Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
England’s workers nudged back
Public transit returns; more businesses may reopen Aug. 1
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that people will no longer be told to work from home and avoid public transit in a major easing of lockdown restrictions — even as he said the government was “preparing for the worst” in case of a new coronavirus spike this winter.
Johnson said the government’s advice to avoid nonessential use of public transit was being lifted immediately, and that starting Aug. 1 workers would no longer be told to do their jobs from home if possible. He said it will now be up to businesses to determine whether they can bring employees back to workplaces in a “covid-secure” way.
The U.K.’s pandemic death toll, which stood at more than 45,000 Friday, has for several weeks been the highest in Europe and the third-highest in the world behind the United States and Brazil.
The prime minister’s move to give employers “more discretion” about whether to ask their staffs to return to regular work locations appears at odds with the views of his chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, who said Thursday that there was “absolutely no reason” to change the work-from-home advice.
Johnson said he was not ordering people back to the office.
“Obviously it’s not for government to decide how employers should run their companies and whether they want their workers in the office or not,” he said.
The announcements apply only in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own public health systems and are reopening at slightly different speeds.
At a news conference, Johnson set out more details of the U.K.’s road out of the nationwide lockdown imposed in March that is gradually being eased. Shops, pubs, restaurants and hair salons have already reopened
in England, and Johnson said they can be joined as of Aug. 1 by beauticians, casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks. Nightclubs will remain closed.
He said indoor performances would be able to restart in August subject to the success of pilot programs, and sports fans should be able to return to stadiums in October.
Johnson said the measures could be reversed if infection rates begin climbing again.
ISRAEL BACKTRACKS
Israel, on the other hand, announced sweeping new restrictions Friday in response to a new surge in coronavirus cases there, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery.
The government announced the restrictions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “interim steps” were needed to avoid another general lockdown.
Gyms and exercise studios will be closed except for use by competitive athletes, while beaches will be closed on weekends — Friday-Saturday in Israel — beginning later this month.
Restaurants were initially ordered to halt seated dining by Friday evening, but the government backtracked in the face of an uproar by owners who said they had already purchased fresh ingredients for the weekend rush and would suffer major losses if they had to throw them out.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the government said restaurants would have until early Tuesday to switch to takeout and delivery only.
Stores, malls, barber shops, beauty salons and tourist sites will be closed on weekends starting Friday. Public gatherings will be limited to 10 people indoors or 20 outside. The Cabinet approved the new measures, pending approval by Israel’s parliament, but said they would take effect Friday evening, with violation considered a criminal offense.
By late May, Israel had largely contained its outbreak following a two-month lockdown. But cases have soared in the weeks since restrictions were lifted, with Israel reporting around 1,900 new cases Thursday alone. At least 392 people have died since the outbreak began, out of a total of more than 47,000 cases.
Later on Friday afternoon, hundreds of Israelis demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, calling on the embattled leader to resign as he faces trial on corruption charges and grapples with the deepening pandemic.
This was the third such protest in a week. Netanyahu faces charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. His trial began last month. The long-serving prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the media and law enforcement of a witch hunt.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, coronavirus cases are also rising again in Iran, which has seen the worst outbreak in the region, with nearly 270,000 confirmed cases and at least 13,791 deaths. That includes 2,379 new cases and 183 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.