‘Scared’ in London as UK coronavirus spread accelerates
- The UK government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is making people anxious
- Virus spread is accelerating and PM Boris Johnson admits cases could ‘double every five or six days’
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday admitted the new coronavirus was in a phase of rapid spread across the UK and called for increased social distancing such as staying away from pubs and clubs – but stopped short of an enforced lockdown, except for people over 70.
He also advised entire families to self-quarantine if one member falls ill with the Covid-19 disease.
Although Johnson’s tone is changing, the measures announced were still far behind those now being enacted in other European countries.
A few miles east from Westminster, in the East London district of Whitechapel, in normal times the first day of warm sunshine after months of grey and wet would be greeted with joy, the pubs bustling with revellers spilling onto the streets.
But on Monday, only the birds could be heard singing – louder than normal because of the absence of the usual roar of planes landing at the nearby London City Airport. A sense of anxiety was hanging over this part of the city, like elsewhere. People were still going to work, some nervously looking at their phones. For the first time, people of East Asian descent were not the only ones wearing face masks.
The area, a traditional cockney heartland, was once a refuge for Jewish refugees escaping the pogroms. They were replaced 50 years ago by Bangladeshis.
