Boris Johnson, recovered from coronavirus disease, finds his Prime Minister's office this Monday with a delicate equation to solve: how to restart the British economy without risking a second peak that would wipe out the benefits of the sacrifices made so far?
Returning from his Checkers home, where he spent two weeks convalescing, the 55-year-old Conservative leader is under increasing pressure to unveil his strategy on the evolution of containment, in effect for a month in the United Kingdom. The Daily Telegraph , close to the conservative leader, evokes a relaxation of containment, while The Guardian (left) headlines on the criticisms that will have to face Boris Johnson.
With 20,732 deaths in hospitals alone, the United Kingdom is one of the countries most severely affected in Europe by Covid-19. The balance sheet looks even heavier with the deaths in retirement homes, which number in the thousands according to the players in the sector.
UK has 'delicate and dangerous stage'
At the daily Downing Street press conference on Sunday, Environment Minister George Eustice observed "encouraging signs". In sharp decline, the latest report released Sunday lists 413 additional deaths in hospitals, the lowest figure in almost a month.
One of the heads of the British health services, Steven Powis, said a reduction in the number of patients admitted to hospitals, especially in London, as well as a decrease in the number of patients in intensive care. However, he stressed his "fear" that the figures would start to rise again, calling on the British to continue their efforts. In the absence of treatment and while no vaccine can be expected at least before the end of the year, there is still a long way to go.
The UK is at a "delicate and dangerous step," said Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who replaced Boris Johnson during his absence, on Sunday. "In good shape," the Prime Minister is "looking forward to taking over the reins on Monday," he said.
Government has been "too slow"
But behind the scenes, the team in power is divided, according to the press, some heavyweights worried about the consequences, social but also health, of too strict confinement over the length. And Boris Johnson will have to decide. Hospitalized for a week in London, the Prime Minister had been recovering since April 12. During this period, the country was faced with what scientists believe to be the peak of the pandemic, and its government faced many criticisms.
The Conservative leader spent three days in intensive care. A period during which things "could very well have changed," said Boris Johnson, saluting the staff of the British public health service, the NHS, to which he "owes his life".
"Impatient" to meet with the Prime Minister in a process he wishes constructive, the leader of the Labor opposition, Keir Starmer, sent him this weekend a letter in which he reiterates his criticisms. According to the new boss of Labor, "mistakes" were made and the government was "too slow", whether on confinement, screening or protective equipment which caregivers but also retirement homes are sorely lacking. The British "have made great sacrifices for containment to work," he tweeted, "they deserve to be part of an adult discussion about the aftermath."
- United Kingdom
- Coronavirus
- World
- Confinement
- Boris Johnson