Johnson Tells U.K. Work From Home for 6 Months to Stop Virus

Boris Johnson urged Britons to go back to working from home to fight the spread of coronavirus as he warned that new limits on socializing are likely to be in force for the next six months.

The prime minister ordered restaurants and bars to close earlier each night from Sept. 24. to stop people passing on the disease after drinking alcohol and scrapped plans for allowing live audiences back into sporting and cultural events next month.

Tougher enforcement of the rules will also follow, with higher fines for people failing to wear face coverings, under the rules, which Johnson said could be tightened further if the virus runs out of control.

“This is the moment when we must act,” Johnson told Parliament on Tuesday. “We reserve the right to deploy greater firepower with significantly greater restrictions. I fervently want to avoid taking this step.”

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U.K. Spending on Supporting Jobs Surpasses 50 Billion Pounds

The measures, which are being replicated across the U.K., mark a reversal of government efforts to re-open the economy after the first national lockdown shuttered social and commercial activity in March, sparking the country’s deepest recession in more than 100 years.

They also illustrate the difficulty facing the government as it tries to balance the need to protect the economy and stamping down on a pandemic that’s killed more people in Britain than any other European nation. Johnson’s Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance warned on Monday that without action, the U.K. is on track to register 50,000 new Covid-19 cases a day by mid-October.

Stitch in Time

Johnson insisted his plan was not a return to the full national lockdown of March, as the majority of the economy will remain open. “We are acting on the principle that a stitch in time saves nine,” he said.

By imposing restrictions now, the government can “shelter the economy from the far sterner and more costly measures that would inevitably become necessary later on,” Johnson said. He added that the public should assume the restrictions will be in place for “perhaps six months.” The timeframe will be politically difficult for the premier, who has previously said he hoped some form of normality would be possible for the Christmas holiday period.

The restrictions intensified pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to roll out more measures to support jobs and companies. The Treasury has spent more than 50 billion pounds ($64 billion) on supporting jobs and has backed more than 57 billion pounds of loans to businesses, but those programs are all due to end in the next few weeks.

The country’s biggest business lobby, the Confederation of British Industry described the new rules as a “crushing blow” for thousands of companies and urged Sunak to announce a replacement for his furlough wage support program in the fall, as well as tax deferrals.

Fighting to Survive

The British Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors and Federation of Small Businesses all backed up the CBI’s call for more support.

“It’s paramount that the government urgently steps forward with an ambitious second round of support measures to help firms survive,” said FSB National Chairman Mike Cherry. “Many businesses -- particularly those at the heart of our night-time economy and events industries -- are now seriously fearing for their futures.”

At a Glance: the New U.K. Covid Rules
  • Office workers told to work from home if they can
  • Pubs and restaurants limited to table service, must close at 10 p.m.
  • Shop workers, taxi users, hospitality staff and customers to wear face coverings
  • Wedding ceremonies limited to a maximum of 15 people
  • Conferences, exhibitions, large sporting events won’t re-open for crowds on Oct.1
  • Fine for failing to wear mask will double to 200 pounds
  • Military will be available to help free up police

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for more support for businesses in the capital and warned more restrictions may be needed for the city soon.

Some of Johnson’s Conservative MPs also raised concerns. “This will present a testing time particularly for retail and hospitality over the run-up to Christmas,” Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan said in an interview. “The chancellor must again rise to the challenge and continue to bolster some of the sectors to ensure we minimise the damage to the economy.”

Tory Edward Leigh said the authorities should “trust people” to be careful. “The more controls you have, the more people question the logic, and the more they disobey them,” he said in an interview.

Johnson’s announcement is a clear change in tack in the government’s approach. Ministers have spent the past two months trying to persuade Britons to return to their workplaces to revive deserted city centers where sandwich shops and other hospitality businesses are struggling to survive. The government also subsidized restaurant meals throughout August in an effort to boost the industry and restore Britons to pre-Covid habits.

— With assistance by Joe Mayes, Thomas Penny, Stuart Biggs, Edward Evans, and Emily Ashton

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