Lockdown Part 2?

Words Sarah Adama

When the U.K. lifted lockdown restrictions 2 months ago, scientists warned against lifting lockdown measures too soon. With 2,948 new cases recorded on Monday 4th September, government concerns of an increase across the whole country has led the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to introduce some changes. Did we relax too early? Sarah Adama tells us more.

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The Rule of Six

Previously, citizens were allowed to gather in groups of 30 maximum. Now, the prime minister has stated “You must not meet socially in groups of more than six,” and “if you do, you will be breaking the law.” From today, Monday, 14th September, it will be illegal to gather with more than six people outside your household. The PM added that those caught flaunting the rules will be liable to a fine of £100 and maximum fine of £3,200 for double offences. 

Who is exempt from the new guidelines? The restriction does not extend to schools, workplaces and support bubbles. Weddings, places of worship, funerals and organised team sports are also unaffected. As per the prime ministers promise that the U.K. will not go into another national lockdown, venues – restaurants, hospitality venues and gyms – many host more than six people as long as groups do not mix socially. 

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Street-troops

The marshal scheme will be run by local authorities Covid-Secure Marshalls, recruited and paid by local councils. They will be patrolling the streets to enforce these new rules and break up gatherings of more than six people. The recruitment process will be supported by the government, launching a register of newly qualified and retired environmental health officers (EHOs) , though some local authorities have enlisted the help of volunteers and local council staff. The Covid-Secure Marshals have the responsibilities of preventing mixing in social groups, directing pedestrians, sanitising touchpoints and providing information to citizens on government guidelines. Though they do not have police powers to arrest rule flaunters, they will have to report to police if fines need to be issued. Marshalls will also be checking in on pubs and restaurants to ensure that social distancing measures are being followed and will have to report to the police to issue fines. 

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Operation “Moonshot” 

The prime minister’s big hope. The project aims to amplify testing and promises a return to normality. Essentially, it is frequent mass testing of the population so that we can know who is clear from the virus and able to mix socially. It is a plan to eradicate the virus, a very costly one, which would cost £100bn. To understand just how much that is, it is 2/3 of the annual NHS budget, more than the UK's defence budget. Current UK testing rate is at 200,000 to 800,000-day, operation moon-shot would see that 2-4bn are being tested a day, in December. What is Johnson’s long-term vision? To carry out 10 billion tests a day in Feb 2021. But here’s the problem: the technology does not exist yet. The PM’s hope for mass testing that is “simple as a pregnancy test” and delivers results in 15 minutes could be a long shot considering there isn’t a certified covid test in the world that gives results in minutes. 

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Travel Ban 

With the spike of cases in Europe, the U.K. has ramped up on quarantine rules. Since the borders between European countries opened up, a spike in cases has put many virus hotspots on the U.K.’s quarantine list. Countries such as mainland Portugal and Hungary, which were recently given exemption have also been added to the high-risk list. From Saturday, 12th September, arrivals from Portugal and three other countries recently added, will be required to self-isolate. Seven Greek islands have also been added to the quarantine list following the spike in cases. The U.K. has welcomed a new entry, Sweden to its lower-risk travel category, meaning travellers will not be required to quarantine on arrival.

Quarantine rules in the U.K. require passengers arriving in the country to fill out a passenger locator form and failure to fill the form is now a criminal offence. To ensure citizens have filled out the form and are quarantining upon arrival in the country, spot checks are being carried out. Currently, calls and text messages have been made to 136,500 people to ensure the rules are being followed. 

Sarah Adama - Politician