Army intervention and waiting for summer .. Learn about Britain's plan to counter the spread of Corona

Al Jazeera Net - London

The British government is in a state of alert to confront the spread of the new Corona virus with the increasing number of infections in various regions of the Kingdom, and despite official assurances that the situation in the country is still under control, this did not prevent a plan to be confronted with the virus.

The British government anticipated the outbreak of the epidemic by forming a "theater of operations" that includes the country's health and sovereign services, which set up a program that is unique to the United Kingdom at the global level to deal with this epidemic.

Immediately after the meeting of the "Cobra" committee that convenes in crisis situations and includes the security and government agencies, the Prime Minister announced its plan contained in a 28-page document.

The document seen by Al-Jazeera Net shows that the British government decided to put four stages in the face of Corona, starting from trying to limit the spread of infection, then moving to the second stage, which is working to slow the pace of transmission, then the third stage, which is working at the maximum speed in the field of research to reach To treat the virus, the fourth stage is to mitigate its effects on public health and the economy.

It appears that the British are realistically dealing with the spread of the Coruna virus, and for this they have taken into account the worst scenario that could happen, which is to infect 50% to 80% of them with the virus.

Waiting for the summer
With the number of new Coronavirus infections exceeding the ceiling of 100 in Britain, the British Ministry of Health has announced that the country has entered the second stage of dealing with the virus, which means taking measures to reduce the speed of the epidemic and avoid its peak.

The second stage procedures stipulate the mobilization of hospitals and medical centers across the country, which was indicated by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allocate giant medical capabilities, and British health authorities began thinking about calling the newly referred medical teams to retire to relieve the pressure on hospitals.

The government plan includes encouraging citizens to work from home, the possibility of closing schools, and canceling the events that witness large human gatherings. The debate has already started regarding the possibility of canceling the parliament sessions in the two chambers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Through these steps, the government aims to delay the virus reaching its peak, while waiting for the summer season, as hospitals are experiencing less pressure, which will give medical staff more leeway to deal with people living with the virus.

The British Ministry of Health expresses its confidence in the ability to deal with the spread of the virus by the summer season, as it announced that it examined more than ten thousand people during the past weeks, despite the pressure experienced by British hospitals, and the fewer people coming to health institutions, the higher the readiness of hospitals to receive people with corona.

Britain currently has thirty hospitals ready to receive those infected with the Coronavirus, giving priority to the elderly who are considered the most vulnerable group affected by the virus.

Help the army
And the British government projections indicate that the virus may reach its maximum spread by May and June, and that half of Britons will be affected, which may lead to a fifth of the British workforce ceasing to work.

This scenario, which is considered the worst that can happen, has the government set a plan to call the British army in order to put all its medical equipment in the face of the spread of the virus, and the government has excluded both the police and firefighters from interfering to help to keep it to the task of imposing public security.

The British government did not exclude the option of closing the cities even though it considered it an undesirable measure, and the British Ministry of Health explains its preference for resorting to this decision by the fact that its efficacy is related to the epidemics that spread in a city and not others, but in the case of Corona virus it continues to spread in all regions of the country.

Subway danger
The British capital, London, has the largest network of underground trains in the world, and the number of its users is estimated at five million people daily, making train stations one of the most populated places in the British capital.

This situation has prompted increased attention to the seriousness of the spread of the virus through trains, especially during peak hours which are very crowded in the hours of going and returning from work.

And a study issued by Oxford University spoke about the fact that the subway is considered one of the places where the risk of infection with the Corona virus is very high in the event that anyone infected with the virus uses the train, and the study considers that the network is a place that could turn into fertile ground for the spread of the virus in the event that the necessary precautions were not taken.

In contrast to these warnings, which put the worst odds into account, the National Institute for Health Research in Britain still advises that people go to their places of work naturally, considering that there is no danger of using public transport.

The mayor of the capital, London, Sadiq Khan, gave assurances to the residents of the capital that they are in constant contact with medical advisors who confirm that the public transport network in the capital is still safe and does not pose any danger to its users.

Khan stressed that there is no reason to be afraid to rely on trains and buses to commute and participate in public buses.

However, the authorities in the capital, London, confirm that they are keeping every possibility in mind, but the current situation is still under control, and does not call for drastic measures such as closing train stations.

A poll conducted by the "Ipsu Mori" found that the British still have confidence in the public transport network, with only 20% saying that they are avoiding transportation by public transport.