LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a new monthlong lockdown for England after being warned that without tough action a resurgent coronavirus outbreak will overwhelm hospitals in weeks.
On the day the U.K. passed 1 million confirmed covid-19 cases, Johnson confirmed that stringent restrictions on business and daily life would begin Thursday and last until Dec. 2.
He said at a televised news conference that "no responsible prime minister" could ignore the grim figures.
"Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day," said Johnson, who was hospitalized earlier this year for a serious case of covid-19.
Under the new restrictions, bars and restaurants can offer only take-out, nonessential shops must close and people will be able to leave home only for a short list of reasons including exercise. Activities ranging from haircuts to foreign holidays must once again be put on hold.
Unlike during the U.K.'s first three-month lockdown, schools, universities, construction sites and manufacturing businesses will stay open.
As in other European countries, virus cases in the U.K. began to climb after lockdown measures were eased in the summer and people began returning to workplaces, schools, universities and social life. The Office for National Statistics estimated Friday that 1 in 100 people in England, well over half a million, had the virus in the week ended Oct. 23.
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Austria on Saturday announced a partial shutdown that will see restaurants and bars closed for four weeks, cultural, sports and leisure activities canceled, and residents asked to stay home after 8 p.m.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the restrictions will apply from Tuesday until the end of November. Restaurants and bars will be closed except for deliveries and takeout, and hotels will be closed to tourists. Companies affected by the shutdown will be compensated with 80% of their revenue from last November, but will have to keep on their employees.
Johnson had hoped a set of regional restrictions introduced in October would be enough to push numbers down in the U.K. But government scientific advisers predict that on the outbreak's current trajectory, demand for hospital beds will exceed capacity by the first week of December, even if temporary hospitals set up during the first peak of the virus are reopened.
Official figures announced Saturday recorded 21,915 new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing Britain's total since the start of the pandemic to 1,011,660. Britain's death toll from the coronavirus is 46,555, the highest in Europe, with 326 new deaths announced Saturday.
The United States, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Argentina and Colombia have also recorded more than 1 million cases, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University. Scientists say the true number of cases is much higher because not everyone with the virus is tested.
Any new lockdown will need Parliament's approval, and a vote is scheduled for Wednesday. The new restrictions would apply to England. Other parts of the U.K. set their own public health measures, with Wales and Northern Ireland already effectively in lockdown and Scotland under a set of tough regional restrictions.
Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labor Party, said, "There's no denying these measures are necessary and I'm glad that the government has finally taken the decision that it should have taken weeks ago."
But Johnson is under pressure from some members of his Conservative Party, who oppose tighter restrictions because of the economic damage they cause.
Owners of businesses that have struggled to get back on their feet since the first lockdown was eased said the impact of new closures would be devastating.
"People have borrowed up to the hilt and spent money in order to get covid-secure," said Kate Nicholls of Hospitality U.K. "There is no spare capacity in the tank to be able to fund a lockdown, even for three to four weeks."
