On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new coronavirus containment plan with three levels of alerts for the UK. Much of the country, including London, is in the middle stage with a curfew starting at 10 pm and suspension of commercial activities.
The highest level of the plan covers the northern area of the country and states that bookmakers, bars and pubs must remain fully closed. The city of Liverpool is within this scenario of maximum surveillance. In addition, meetings between people who do not live together are prohibited.
According to the prime minister, hospitals are already caring for more people with the disease than on March 23, when the first quarantine was decreed. And the number of deaths is also increasing in the UK.
However, official documentation reveals that experts from the conservative cabinet had already recommended taking more severe actions weeks ago. At the moment, the most appropriate measure would be a new short-term national lockdown to try to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading rampant.
However, Johnson, who is under pressure from all sides, decided to issue a more moderate plan of restrictions. And it is choosing to share all responsibility for its actions with the regional authorities so as not to be totally isolated.
Effects of coronavirus in the UK
The big problem is that the growth in unemployment levels in the country. The number of layoffs is the highest in Britain since 2009 and this has caused the unemployment rate to increase by almost half a percentage point.
Therefore, the current rate is 4.5% and the opinion of local experts is that this is only the beginning of a crisis in the job market caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to official data, the UK has more than 617,000 confirmed cases of the disease with 42,000 deaths to date.
