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  • United Kingdom - Johnson plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on those who enter the United Kingdom

Boris Johnson started the coronavirus "de-escalation" in the midst of chaos and confusion. The United Kingdom is not only the country with the most deaths in Europe, with 31,855 deaths, but also the one that later stumbles the "operation exit" amid growing internal criticism. Johnson cautioned that he cannot lift confinement "too quickly," but at the same time he sowed confusion among the British by changing the slogan from "Stay at home" to "Stay Alert." Stay Alert ").

Chief Minister Nicola Sturgeon rebelled at the outset, said she does not know what it means to "be on the alert" and assured that the "Stay at home" will continue in Scotland. "This is not the time to change the original message," warned Northern Ireland Chief Minister Arlene Foster . Wales Health Secretary Vaughan Gething also reiterated that there will be no change to his territory.

The measures were received with a mixture of skepticism and concern for the British. Eighty percent of the population believes that confinement should be kept as it is for at least two more weeks, according to a Deltapoll survey for The Sun on Sunday. Despite popular support for quarantine, tens of thousands of Britons flocked to the parks on Saturday, the hottest day of the year.

Boris Johnson himself was caught walking through St. James Park, near Downing Street, with a glass of coffee in hand. The presence on the street of the "premier" added even more confusion about the real meaning of the "de-escalation."

" We are past the peak, but we will have to work even harder to take all the right steps on the descent," Johnson said. "Mountaineers always say that going down is the most dangerous thing, that this is where you can make the mistake of overconfidence and make mistakes. You cannot go down too fast because you can lose control and trip."

Even before Johnson's speech to the nation on Sunday afternoon, and in the face of confusion created by the new slogan, a Downing Street spokesman was forced to specify what exactly "Stay Alert" means: stay home as much as possible. possible , work from home if you can, limit contact with other people, maintain social distance and frequently wash your hands.

To make matters more difficult, Johnson introduced a five-number, five-color alert system that will go into effect only in England. The maximum level, red, is equivalent to "virus spreading with dangerous speed". According to Johnson, the current situation is equivalent to the fourth level or orange: virus not contained.

While the country remains in this phase, he warned, the confinement will remain with slight variations such as those anticipated for this week. Nurseries and garden shops will open to the public on Wednesday to satisfy the passion practiced by 23 million Britons (the true national sport). That same day the public libraries will open, but the de-escalation ends there provisionally. The British will also have permission to exercise for an unlimited time (and not once a day as before).

To consummate a "partial lifting of confinement", the country has to enter the third level, amber: contained virus . And to allow the reopening of shops, cafes and restaurants you have to go even further: fourth level or yellow (virus in decline). The Government itself warns that the first or green level, with the celebration of sporting events and the relative return to normality, will only be possible when a vaccine is available .

Supporters and detractors of the end of confinement

Since returning to Downing Steet last Sunday, Boris Johnson has been forced to mediate the internal war between supporters of the end of confinement (Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak or Cabinet Minister Michael Gove) and advocates of "status quo "until there is a noticeable drop in daily deaths.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is increasingly isolated within the cabinet, considered by several ministers to be the real responsible for the failed strategy that has put the United Kingdom at the head of Europe due to the number of deaths. According to The Daily Mail on Sunday, Hancock has personally faced Boris Johnson this week and has blurted out, "Give me a break."

In the last 24 hours, 269 deaths were officially recorded, but in the last week there were more than 600 deaths daily for two consecutive days, which prompted the Government to rethink its strategy. Experts have warned that letting your guard down prematurely in the face of the epidemic could result in more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 by the end of the year. Scientists have also warned that the number of daily infections may currently be around 18,000, and they should drop to 4,000 in order to ease confinement.

The government has finally released the report in its entirety, censored at the time, in which several scientists from the SAGE emergency committee recommended more stringent measures of confinement than those finally imposed by Boris Johnson on March 23.

Unlike other European countries such as Spain, Italy or France, the British had more freedom to leave home and be able to exercise once a day. The fines for infringement of social distance, equivalent to 70 euros and reducible in half, were also less substantial. Police zeal was also noticeably less, and officers were limited to playing a persuasive role.

In accordance with the criteria of The Trust Project

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