JOHNSON finalizing plan to ease lockdown norms
If the death toll due to coronavirus continues to rise unabated in the United Kingdom, it may be the worst affected nation by the disease in Europe overtaking Italy. As on May 1, the death toll went up to 28,131 closely behind Italy which has so far had the world’s second most deadly outbreak of the disease after the United States. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under fire by the opposition parties who say his government had failed to adopt proper strategy at the early stages of the outbreak. Government scientists say that while the daily death tolls show a downward trend, they expect them to plateau for a while. The United States has had 64,740 deaths followed by Italy with 28,710 and the United Kingdom on 28,131 and then Spain on 25,100, according to a Reuters tally. Italy, which has a population of 60 million, said its death toll rose 474 as of Saturday. The United Kingdom has a population of about 67 million. UK PM Johnson had initially resisted introducing a lockdown to restrict economic and public activity but changed strategy following projections showed a quarter of a million people could die. He has said the country is over the peak but that it is still to early to relax the lockdown he imposed on March 23 because there could be a second peak that he fears might overwhelm hospitals. The struggling British economy, the world’s fifth-largest, is stalling and Johnson is due next week to present a possible way to get the country back to work without triggering a second spike in cases. He has set five tests that must be met before he can lift the lockdown – with a reduction in the daily death toll and prevention of a second deadly peak among the key ones, AFP quoted him as saying. The Guardian says UK commuters could be asked to check their temperatures at home before travelling under plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown being considered by the government. A change in physical distancing measures, including reducing the recommended gap between people in public from 2 metres to 1 metre, is also being considered, according to reports, as PM is Johnson readies to lay out a “roadmap” next week for schools and businesses reopening. The government is being criticised by Labour and business leaders for failing to come out with a strategy for easing the lockdown like India and other countries. It is now expected that some details will be laid out by the prime minister on Thursday when the government reviews the current lockdown, the English added. Among the measures expected to be proposed are alterations to public transport, to enable more workplaces to open. The Times says some of the suggestions include distribution of hand sanitisers at bus stations and new signage to warn commuters against getting on to busy trains. (edited by PKC. courtesy to Forbes for the picture)
