The United Kingdom is putting into force strict new measures to help control the spread of COVID-19. The novel coronavirus has infected over 1500 and killed more than 50 in the UK as of March 17.
Addressing the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson put into place extra measures aside from announcing that the government intends to unveil more financial plans to help the economy deal with the virus outbreak.
While the UK has said that schools will remain open as of now, a number of other key measures have been put into effect:
- Gatherings with friends and family, as well as large gatherings and crowded places, such as pubs, clubs and theatres should be avoided
- All non-essential travel should be avoided and people should work from home if they can
- All "unnecessary" visits to friends and relatives in care homes should stop
- People should only use the NHS "where we really need to". To reduce the burden on the National Health Service, people have been advised to use the NHS website wherever possible
- By next weekend, those with the most serious health conditions must be "largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks"
- If a single person in a household displays a persistent cough or fever, everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days. These people are to avoid leaving the house even to buy food or essentials. However, they can leave the house "for exercise and, in that case, at a safe distance from others"
Johnson also told Londoners to pay special attention to these measures and follow them strictly as the disease is spreading faster in London.
"It's important that Londoners now pay special attention to what we're saying about non-essential contact and to take particularly seriously the advice about working from home and avoiding confined spaces such as pubs and restaurants," he said.