Virus Hits U.K. State With Charles Sick and Parliament to Shut

(Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus crisis hit the highest levels of the British state with the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, testing positive for the disease as the government moved to shut down Parliament for four weeks.

The U.K. outbreak is most advanced in London and several politicians have fallen ill, including a health minister -- and now the heir to the throne.

Parliament had been scheduled to break for Easter on March 31, but the House of Commons will close on Wednesday if -- as expected -- lawmakers vote for the move, British officials said. The Commons would reopen on April 21.

The U.K.’s decision puts it ahead of other countries. While Italy, Germany and Spain have distancing measures in place and only allow limited numbers into their main debating chambers, they have stopped short of closing their parliaments altogether.

On another day of fast-moving developments as the virus spread in the U.K.:

• Prince Charles tested positive for coronavirus. The 71 year-old “has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health,” his office said in a statement. He is self-isolating with wife, Camilla who does not have the virus.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons a package of support for self-employed workers will be announced in the next “couple of days.”
• Johnson said Parliament should consider legislating to prevent profiteering in the coronavirus crisis.
• Neil Ferguson, a senior scientist advising the government, said peak demand on hospital intensive-care facilities is likely to be reached in two or three weeks, but the lockdown measures across the country should help avoid medical centers becoming overwhelmed.

The move to shut Parliament follows Johnson’s decision to put the U.K. on lockdown, ordering people to stay at home unless essential for work; closing schools, restaurants and shops, and banning gatherings in public.

But Johnson’s strategy has been called into question, with some critics saying it does not go far enough. Construction workers have been going to work on project sites as normal and packed London Underground trains prompted concerns that passengers will be spreading the disease.

Construction Workers

Johnson has also faced calls for an urgent acceleration in the program of testing people for coronavirus.

The government said it is acceptable for construction work to continue, if workers stand at least two meters apart to reduce the risk of contagion.

“If you can work from home you must do so. If you can’t work from home then you can go into work,” Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC’s Breakfast program Wednesday. “A number of employers have concluded that they can’t follow the Public Health England guidance and have chosen to shut down their sites.”

On Wednesday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said early data showed passenger numbers on the Underground had fallen significantly -- down another third on Tuesday’s levels.

He said Tube passenger numbers were already 88% down yesterday compared to the same day in 2019 and bus ridership 76% lower. “However, we still need more Londoners to do the right thing and stay at home,” Khan added.

According to Alex Prior, a lecturer in Politics at the University of East Anglia, there are historical examples of Parliament breaking up because of a pandemic, such as in the Great Plague of 1665-6. However, the Spanish Flu crisis of 1918-20 did not prompt a suspension of Parliament as World War I and its fallout still dominated proceedings.

Labour member of Parliament Chris Bryant called on Johnson to allow two members of his opposition party into the government during the crisis. In an interview he named Keir Starmer, favorite to become the new Labour leader, as one candidate. Bryant said the Conservatives “don’t understand the full panoply of modern Britain.” Labour MPs had first noticed that the self-employed and people working on “zero-hours” contracts would need help, he said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.