In an effort to curb Coronavirus the Mayor of London has warned of banning movement in order to get residents to isolate themselves and reduce transmission.
Sadiq Khan said “our liberties and human rights need to be changed, curtailed, infringed — use whatever word you want” to stop people dying from the virus.
“I am concerned about people not following the advice. There are still too many people being witnessed on our streets, in our bars, in our cafés, using the Tube, using our buses.”
London is said to be the most affected region across the UK reporting three times the number of cases than any other region. Currently the number of deaths owing to Coronavirus increased by 16 to stand at 52. Transport services across the the capital have already been stripped off, with 40 Underground stations closed and train frequency reduced. The Waterloo and City line and night Tube will be halted from today, and buses thinned out. The government is expected to bring forward stricter measures imminently to shut down parts of the capital, with some shops, pubs and restaurants ordered to close.
Despite Johnson’s advice for residents to remain home, trains have been cramped with daily wage earners risking their life to work. This comes especially as the Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce relief measures and statutory sick pay for those working in the gig economy. However, the Mayor in his address to the London Assembly insisted,
“The advice from the government is just advice, and I think that provides a mixed message. We may move to a situation where we move from advice to bans.”
“I can’t say this clearly enough. People should not be travelling by any means unless they absolutely must. The scientific advice on this is very clear. Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary, and this includes avoiding using the transport network.”
The Department for Transport said that it had agreed with rail operators to scale back their timetables from Monday. The department added that reduced services would help to protect its frontline staff but that timetables would be gradually reduced to minimise disruption and would be kept under constant review.
