The UK has recently announced a second lockdown. This raises the question: what will happen to the rest of Europe following the UK’s COVID protocols?
The Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, announced on November 5th, that England will be under lockdown until December 2nd. With Covid cases rising daily, the UK is said to have the most number of cases in Europe as of right now. But more importantly, more countries have also seen a surge in cases as countries like France and Italy are also dealing with their sudden rise in cases.
The new guidelines have allowed schools to remain open for students, however, residents are being warned that unless it is absolutely necessary, people should stay at home until the four weeks are over. The guidelines have also made it so that people are not allowed to meet in any indoor areas like pubs, restaurants, and shopping centers. Similarly, just like the lockdown before, restaurants will remain open, but just for the option of take-out. Other parts of the UK, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have also implemented their own course of action with their own lock downs.
In Scotland, while there is a stop to the selling of alcohol, pubs and cafes will be open until November 20th, which is when the full lockdown will be in place along with travel restrictions. In Northern Ireland due to the smaller population, on November 26th it was planned that the majority of their restrictions will be lifted however, it was just announced that they will be extending their lock down. But as of right now gathering is still allowed with the max number of people set at 10. However, businesses that are required to remain closed like spas, hair/nail businesses, etc. until the lockdown is lifted. Finally, in Wales, the lock down became more flexible since the 9th of November.
To no surprise, the UK lock down has faced harsh criticism. Critics do not want to lock down England for the second time citing many complaints about the impact that this will have on the economy. However, this was a drastic measure that needed to be implemented as the UK has joined other countries like the US, France, and India by reaching a million cases. And the UK isn’t the only place in Europe that is forced into a lockdown. However, as Europe is already in the midst of their lockdown, this begs the question- will the US follow suit this upcoming winter?
With the weather changing to getting colder and the notion of outdoor social distancing will slowly go away. As it is just a normal human response not to be out in the cold for a while. Because of this the UK and many other countries in Europe are making the safe choice of locking down now inorder for cases to hopefully go down just in time for the holiday season.
Photos: Her Campus Media