R&I ~ MJM
London (CNN)England has re-entered a national lockdown, following other European nations which have taken drastic steps to counter a surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths across the continent.
The restrictions, which took effect at midnight Thursday, will see restaurants, bars and non-essential businesses close until December 2.
England’s lockdown came days after similar measures were enacted in France and Germany, and ahead of a number of Italian regions becoming “red zones” on Friday.
Speaking before the parliamentary vote Wednesday which paved the way for the new lockdown, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had been “confronted” with data projecting that the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) could “collapse” in the face of increased demand because of Covid-19.
Johnson said deaths in the second wave of the pandemic could potentially exceed those recorded in the spring, with the number of coronavirus patients in some hospitals “already higher than at the peak of the first wave.”
“And when I look at what is happening now amongst some of our continental friends, and see doctors who have tested positive being ordered, alas, to work on Covid wards, and patients airlifted to hospitals in some other countries simply to make space, I can reach only one conclusion: I am not prepared to take the risk with the lives of the British people,” Johnson said.
RandyMarsh
Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/04/europe/england-italy-lockdown-covid-deaths-europe-intl/index.html