Pictured above: Big Ben in London, England. Photo courtesy of WikiMedia.
By Sophie Soloway ’23 and Aditi Parashar ’22
Global Editor & Staff Writer
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Oct. 31 that England will be going into its second national lockdown to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown began on Nov. 5 and is set to end on Dec. 2. According to the BBC, England had 21,915 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 31, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,011,660.
In his press conference, Johnson announced that the second national lockdown was the only way England could prevent a “medical and moral disaster” for the British National Health Service, reported the BBC.
Johnson also said “no responsible prime minister” could ignore figures that suggested deaths would reach “several thousand a day,” with a “‘peak of mortality’ worse than the country saw in April.” Without the lockdown in place, members of the NHS would have been forced to choose which patients would live and which would die, Johnson said.
This lockdown is similar to Britain’s first national lockdown in the spring, with spaces like pubs, restaurants, gyms and nonessential shops closing for four weeks. People have also been asked to work from home if their jobs allow. However, unlike in the spring, educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities are allowed to stay open during this lockdown.
Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer supported the second lockdown while emphasizing the fact that this is a decision the Tory government “should have taken weeks ago.” The Labour Party had been pushing for a shorter lockdown weeks earlier to no avail, reported The New York Times.
The Print, an Indian publication, reported that Johnson was resisting introducing nationwide restrictions, even with growing pressure. Johnson cited “disastrous” consequences for the U.K.’s finances, calling it the “nuclear” option and instead suggesting a three-tiered system targeting local areas in England before announcing the new lockdown.
Shanze Hasan ’21, an international relations major, said, “While the second lockdown is important to reduce the burgeoning number of coronavirus cases, the delay due to the Johnson government’s resistance will mean a longer lockdown to counteract the rise in cases England has seen recently.”
The second lockdown also has economic implications. According to The New York Times, even in the spring lockdown, Britain was much slower than its neighbors in shutting down its economy, which led to the lockdown lasting longer than initially intended. It also saw one of the worst second quarter recessions in Europe. Many opposition leaders and economists believe this delayed lockdown is the government making the same mistake again.
Amman Syed ’22, an economics major, said, “The projected unemployment peak numbers have gone up and economic growth has gone down. However, a lockdown in any country would see the same results. What the U.K. needs to do is focus on how long they continue to supplement loss of income so that when the economy opens up again, the jolt to the economy is not massive.”
The U.K. is not the only country in Europe with rising cases. According to NBC News, Germany and France have both documented record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases within the past week. Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic in its early stages, has also placed new restrictions on citizens in an effort to curb rising cases.
The New York Times reported that the Czech Republic, Belgium, Hungary and Poland have also seen a steady increase in hospitalizations, placing Europe’s hospitals at a shortage of healthcare providers and supplies. As the U.K. enters its new lockdown, many of its neighboring countries must contend with very similar realities.