of our Scottish population will become very seriously ill and sadly some may die.
‘These deaths would happen even with all of our NHS resource behind us.
‘However, what we really want to prevent are deaths which would be avoidable, deaths which we would avoid if our NHS is not overwhelmed, deaths where, if we have enough ventilators and enough intensive care beds, will not happen.’
Last night, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘The advice that all four UK nations have received from our scienexecutive tific advisers is we are now on the cusp of a rapid acceleration of the spread of coronavirus. We could see a doubling of cases every few days.
‘What that means is we must step up the measures we take to slow the spread, to protect our NHS and its ability to provide care and treatment to those who need it and also crucially to save lives.’
She said measures being introduced across all parts of the UK will be ‘disruptive’ for people and will ‘change life for all of us as we know it’.
From today, families are being asked to self-isolate at home for a fortnight if a single member of the household develops key symptoms, such as a persistent dry cough and high temperature.
The over-70s, pregnant women and people with conditions including diabetes and asthma were urged to take particular care to distance themselves from risk, with No 10 saying older people should no longer look after their grandchildren or host families and friends at home.
Special measures will be brought forward this week to ‘shield’ more than a million people with serious conditions, such as leukaemia. They will be effectively locked down for 12 weeks.
The Government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the new measures would have a ‘big effect’ on the spread of the virus, which has now reached 1,543 confirmed cases and claimed 53 lives in the UK. He said: ‘You would anticipate that this could have a dramatic effect to reduce the peak and to reduce death rates.’
The Prime Minister said the global economy was facing a ‘potentially severe blow’ and insisted the Government would help businesses and staff. As he last night came under pressure to spell out that help:
■ Plans to end free TV licences for the over-75s will be delayed until at least the summer;
■ Stock markets had another turbulent day, with the FTSE 100 index down by 4 per cent;
■ Ministers scrambled to increase testing capacity after the World Health Organisation said ‘test, test, test’ was the key to fighting the outbreak;
■ Londoners were warned the spread of the virus there is weeks ahead of the rest of the country;
■ The Prime Minister held a conference call with 60 major manufacturers about trying to produce ventilators;
■ UK Hospitality said the clampdown could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs;
■ Schools are to stay open;
■ The EU banned all ‘nonessential travel’ into the passport-free Schengen zone, although visitors from the UK will still be allowed;
■ Mr Johnson refused to rule out imposing even more radical restrictions on everyday life, such as travel lockdowns and curfews;
Donald Trump said disruption caused by the outbreak could last until August;
■ The Grand National was cancelled;
■ The Archbishops of Canterbury and York appealed for the nation’s citizens to be Good Samaritans.
Today, MPs on the Commons health committee, led by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, will quiz NHS chief Simon Stevens on how he plans to free up enough beds to cope with the coronavirus crisis.
Yesterday, Miss Sturgeon added: ‘We are all in this together. If we do the right things, if we all follow the advice that is being given we can get through this and we will get through this.’
The First Minister added that there would ‘undoubtedly’ need to be more support for businesses, as there will be an ‘extremely significant economic impact’ of the measures announced.
She also warned there could be a ‘significant’ impact on mental health challenges, social isolation, loneliness, and physical health.
Last night, the Treasury announced it will provide £1.5billion to the devolved administrations, including £780million for the Scottish Government, to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
French president Emmanuel Macron last night vowed that state support would mean ‘not a single company will go bankrupt’ despite even more dramatic restrictions.
Sir Patrick said the UK now appears to be just three weeks behind the situation in Italy, where the death toll yesterday passed 2,000.
Ministers were warned that evidence from Italy suggested that pressure on intensive care beds was double the level expected.
Had the Government continued to follow its relatively limited ‘mitigation’ strategy, around 11,000 patients would need intensive care at any one time, more than double the NHS’s capacity.
Comment – Page 20
‘Potentially severe blow’ ‘Measures to slow spread’