“Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health services in the world could possibly cope, because there won’t be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses. And as we have seen elsewhere in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger. To put it simply, if too many people become seriouslyunwell at one time, the NHS will not be able to handle it. Meaning more people are likely to die, not just from coronavirus but from other illnesses as well. So it is vital to slow the spread of the disease because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment at any one time. So we can protect the NHS’s ability to cope and save more lives. And that is why we’ve been asking people to stay home during this pandemic. And though huge numbers are complying and I thank you all, the time has now come for us all to do more “
From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction. You must stay at home. Because the critical thing we must do to stop the disease spreading between households. That is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes.
Shopping for basic necessities as infrequently as possible.
One form of exercise a day, for example, a walk, a run, cycle with alone or with members of your household .
Any medical need to provide care or help a vulnerable person.
And traveling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home. These are the only reasons you should be leaving home.
You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say no. You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials and medicine and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery service where you can. If you don’t follow the rules, the police will have the power to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.
To ensure compliance with the government’s instruction to stay home, we will immediately close all shops selling non-essential goods including clothing and electronic stores, and other premises including libraries, gyms, and places of worship. We will stop all gatherings of more than two people in public, excluding people you live with. . We will stop all social events, weddings, baptisms, but excluding funerals. Parks will remain open for exercise, but gatherings will be disbursed.
No Prime Minister wants to enact measures like this. I know the damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people’s lives, to their business and to their jobs. And that’s why we produced a huge and unprecedented program of support both for workers and for business. And I can assure you that we will keep these restrictions under constant review. We will look again in three weeks and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to, but at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard. And it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost. And it is also true hat there is a clear way through.
Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS. We have 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service. With the time you buy, by simply staying at home, we are increasing our stocks of equipment. We are accelerating our search for treatments. We’re pioneering work on a vaccine. And we’re buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible killer.
I want to thank everyone who is working flat out to beat the virus. Everyone from the supermarket staff to the transport workers to the carers to the nurses and doctors on the frontline. In this fight we can be in no doubt that each and everyone of us is directly enlisted. Each and everyone of us is now obliged to join together, to halt the spread of this disease to protect our NHS and to save many, many thousands of lives. and I know that as they have in the past, so many times, the people The people of this country will rise to that challenge And we will come through it stronger than ever. We will beat the Coronavirus and we will beat it together. And therefore I urge you, in this time of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS, and save lives. Thank you.”
(NHS is the 5th latest employer in the world. A big move for the UK.)
Does this mean I have no right to go to work in the construction industry? I have to travel, I have to work as I’m self employed, there’s not enough clarity, I work by myself usually on projects that require deliveries only
I know what it’s like to be infected. Some years ago I was walking 😂 along the street and a man coughed and spluttered and spat in my face. I went home showered: but it was no use. I was hospitalised . It was extremely uncomfortable being unable to drink or swallow on a drip. It was painful ☹️ just to sit up in bed. Aches, like flu in every bone, and I thought at one point all the time about Morphia to ease it. But the nurses were very caring, helpful and kind so I eventually recovered. Having been treated for many victimhood of violence type of surgery, it was typical for me to have much inoculation immunity on my bloodstream. As someone who rowed at school I know the PM has a robust constitution, but the key factor is youth. Even if you’re very ill being younger 😉 helps a lot in recovery times. The nation should wish the PM well along what is a rocky road.