British people have been told not to leave the country for at least 30 days in new coronavirus lockdown

coronavirus uk travel
coronavirus uk travel

Getty

  • The UK has advised British people to cancel all nonessential travel globally for at least 30 days.

  • The UK Foreign Office said the change came as countries around the world were closing their borders.

  • The country is advising its citizens to limit all social contact as the country heads toward lockdown.

  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

British people have been told to cancel all nonessential travel globally as the country ramps up its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK Foreign Secretary told the UK Parliament on Tuesday that it would advise British people not to leave the country for at least 3o days.

“UK travellers abroad now face widespread international border restrictions and lockdowns in various countries. The speed and range of those measures across other countries is unprecedented,” Raab said.

“So I have taken the decision to advise British nationals against all non-essential international travel.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson said they were not currently advising British citizens to return to the UK but added that “British people should keep in mind that flights may be cancelled at short notice or other travel restrictions may be put in place by foreign governments.”

The decision came after the European Union moved to impose a ban on all nonessential travel into the region.

The UK is currently exempt from the ban but is under pressure from the EU to also apply the ban while in the 12-month Brexit transition period.

UK heads towards coronavirus lockdown

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Frank Augstein-WPA Pool/Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday told all British citizens to work at home and limit all nonessential human contact over the coming months as the coronavirus spreads rapidly across the United Kingdom.

The move, which was announced by Johnson at a press conference on Monday, came as the coronavirus death toll in the UK rose to 53, with 1,543 confirmed cases.

“Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others, and to stop all non-essential travel,” Johnson said.

“We need people to start working from home where they can and you should avoid pubs, clubs and other venues.”

Johnson said that anyone living in a household where another individual had experienced symptoms of the coronavirus should isolate themselves for 14 days.

“We need to ask you to ensure that if you or anyone in your household has one of those two [coronavirus] symptoms, then you should stay at home for fourteen days,” Johnson said.

” That means that if possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case at a safe distance from others.

“If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities. And if that is not possible, then you should do what you can to limit your social contact when you leave the house to get supplies.”

The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said all Brits would have to limit their contact with others for “a minimum of weeks to months” to come.

Read the original article on Business Insider

source: yahoo.com