British parliament approves emergency Covid-19 legislation
THE BILL NOW ONLY REQUIRES THE RUBBER STAMP OF ‘ROYAL ASSENT’ BEFORE IT OFFICIALLY BECOMES LAW. THIS IS EXPECTED BY THURSDAY
Britain’s upper house on Wednesday approved emergency legislation designed to help the Boris Johnson government tackle the coronavirus outbreak, paving the way for the farreaching bill to become law.
The laws will create temporary powers across different areas, from giving police and immigration officers the ability to detain people to protect public health, to allowing people to leave their jobs to volunteer in the health service.
Having been approved by parliament’s elected lower house earlier this week, the bill now only requires the rubber stamp of ‘Royal Assent’ before it officially becomes law.
This is expected by Thursday, and could come earlier.
UK’S RETIRED MEDICS
RETURN TO FIGHT VIRUS Thousands of retired doctors and nurses have returned “to the front line” to deal with the coronavirus challenge, besides nearly 19,000 final-year medical students, as the UK grapples with staff and equipment shortage in the fight against Covid-19.
The UK has reported 8,077 cases and at leat 422 deaths so far.
A call for volunteers to perform non-medical tasks in the UK’S National Health Service was immediately responded to by over 170,000 people within 24 hours. However, reports suggest that the massive NHS recruitment drive risks being undermined by the prospect of doctors quitting over fears of inadequate protective equipment.
JOHNSON SAYS 405,000 HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO HELP HEALTH SERVICE Johnson said on Wednesday that more than 400,000 people had volunteered to help the National Health Service (NHS) cope with the coronavirus crisis within 24 hours of a government appeal for volunteers.
“I also want to offer a special thank-you to everyone who has now volunteered to help the NHS,” Johnson said during a news conference.
“When we launched the appeal last night we hoped to get 250,000 volunteers over a few days, but I can tell you that in just 24 hours, 405,000 people have responded to the call.”