New plans from Downing Street

On Monday, Boris Johnson’s governments scrapped its previous strategy and imposed “draconian measures” to save 250,000 lives and flatten the curve.

In the first of a series of briefs, Johnson, urged all Britons to avoid social gatherings including pubs, restaurants and theatres. “Social distancing” is the order of the day. The 8.8million aged over 70 were on Monday told to avoid other people “as much as you can and significantly limit your face-to-face interaction with friends and family”. The advice given is for the long haul and “people should be thinking from weeks to months and it could be longer”. The requested substantial changes in how people live their life are the biggest in peacetime

Both in Manchester and London, major theatres have cancelled shows indefinitely. The capital is a few weeks ahead of the rest of the country. The hospitality and event industry has however come out all arms against the government’s advice. Food and beverage estab

A second petition calling the government to support UK’s hospitality industry though the Corona crisis’ was also set up on Monday night. At the time of writing it has attracted over 35,000 signatories

lishments are arguing that not shutting down establishments prevents owners from using their insurance policies to assist them in these dire times.

In the press brief, Johnson acknowledged that COVID-19 is going to “potentially [be] a severe blow for the economy… but unlike the 2008 crisis”. However, The PM did not make any mention of specific fiscal and monetary measures for companies to make up for the loss in revenue and prevent job losses. In the G7 meeting on Monday,

As of Monday night, a petition urging the ‘Government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during COVID19’ has been up at running. In less than 24 hours, 120,000 individuals have signed the petition and parliament must now consider the petition for a debate. The [event] industry is worth more than £14 billion to the economy, with 25,000 businesses supporting over 500,000 employees, all of whom are nervous about whether their next event will go ahead or not, and how their income may be affected.

A second petition calling the government to support UK’s hospitality industry though the Corona crisis’ was also set up on Monday night. At the time of writing it has attracted over 35,000 signatories.

Asked whether the NHS is equipped enough for the epidemic, Johnson said that if the curve is flattened the NHS will cope with the expected surge in demand. Also, Johnson asked manufactures to sign up to make as many new ventilators as possible.

With only one week away from the Easter holidays, school remain open. Pupils with a cough or fever will need to be isolated until parents picked them up.

It is estimated that the UK is three weeks behind Italy.