.Covid-19: PM announces four-week England lockdown

He said the steps were necessary to avoid the "medical and moral disaster" of the NHS being overwhelmed.

Non-essential shops and hospitality will have to close for four weeks on Thursday, he said.

But unlike the restrictions in spring, schools, colleges and universities will be allowed to stay open.

After 2 December, the restrictions would be eased and regions would go back to the tiered system, he said.

Mr Johnson said: "Christmas is going to be different this year, perhaps very different, but it's my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together."


The prime minister told a Downing Street news conference that he was "truly, truly sorry" for the impact on businesses, but said the furlough system paying 80% of employee wages will be extended through November.

He said hospitals even in the south-west of England, where cases are among the lowest, will run out of capacity in weeks.

"Doctors and nurses would be forced to choose which patients to treat, who would get oxygen and who wouldn't, who would live and who would die," Mr Johnson said.

Takeaways will be allowed to stay open as pubs, bars and restaurants close and people are being told they can only meet one person from outside their household outdoors.

Mr Johnson, who chaired a cabinet meeting on Saturday afternoon, will make a statement to Parliament on Monday.

The UK recorded another 21,915 confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 1,011,660.

Another 326 people were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive test.

The UK is the ninth country to reach the milestone of a million cases - after the US, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Argentina and Colombia.

But the true number of infections is expected to be higher due to a lack of widespread testing at the start of the pandemic.

Prof Neil Ferguson, whose modelling was crucial to the decision to impose the first lockdown, said keeping universities and schools open meant infections would decrease more slowly this time.

He said the new restrictions could reduce cases by anywhere between 20% and 80%, adding that he hoped larger groups of people would be able to gather by Christmas "if only for a few days".

Mr Johnson had previously resisted pressure to introduce nationwide restrictions, saying they would be "disastrous" for the UK's finances and opting instead for a three-tiered system targeting local areas in England.

Ahead of the news conference, school and university unions called for education institutions to be closed and for teaching to move online in another national lockdown.

The National Education Union said it would be "self-defeating" to ignore how schools helped to spread the virus.

And "the health and safety of the country is being put at risk" by the insistence on keeping in-person teaching on campuses, the University and College Union said.

The month-long lockdown may suppress the virus, but what is less clear is whether the government will be in a better position to stop it rebounding.

There have been calls to fix the test and trace service, but that is easier said than done.

Testing capacity is being increased. In the coming days, the government is expected to announce its labs are able to process 500,000 tests a day. That should allow the system to speed up turnaround times.

But improving the tracing side of the service is likely to be much more difficult.

Councils in England are being encouraged to set up their own local contact tracing teams to support the under-pressure national system.

About a third of areas have now launched their own services and there are some encouraging signs in what's being achieved.

But questions are quite rightly being asked why this is only happening now as the second wave hits.

Significant levels of transmission are also being seen in care homes and hospitals, where one in six of the new daily admissions are suspected to be cases where patients have caught the virus in hospital.

Expect infection levels to come down quickly - and eventually that to translate to fewer hospital admissions and deaths.

But the true test of the lockdown lies elsewhere.

Presentational grey line
The British Chambers of Commerce said the new restrictions would be a "devastating blow" to businesses, which were in a weaker position now than they were in March.

Director general Adam Marshall said the government must increase business support and "must not squander" the extra time bought by another lockdown.

Too bad!!! God please help us.

Good for them

God pls heal the world,
Nigeria is still somehow safe for now.
We don't know wat the politicians are doing

And this our govt na copy copy,dey fit say the virus is back in Nigeria and impose another lockdown just to steal money again.

Righteousness89:
Nigeria and African Leaders should not do copy copy ooo!!

There is no Reason for any Lockdown in Africa..

Just say your tithes will be threatened

it's #EndSars second phase we want to start here #EndBadGovt #EndBadGovt

BeLookingIDIOT:

Just say your tithes will be threatened

righteousness no be pastor, he no get church na.
Na online pastor and church he dey do

BeLookingIDIOT:

Just say your tithes will be threatened

Aboki face your cave mosque !

It is well.

BeLookingIDIOT:

Just say your tithes will be threatened

Stop declaring your foolishness anywhere you go

Afamed:

What happens to your annointing oil ?
Are they not working again?
Shumuck

did you read his post properly? your comment is pointing at a different direction

PMB will soon lock down our country

9ja go copy but will omit the palliative part

meum:
9ja go copy but will omit the palliative part

You don loot the palliatives now

weyreypey:

You don loot the palliatives now

Shey u dey report yaself
Beta carry am go return. Na poison wey u loot so
Palliathief

Marine54:
Aboki face your cave mosque !

Do I seem anyway related to aboki or mosques

meum:

Shey u dey report yaself
Beta carry am go return. Na poison wey u loot so
Palliathief

Seriously we need to pray diligently

it's #EndSars second phase we want to start here
#EndBadGovt
#EndBadGovt

BeLookingIDIOT:

Do I seem anyway related to aboki or mosques

GOD forbid !

Which kind year be this??