UK PM calls in army to roll out tests as lockdown looms

As England goes into Lockdown 2 from Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called in the army to help with rolling out a massive testing programme across the UK and believes that there is “realistic hope” of a vaccine for Covid-19 in the first quarter of 2021.

The lockdown until December 2 is likely to be extended if it does not lead to lower incidence of the virus, deaths and hospital admissions, senior minister Michael Gove said on Sunday, as retail shops reported busy shopping for essential items before the start of lockdown.

Johnson struck a note of optimism as he announced the lockdown: “I am optimistic that this will feel very different and better by the spring. It is not just that we have ever better medicine and therapies, and the realistic hope of a vaccine in the first quarter of next year”.

“We now have the immediate prospect of using many millions of cheap, reliable and above all rapid turnaround tests; tests that you can use yourself to tell whether or not you are infectious and get the result within ten to 15 minutes”.

“And so over the next few days and weeks, we plan a steady but massive expansion in the deployment of these quick turnaround tests…The army has been brought in to work on the logistics and the programme will begin in a matter of days”, he said.

Johnson’s lockdown announcement sparked another round of political jousting, with the opposition Labour reminding him that it had called for a lockdown weeks ago. Labour said it would support the relevant legislation for the second lockdown when it is put to vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the furlough scheme for employees running since April for one more month, but business organisations lamented the impact the second lockdown would have on an already challenging environment that has led to major job losses and closures.

Sunak said: “Over the past eight months of this crisis we have helped millions of people to continue to provide for their families. But now - along with many other countries around the world - we face a tough winter ahead”.

“I have always said that we will do whatever it takes as the situation evolves. Now, as restrictions get tougher, we are taking steps to provide further financial support to protect jobs and businesses. These changes will provide a vital safety net for people across the UK”.

Continuing the optimistic note, Johnson told people in a live telecast: “I can tell you tonight that the scientists may be unanimously gloomy about the immediate options. But they are unanimously optimistic about the medium and the long-term future”.

“We will get through this – but we must act now to contain this autumn surge. We are not going back to the full-scale lockdown of March and April. It is less prohibitive and less restrictive. But from Thursday the basic message is the same: Stay at home. Protect the NHS. And save lives”.

As of Saturday evening, the UK had crossed 1 million cases: 1,011,660, with a day-rise of 21,915 new cases and 326 deaths (the cumulative death figure was 46,555).