London: The UK capital is headed for much tougher lockdown measures within days as London remains the country’s coronavirus hotspot, with over a third of the UK’s 2,626 confirmed cases, at 953.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted on Wednesday that Britain remains a “land of liberty” but did not rule out a further crackdown on London, where the virus has been spreading faster than any other part of the country despite government advice to refrain from all social contact and unnecessary travel and work from home as far as possible.
I have to tell you we will rule nothing out and we will certainly wish to consider bringing forward further and faster measures where that is necessary to suppress the peak of the epidemic to protect our NHS [National Health Service], to minimise casualties, and to minimise suffering, he said during his daily Downing Street briefing, when asked about bringing in measures similar to those in place across the border in France where citizens require paperwork to justify their movements out and about.
Absolutely we do not rule it out, because it would be quite wrong to do so. We do not rule out taking further and faster measures in due course, Johnson said.
As the death toll from COVID-19 hit 104, the UK Cabinet Office has reportedly asked government departments to draw up plans that would force cafés, pubs and restaurants to close and drastically reduce the Underground Tube, rail and bus service network.
Transport for London is already putting in place plans for the closure of up to 40 Tube stations, with most
Underground lines set to run heavily reduced services across the capital.
People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a direct plea to Londoners.
Johnson also appealed for people to take the self-isolation advice seriously: “I am a believer in freedom. But let us be in absolutely no doubt that these are very, very important choices we are now making.
”The more closely, the more strictly, the more ruthlessly we can enforce upon ourselves, our families, the advice… the fewer deaths we will have.”
The move came as he announced the closure of schools indefinitely from Friday and cancelled annual board level exams scheduled for May and June. Provisions are being made for the children of key workers in the healthcare and delivery of essentials sectors, so that parents are able to carry on their work.