England Set for Tougher Virus Tiers, Eyes Christmas Easing
England Set for Tougher Virus Tiers When National Lockdown Ends
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce the reintroduction of tiered restrictions to replace the England-wide lockdown that ends on Dec. 2 when he outlines the U.K.’s winter coronavirus plan in Parliament on Monday.
The details of the curbs, which will be tougher than those in place before the four-week lockdown, were due to be discussed and approved by the Cabinet on Sunday afternoon, Johnson’s office said in a statement. The plan will include guidelines for family visits over Christmas, “despite ministers being clear this will not be a normal festive period.”
A group of 70 lawmakers from the prime minister’s Conservative Party immediately warned they will not back the return of the tiered structure unless ministers provide a full “cost-benefit” analysis of the plan. MPs are due to vote on the new rules before they come into force, and if all the signatories to the letter join the opposition parties to vote against Johnson, the government would face defeat.
“We cannot support this approach further unless the government demonstrates the restrictions proposed for after Dec. 2 will have an impact on slowing the transmission of Covid, and will save more lives than they cost,” they wrote in a letter to Johnson. “The lockdown cure prescribed runs the very real risk of being worse than the disease.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak sought to reassure the potential rebels, saying the cost to livelihoods, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, is being taken into account along with wider health impacts as ministers consider the plans.
“Restrictions on businesses’ ability to trade is enormously damaging, not just for them, but for the people that they employ, and it’s right that we have that in our mind,” Sunak told BBC TV on Sunday. “As we’ve learned more there’s opportunities for us to look and refine things.”
Christmas Plan Considered
A 10 p.m. curfew for hospitality businesses and the 14-day quarantine for people exposed to the virus are under review, Sunak said.
More areas will be placed into the higher tiers of restrictions in order to keep the virus under control and details of where the different curbs will apply will be announced on Thursday, Johnson’s office said.
The U.K. government in London is close to agreeing on a plan for Christmas with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Cabinet Office said in a statement on Sunday. Ministers met to discuss the plans on Saturday and aim to reach an agreement later in the week.
They endorsed “some limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days, but also emphasized that the public will be advised to remain cautious, and that wherever possible people should avoid traveling and minimize social contact,” it said. “Work is continuing to finalize the arrangements, including relating to travel.”
The government’s scientific advisory group, known as SAGE, is also scheduled to publish evidence on Monday showing the previous tiered restrictions weren’t strong enough, and why a tougher regional approach is required.
The rate of growth in infections in the U.K. is slowing, according to the latest data. Still, more than 3,000 people have died in the past week and total cases exceeded 1.5 million after surging 50% this month.
Johnson and his scientific advisers “are clear the virus is still present -- and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect,” his office said.
Parliament will vote on the proposed system before it becomes enforceable and there will be a legal obligation to keep the measures under an ongoing review.
The opposition Labour Party said it will “look closely” at the new proposals before deciding whether to support them. There needs to be better financial help for people affected by the restrictions and certainty for businesses, the party said.
“There now needs to be total clarity about what we are moving to once the full national lockdown eases, with measures people can follow and proper packages of support for those businesses that are unable to fully reopen,” Labour said in a statement. “The previous system was failing -- simply returning to it without other measures in place will not work.”
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