The UK Prime Minister issued further warnings in a press conference today (16 March).
Boris Johnson has urged the UK population to avoid clubs, pubs, theatres and mass gatherings. During the conference, he called for the public to avoid all non-essential social contact and unnecessary travel. If needed, Johnson stated that he would enforce the closure of venues.
“We have the powers if necessary,” he said. “Under an act of 1984, I think it is open to the Secretary of State for Health to ban handshaking if he wants to.”
“But I think most people would accept that we are a mature and grown-up and liberal democracy where people understand very clearly the advice that is given to them. I think they also understand that what we are saying obviously helps the NHS and helps us all as individuals, but it helps the whole community as well.” Currently, the decision to close down is up to the “proprietor of venues”.
The warning, as stated in the conference, is designed to protect the most vulnerable. “By this coming weekend, it will be necessary to go further and to ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks,” Johnson said.
Professor Chris Whitty highlighted that “the group of people who we would want to take this advice particularly seriously are older people above 70”.
“People who in adult life would normally be advised to have the flu vaccination, so these are people with chronic diseases such as chronic heart disease or chronic kidney disease, and also – as a precautionary measure because we are early in our understanding and we want to be sure – women who are pregnant,” he added. “Those are the groups we want to take particular care to minimise their social contact which of course will have very significant risks for them.”
Watch the conference via the player above.
