英国将实施三级封锁限制措施
Boris Johnson is drawing up plans to shut pubs and restaurants in the north of England within days to contain a surging infection rate. There could also be a ban on overnight stays away from home in some areas. It comes after Scotland announced pubs in the worst-hit areas would shut for 16 days. Ministers will reportedly meet to sign off on final details including wage support for the struggling hospitality sector. The tough restrictions are expected to affect 10 million people in the north of England - including the cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle. Those areas will fall under tier-three lockdown measures on a simplified "traffic light" system of restrictions expected to be announced next week. Tier 1 will see current social distancing measures, the "rule of six" and a pub curfew of 10pm enforced, according to reports. Areas in Tier 2 will have the same restrictions plus a ban on households mixing. Tier 3 sees pubs and restaurants ordered to shut. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is tipped to announce a new wage support scheme for hospitality workers. Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls called for "full furlough" to be reintroduced. "That was imperative for saving jobs," she said, adding that one million workers remain on furlough just as tighter restrictions are being introduced. Highlighting the scale of the problem, Ms Nicolls said a 40 million pounds rescue plan for the Scottish hospitality industry equated to 2,000 pounds per venue. She said: "It barely keeps the lights on let alone saves a job." On the continent, all cafes, student beer halls, bars and tea rooms in Brussels have closed for a month in a "code red" lockdown. The measures go beyond the 11pm curfew which is in place across Belgium. And in Paris, bars and cafes remain closed for another two weeks after shutting completely on Oct 6. |