LONDON IS FACING LOCKDOWN
Boris threatens to get tough with residents if they refuse to follow strict virus guidelines
LONDON could be put into a form of ‘lockdown’ to enforce tough restrictions on social contact, Boris Johnson hinted last night.
The Prime Minister refused to rule out the possibility of ‘further and faster measures’ to control the spread of the virus in the city, where the epidemic is running ahead of the rest of the country.
He said ‘ruthless’ enforcement of so-called social distancing measures – such as working from home and avoiding social gatherings in pubs, cinemas and restaurants – was needed. Some 953 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in London – more than a third of the UK total of 2,626.
Mr Johnson said people who chose to ignore the official advice could put others at risk.
Anecdotal evidence suggests some Londoners do not appear to be following Government advice to socially distance themselves, and have been attending pubs, clubs and restaurants and continuing to travel to work.
As a result, London could follow the example of other cities around the world which have been hit by the virus and gone into so-called lockdown.
However, police are said to be concerned that the measures would be unenforceable and could even lead to public disorder.
Asked about the prospect yesterday, the Prime Minister said: ‘The more closely, the more strictly, the more ruthlessly we can enforce upon ourselves, our families, the advice we are getting about avoiding unnecessary gatherings, about staying at home when we have symptoms, then the better we will be able to protect the NHS, the fewer deaths we will have and the less suffering there will be in the UK population, and the faster we will get through this.
‘This is strong, strong advice and we absolutely do not rule out taking further and faster measures in due course.’
The Government’s chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the measures would work only if they were followed by ‘a very high proportion’ of the population.
Sir Patrick, who will advise the Prime Minister on whether a further lockdown is needed, added: ‘The moment we say, “it’s not for me, it’s for someone else”, the less effective it will be.
‘When we don’t adhere to this, we are putting the sickest patients at risk. It is crucial that this is not taken as soft advice but a really clear instruction to do this.’
The Chief Medical Officer also refused to rule out total lockdowns in the UK, as is happening in France, Spain and Italy. Professor Chris Whitty said: ‘What we’ve said at the beginning is that as the epidemic progresses, we will do more things at the right time.
‘But each of the things we’re doing are very disruptive to people’s lives and we’re very keen to do them at the right time but not before the right time.’
He told BBC 5 Live: ‘There may well be, as this epidemic starts to take off, significant other things the Prime Minister may wish to do.’
Mr Johnson’s remarks came after Nicola Sturgeon claimed the UK Government was about to announce ‘more stringent measures’ for London.
Asked how far the UK was from a ‘complete lockdown’, she said London might see tougher measures first because it was further ahead on the ‘curve’ of the outbreak. Miss Sturgeon is fully briefed on UK-wide coronavirus measures as she attends the Government’s emergency Cobra meetings.
A source at London’s City Hall said last night that No10 had not informed them of any lockdown plans so far.
Another source said: ‘All options are on the table. No decision has been made yet. We will take whatever steps necessary but no time scale has been decided upon. There has been speculation about police and the Army shutting down the streets completely. It is physically impossible – London is too big and there aren’t enough officers. It is unenforceable.’
It is understood that the military will initially be deployed to hospitals and to protect the transport network, although travel may be limited to key workers.
Though it is not clear what exactly the stricter measures would look like, a lockdown could entail travel restrictions for all but key workers, which will include NHS staff on the front line. All businesses could be forced to close, with only pharmacies and supermarkets allowed to stay open, as has been seen in other European cities.