UK calls in army and warns people to stay home or face lockdown
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[March 23, 2020]
By Kate Holton and Sarah Young
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain sent in the army
to deliver protective equipment to hospitals on Monday and told people
to stay at home and heed warnings over social distancing or the
government would bring in more extreme measures to stop the coronavirus
spread.
With some doctors saying they felt like "cannon fodder", the government
said the military would help ship millions of items of personal
protective equipment (PPE) including masks to healthcare workers who
have complained of shortages.
So far, 281 Britons have died from coronavirus and, in the last few
days, British authorities have rapidly stepped up action to try to limit
the spread of the disease and prevent a repeat of the death toll seen in
other countries where thousands have died.
However, there have been complaints from frontline medical staff about
shortages of kit, saying they did not feel safe at work. In a letter
pleading with Prime Minister Boris Johnson to increase PPE supplies,
more than 6,000 frontline doctors said they were being asked to put
their lives at risk with out-of-date masks, and low stocks of equipment.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted there had been issues but
promised action was being taken. He said the army would drive trucks
throughout the day and night to get supplies to medical staff.
"It's like a war effort, it is a war against this virus and so the army
have been incredibly helpful in getting those logistics so we can get
the supplies to protect people on the front line," he told the BBC,
saying the health service now had 12,000 ventilators, 7,000 more than at
the start of the crisis.
Britain has brought in a series of measures to try to curb the spread of
the virus.
On Monday, a much-reduced rail service was introduced and jury trials
were suspended, coming days after Johnson advised Britons to work from
home if possible and ordered the closure of pubs, gyms and leisure
centers.
ADVICE IGNORED
But advice to stay at home and avoid social gatherings went unheeded by
millions at the weekend who took advantage of sunny weather to flocked
to parks and beauty spots over the weekend, ignoring instructions to
stay 2 meters (6 feet) apart.
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A woman wearing a mask is seen walking over London bridge with a
coronavirus notice in the foreground, as the spread of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, Britain, March
23, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Emyr Williams, chief executive of the Snowdonia National Park
Authority in Wales, said the past 24 hours had been unprecedented.
"We have experienced the busiest visitor day in living memory. The
area has been overwhelmed with visitors," he said.
The government warned that Britain would face a shutdown with
curfews and travel restrictions if people continued to flout the
advice.
"Well, we're perfectly prepared to do that if we need to because the
objective here is really clear which is to stop the spread of the
virus. Of course we will enforce and bring in further strong
measures if we need to," Hancock told Sky News.
The government was also pondering whether to close all non-essential
retail shops, the BBC's political editor reported.
Some firms have already acted because of slowing demand, with
clothing retailer Primark and department store John Lewis saying on
Monday they would temporarily close all of their shops.
It comes as Britain opened the first part of a 330 billion pound
($384 billion) loan guarantee scheme for businesses , which will
help small and medium-sized firms borrow up to 5 million pounds to
deal with coronavirus stoppages.
(Additional reporting by Costas Pitas and David Milliken; Writing by
Michael Holden; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Alison Williams)
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