News / Politics

UK says tough tiers needed amid worsening coronavirus pandemic

Sunday, 29 November 2020 9:35 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 29 November 2020 10:52 AM ]

Protesters march through central London as they take part in an anti-lockdown protest against government restrictions designed to control or mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, including the wearing of masks and lockdowns, in London on November 28, 2020. (AFP photo)

The United Kingdom needs tougher restrictions following the end of the current lockdowns in order to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, a senior minister says.

This comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has written to lawmakers, saying the current lockdown measures would end in February in an attempt to quell opposition.

Britain upped preparations for a vaccine roll-out on Saturday, with the Financial Times reporting that the UK is set to approve the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine next week.

However, despite progress on the vaccine, the government still needs to persuade lawmakers to support its new tougher tiered measures which will put 99 percent of English people into the highest two levels of restrictions when the current national lockdown ends on Dec. 2.

Johnson wrote to lawmakers ahead of a vote on the new measures to be held on Tuesday.

So far, more than 1,605,100 people have been affected in the UK and over 58,000 have died.

In an article published in the Times newspaper on Saturday, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove warned unless further restrictions are imposed on most of England's population, hospitals would be overwhelmed, urging lawmakers to back government plans.

Gove said the level of infection across the country remained "uncomfortably and threateningly high".

"These new tiers, alongside the wider deployment of mass testing, have the capacity to prevent our NHS being overwhelmed until vaccines arrive," said Gove.

The toughest tier of coronavirus restrictions will affect over 20 million people across large swathes of England.

UK economy won’t recover to pre-Covid-19 level until end of 2022

The UK economy will not recover until the fourth quarter of 2022, official forecasts indicate.

An increasing number of lawmakers in Johnson's Conservative party have, meanwhile, voiced opposition to the tiered restrictions plan.

Some of them argue that the areas they represent have low infection rates but face the toughest restrictions, while others assert the new measures will cause unnecessary economic harm to local businesses.

The new restrictions have also caused uproar among Britons. On Saturday, anti-lockdown demonstrations were held in London, with police saying that 155 people were arrested.

Between 300 and 400 protesters were holding up signs, saying, "Defend Freedom, Defend Humanity", "No more lies, no more masks, no more lockdowns," one police officer estimated.