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Portsmouth MP reacts to PM’s national lockdown announcement

By 31 October 2020November 1st, 2020No Comments
Reacting to news from the Prime Minister that the Government has decided Britain should go into another national lockdown until at least 2 December 2020, Portsmouth South’s Stephen Morgan MP said:

“The Government has been too slow to act the whole way through this crisis whether on health or on jobs, and it’s the British people that are suffering.

Now we will have a much harder lockdown again, Ministers must use this time to fix testing and tracing and set out a proper plan so Government doesn’t keep repeating the same mistakes again.
I know many in our city will feel miserable about this latest announcement by the Prime Minister and it’s consequences for their family, friends and community. Our local businesses have been struggling to keep people in work and customers served. It’s the same story up and down the country.

By working together here in Portsmouth we can, and we will, get through this, push down infections, and save lives”.

Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party said:

“Everybody is concerned about the rise in infections, hospital admissions and – tragically – the number of deaths.
That’s why three weeks ago, Labour called for a circuit breaker in England, in line with SAGE’s recommendation to bring infections down. The Government completely rejected that, only to now announce the same thing.
That delay in introducing restrictions will come at an economic cost and a human cost.
I’m glad that the Government has finally taken this decision – but it should have done so weeks ago.”
The restrictions proposed include:
  • People will be told to stay at home except for education, work (if it can’t be done from home), exercise and recreation, medical reasons, shopping for food and other essentials, or to care for others
  • All pubs and restaurants will have to close (non-alcohol takeaways and deliveries can continue)
  • All non-essential shops will have to close (supermarkets can sell non-essential goods)
  • Households will not be allowed to mix with others indoors, or in private gardens
  • Individuals can meet one person from outside their household in an outside public space
  • Support bubbles for people who live alone and households made up of single parents and children can continue
  • Children will be able to move between homes if their parents are separated
  • Schools, colleges and universities will remain open
  • Workplaces will be asked to stay open if people cannot work from home – including construction and manufacturing
  • Outdoor exercise and recreation will be allowed, but gyms will have to close
  • Clinically vulnerable advised not to go to work if they are unable to work from home

After 2 December, different regions will return to the tiers one to three, depending upon the rates of infection.