LONDON (AA): British authorities announced on Saturday that the totalnumber of deaths from the coronavirus in the country rose to 31,587, anincrease of 346 over the past 24 hours.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said UKPrime Minister Boris Johnson will give a speech on Sunday outlining a“roadmap” to easing the lockdown.
It will be “a gradual process, not a single leap to freedom,” Shapps said.
Local media reported that in Johnson’s speech tomorrow, it will beannounced that air passengers arriving in the UK will have to quarantinefor two weeks, as Britain seeks to avoid a second wave of coronavirus.
The new measures are expected to come into force in June, and will coverports as well as airports.
Those breaking the rules could face a £1,000 ($1,240) fine, or perhaps evendeportation.
Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airlines, were quoted by SkyNews as saying the policy “would effectively kill international travel toand from UK and cause immeasurable damage to the aviation industry andwider UK economy.”
“Nobody is going to go on holiday if they’re not able to resume normal lifefor 14 days, and business travel would be severely restricted.
“It will also make it all but impossible for aviation to resume any timesoon, thereby setting back the UK’s economic recovery still further.”
Virgin Atlantic announced on May 5 that it will axe 3,150 jobs in the UK.
The airline employs around 10,000 people, meaning it will cut its workforceby over a third. It will also end its operations at Gatwick airport.
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That news in turn came a week after British Airways announced on April 28that it will cut 12,000 jobs.
International Airlines Group (IAG), the airline’s parent company, said itwill make over a quarter of British Airways’ workers redundant as themajority of its fleet remains grounded due to the global pandemic. BritishAirways’ employs 45,000 people.
*Public transport*
Shapps said the post-coronavirus world will need more cycling and walking,as even at full capacity, some parts of public transport will only be tohandle one in ten of usual passengers once social distancing is taken intoaccount.
To this end, he announced a £2 billion package that would put cycling andwalking “at the heart of the government’s transport policy.”
The measures include £250 million in emergency funding to make cycling andwalking safer, including cyclist-only streets and wider pavements.
A national cycling plan that aimed to double cycling and walking by 2025will be brought forward, too. E-scooter schemes will be trialed and set upas soon as possible as well.
After originating in China last December, the virus has spread to at least187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hitregions.
The pandemic has killed more than 276,000 worldwide, with over 3.97 millioninfections, while recoveries have exceeded 1.33 million, according tofigures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
