London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

UK defends new virus restrictions; critics say it's too late

UK defends new virus restrictions; critics say it's too late

Britain’s government on Tuesday defended its new three-tier system of COVID-19 risks and restrictions but critics suggested it was too little, too late amid reports that government’s own scientific advisers had recommended tougher action three weeks ago.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the new system Monday in an orchestrated series of events that culminated with an address to the nation. The plan sets out progressively stricter measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 based on local infection rates and put regions into three risk groups: moderate, high and very high.

The new system comes three weeks after the Conservative government’s last nationwide program, which banned gatherings of more than six people and required pubs and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. The government’s scientific advisers at that time recommended that ministers go further, suggesting a two- to three-week national lockdown to short-circuit rapidly rising infection rates.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC on Tuesday that the government took “robust action” in response to the scientists' advice, but ministers had to balance those recommendations against other impacts.

“The prime minister has to balance protecting people’s lives and the NHS from the virus while also prioritizing things that matter to us as a society, like education and keeping as many people in employment as possible," Jenrick said. "(He also must ensure) that other health risks, like mental health and illnesses, don’t get neglected as a result.”

Britain already has the deadliest outbreak in Europe, with nearly 43,000 reported deaths, and Europe as a whole reported a record number of new cases last week, over 700,000, according to the World Health Organization.

Britain's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has more than tripled in the last three weeks, with infection rates rising across all age groups and regions. The highest infection rates are in the northeast and northwest, with more than 600 cases per 100,000 people in Liverpool and nearly 500 per 100,000 in Manchester, compared with fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 in many parts of London.

The Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday that the unemployment rate jumped to 4.5% in the three months through August, compared to 4.1% in the period through July, as employers laid off workers in response to the pandemic. There are strong fears that the unemployment rate will jump further when a government jobs-support program ends at the end of the month.

Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, said it wasn't surprising that coronavirus cases had continued to rise since the government chose to implement less restrictive measures than its advisers recommended.

“I think it is very disappointing that we had clear advice - we needed to take decisive action several weeks ago," Hayward told the BBC. “And really, since that time, all we’ve done is send students back, introduced the rule of six, advised people to work from home if possible but not really promoted that in any real way and closed the pubs an hour early.”

Even under the new three-tier system, the Liverpool region was the only part of England to be immediately placed in the highest risk category where the toughest restrictions will be imposed. The “very high” risk tier communities will face restrictions including closing pubs - apart from those that serve meals - and, if local authorities want, other venues such as gyms and casinos.

Many residents complained that the tough restrictions were unfair, singling out Liverpool.

“The whole economy is going to suffer because of it, and I think Boris Johnson has been totally against the Northwest area,” said Marty Hand, 60, as he enjoyed a beer in his local pub. “Everyone in Liverpool is hurt and we feel like scapegoats.”

The opposition Labour Party spokesman on health issues, Jonathan Ashworth, said the government's failure to follow the recommendations of its own advisers was “alarming.”

“Labour warned earlier that the restrictions announced by the prime minister may not be sufficient,'' Ashworth said. “The government now needs to urgently explain why it ignored its own scientists and what it will be doing to get control of the virus.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×