March 2020. Boris Johnson is to address the UK on new measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, amid concerns people have been ignoring government advice. The UK has been under growing pressure to follow other countries by ordering the closure of more shops, and enforcing rules on social distancing. The PM will make a statement at 20:30 GMT. Meanwhile, people in the most at-risk groups have begun getting an NHS text urging them to stay at home for 12 weeks. The UK’s death toll has reached 335. A further 46 people have died in England since Sunday – aged between 47 and 105 and all with underlying health conditions – while there were four deaths in Scotland and four in Wales. There have been 83,945 tests to date, with 6,650 confirmed cases. The NHS in England has announced it has identified 1.5 million of the most at-risk people, while there are 200,000 in Scotland, 70,000 in Wales and 40,000 in Northern Ireland. A text message from NHS England tells people in the most at-risk group: “Please remain at home for a minimum of 12 weeks. Home is the safest place for you. Staying in helps you stay well and that will help the NHS too.” The government’s emergency committee Cobra has met and emergency legislation introducing measures to respond to the outbreak has cleared its first Commons hurdle with MPs giving it an unopposed second reading. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says Britons travelling abroad should return to the UK as soon as possible because international travel is becoming more difficult with the closure of borders and the suspension of flights. Elsewhere, the British Olympic Association said Great Britain will not send a team to Tokyo 2020 if the spread of coronavirus continues as predicted. The International Olympic Committee has given itself four weeks to decide on the future of the Games, but Australia and Canada have already announced they will not compete this summer.
Mar 2020. Coronavirus in the UK Part 8
