UK raises COVID-19 alert level in London, imposes stricter measures

  • London will be moved into the 'tier 2' or 'high risk' level in the government's new three-tiered alert system, up from 'tier 1' or 'medium risk'
  • The worst hit areas of London are Richmond, Hackney, the City of London, Ealing, Redbridge and Harrow

Agencies
Published15 Oct 2020, 02:28 PM IST
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson(Reuters)

LONDON: The British government will impose stricter COVID-19 social restrictions on London, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in parliament on Thursday.

The capital will be moved into the "tier 2" or "high risk" level in the government's new three-tiered alert system, up from "tier 1" or "medium risk".

"We've together agreed that London needs to move to local COVID alert level 'high'," Hancock said.

Earlier, Hancock was set to address parliament at around 10:30 GM and was expected to announce changes to the government's patchwork of three-tier local lockdowns.

London and Manchester are in focus as the outbreak spreads.

Asked on Sky news if Manchester and parts of Lancashire county would be placed into tier three, the highest level of local lockdown, junior business minister Nadhim Zahawi said: "Matt Hancock is going to make a statement to parliament as to where we are at but you can clearly see the numbers."

Zahawi said the government was also speaking to London Mayor Sadiq Khan who has called for tougher lockdowns in the capital where 11 boroughs are seeing more than 100 new cases a week per 100,000 people.

The worst hit areas of London are Richmond, Hackney, the City of London, Ealing, Redbridge and Harrow. The British capital, Europe's richest city, is currently at the "medium" alert level so could be moved to "high".

In areas in the high alert level, socialising outside households or support bubbles is not allowed indoors though work can continue and schools continue to operate.

Manchester is currently at the "high" alert level so could be moved to "very high" - a level which forbids socialising, forces pubs and bars to close and prohibits travel outside the area.

While the government says it must act to tackle the swiftly accelerating second wave of the outbreak, there is growing concern about the economic and health costs of the poverty that such lockdowns are inflicting.

The United Kingdom faces a "period of destitution" in which families "can't put shoes on" children, the government's former homelessness adviser said.

"Are we actually asking people in places like Liverpool to go out and prostitute themselves, so that they could put food on the table?" Louise Casey told the BBC.

"There's this sense from Downing Street and from Westminster that people will make do. Well, they weren't coping before COVID," she said.

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Business NewsNewsWorldUK raises COVID-19 alert level in London, imposes stricter measures
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First Published:15 Oct 2020, 02:28 PM IST

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