THERE GOES CHRISTMAS!
Festive plans of millions in England in doubt... as army of wardens enforce rules
THE traditional family Christmas is at risk after Boris Johnson admitted his new clampdown on gatherings could last for months.
He said yesterday that it was too early to say whether a ban on groups of more than six would be lifted in time for the festive season.
The Prime Minister said the measure, which comes in on Monday, ‘broke his heart’ but was needed to head off another devastating outbreak of coronavirus.
At a sombre press conference, he also unveiled tighter rules on travel quarantine rules as well as on pubs and restaurants.
Venues in virus hotspots could face 10pm curfews – a policy that may be brought in nationally. ‘Covid marshals’ will be recruited to step up enforcement.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty went further than Mr Johnson and hinted the new restrictions – which apply to England only – could stay in place until March because the situation was likely to remain ‘difficult’ until spring.
‘It is very unlikely to be over in just two or three weeks,’ said the professor. He insisted the clampdown was needed because ‘things had started to go out of control’.
The surge in cases has been driven by infections among the under-30s. Mr Johnson said the point of the clampdown was to avoid a second national lockdown, adding: ‘By bearing down on social contact and improving enforcement, we can keep schools and businesses open.’
Police will be asked to break up house parties and groups of more than six in parks, town centres and pubs. Those refusing to move on will face fines of £100.
From Monday, gatherings of seven or more will be outlawed, however many households are involved and regardless of whether they are indoors or outdoors.
Schools and workplaces will be exempt, as will weddings and funerals, where the previous limit of 30 will still apply.
The law will apply in private homes – making many family gettogethers illegal – and outdoors, including in parks and private gardens. Daily cases on Sunday more than doubled to almost 3,000 – the highest total since May. Ministers had relied on local lockdowns, but the figures show the virus is spreading across the country, particularly among the young.
A Government insider said: ‘We are not yet in trouble but we are definitely heading for trouble.’
Among 19 to 21-year-olds, the infection rate is running at 54 cases per 100,000 – almost three times the national average.
Ministers hope to emulate Belgium, which appears to have headed off a second wave by clamping down on social contact as soon as cases started to rise.
Spain and France failed to jump sufficiently hard on early signs of a second wave and are now seeing a widespread resurgence.
The PM said he was taking a ‘stitch in time saves nine’ approach and tried to inject a burst of optimism into the gloomy announcement by setting out his ‘moonshot’ vision for mass testing.
The scheme, which will be piloted in Salford next month, has already received £500million in funding.
Earlier, the Prime Minister faced a grilling from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons over problems with the existing testing system, which have left some people with virus symptoms asked to travel hundreds of miles to get a test or unable to get one at all.
The shortages led Mr Hancock to warn tests could be rationed. He appealed to people not to ask for one unless they had clear symptoms of the deadly virus.
The new ‘rule of six’ replaces a raft of complex regulations.
Meanwhile, marshals could be sent to towns and cities to enforce new virus laws, breaking up groups of more than six in town centres and alerting police if fines need to be handed out.
They will patrol parks, shopping centres, train stations and other areas where groups of people are likely to gather in larger numbers.
However, the beefing up of marshals on the streets may raise the spectre of the Dad’s Army character of Hodges, the power-mad air raid warden played by the late Bill Pertwee.
Mr Johnson said at yesterday’s press conference: ‘We will boost the local enforcement capacity of local authorities by introducing Covid-secure marshals to help ensure social distancing in town and city centres, and by setting up a register of environmental health officers that local authorities can draw upon for support.’
‘We are heading for trouble’