[D66] UK to introduce emergency laws to curb coronavirus outbreak

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(Scumbag politics...)

UK to introduce emergency laws to curb coronavirus outbreak
By
aljazeera.com
2 min
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The United Kingdom will soon introduce emergency laws to curb the 
coronavirus outbreak, including banning public gatherings and giving 
police the power to detain infected people, according to reports.

The move would be an escalation of the UK's crisis plan which critics 
had said was too relaxed after Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted 
pressure to take some of the stringent measures adopted by other 
European countries to slow the spread of the virus.
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But on Friday, England's football Premier League suspended all matches 
until April 4 and other events such as the London Marathon were 
postponed by their organisers.

"We have drafted emergency legislation to give the government the powers 
it needs to deal with coronavirus, including powers to stop mass 
gatherings and compensate organisations," a government source told 
Reuters news agency.

"We will publish this legislation next week."

British media said the ban on mass gatherings could come into force from 
next weekend and could affect events such as the Glastonbury music 
festival, the Wimbledon tennis championship and the Grand National horse 
race.

The legislation which is expected to become law by the end of the month 
comes after it was reported on Friday that the number of coronavirus 
cases in the UK rose in a day by 200 to 798 cases.

Ministers believe the virus will eventually infect the majority of the 
population and the law is intended to stay in place for two years to 
alleviate pressure on health services, according to The Times.

The emergency measures include allowing authorities to detain people 
"for a limited period" if they are suspected to be infected with the 
coronavirus, the newspaper said.

Authorities will also be able to close ports if there is not enough 
staff to control border security.

The government will be able to order schools to stay open if they are 
deemed to be unnecessarily closed and to close them during pandemic 
peaks, The Times reported.

According to the newspaper, seniors in care homes could receive less 
care and support due to staff shortages.

Local authorities will be able to offer reduced levels of care to people 
in their homes or in care homes as long as it does not cause "serious 
neglect or harm".