国际英语资讯:UK coronavirus death toll hits 21 as confirmed cases top 1,100_时事

国际英语资讯:UK coronavirus death toll hits 21 as confirmed cases top 1,100

Describing the threat of coronavirus as "the worst public health crisis in a generation," Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that "it is going to spread further" and warned the British public to prepare to "lose loved ones before their time."

While countries across Europe have shut schools, sporting events and even restaurants and bars, Johnson has so far largely kept Britain open, opting for more targeted measures like asking people with respiratory symptoms to stay home.

That strategy has raised concerns among some epidemiologists, drawn criticism from former British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt who urged more aggressive measures to tackle the virus.

The British government is mulling emergency laws to be announced next week, which will allow police to detain people "for a limited period" if they are suspected to be infected with the virus, the English newspaper Times reported Saturday.

The government will be able to halt "any vehicles, train, vessel or aircraft," and to order schools to stay open if they are deemed to be unnecessarily closed and close them during pandemic peaks, according to the newspaper.

Johnson is also expected to ban mass gathering of more than 500 people, including football matches, concerts and festivals, the newspapers added.

Over 142,000 petitioners have called for the British government to implement a lockdown as of Saturday to prevent the virus from fast spreading. The number of petitioners on the UK Government and Parliament Petitions webpage is still increasing.