{"id":147520,"date":"2021-01-05T12:50:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/englands-lockdown-could-last-into-march-says-minister\/"},"modified":"2021-01-05T12:50:30","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:50:30","slug":"englands-lockdown-could-last-into-march-says-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/englands-lockdown-could-last-into-march-says-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"#England’s lockdown could last into March says minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#England’s lockdown could last into March says minister<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"lockdown\"
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England on Tuesday entered a strict national lockdown aimed at stemming a steep rise in virus cases that a senior government minister warned could last into March.\n <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the measures, including school closures and a ban on leaving home except for exercise and essential shopping, on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told Sky News<\/a> on Tuesday morning that he could not say precisely when the lockdown, announced as lasting six weeks, would be lifted, warning of “very, very difficult weeks”.<\/p>\n

The measures will be reviewed from February 15, he said, but the government cannot “predict with certainty” whether they will be lifted then.<\/p>\n

“I think it is right to say that as we enter March we should be able to lift some of these restrictions but not necessarily all,” he added.<\/p>\n

The measures began in England on Tuesday morning and will become law in the early hours of Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also bringing in strict lockdowns including school closures.<\/p>\n

The lockdown comes as the surge of a new strain of the virus that is said to be more infectious threatens to overwhelm hospitals, despite the rollout of two vaccines, including UK’s own Oxford University\/AstraZeneca shot from Monday, bringing hopes of beating the virus in the coming months.<\/p>\n

The UK has already vaccinated over one million people.<\/p>\n

A total of 58,784 people tested positive in the UK on Monday, with cases in the last seven days up 50 percent on the previous week.<\/p>\n

Schoolchildren will not sit crucial end-of-year exams needed to enter higher education as usual, Gove said.<\/p>\n

“We will be putting in place alternative arrangements,” he said.<\/p>\n

He also said the UK could impose new restrictions on international travel<\/a>. Currently quarantine is compulsory for those arriving from some countries but not virus testing.<\/p>\n

Gove said he had discussed this with the leaders of the other UK nations, adding: “We will be coming forward very shortly with new proposals.”<\/p>\n

Overall, Britain has been among the worst hit in the world by the outbreak, with some 2.7 million cases and 75,431 deaths.<\/p>\n

Johnson was widely criticised for hesitating too long about the measures, particularly school closures.<\/p>\n

But he won some support on Tuesday. The Times wrote: “Mr Johnson said that the weeks ahead would be the hardest yet. But at least we have given ourselves a fighting chance.”\n <\/p>\n\n

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Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n England’s lockdown could last into March says minister (2021, January 5)
\n retrieved 5 January 2021
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2021-01-england-lockdown-minister.html<\/p>\n

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