Pasted below:

Coronavirus emergency laws: Police get powers to detain victims

Large gatherings to be banned from next weekend

A passenger on the Tube yesterday seemed to be keeping his sense of humour alive

GABRIELLA FONSECA JOHNSON/REUTERS

Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor | Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor

Saturday March 14 2020, 12.01am, The Times

Police will be able to detain infected people and schools could be forced to stay open under a package of powers being announced next week to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Emergency laws to help to limit the spread of the virus will be introduced after the number of people infected in Britain rose by 200 in 24 hours to 798. The measures, seen by The Times, will also let councils lower standards in care homes to deal with staff shortages.

The legislation, which ministers intend to push through parliament in two weeks, will equip the government to deal with the disease. Ministers believe that the virus will infect the majority of the population, and the laws will stay in place for two years.

The government will be given the power to halt “any vehicle, train, vessel or aircraft”. Ministers will be able to close ports if there are “insufficient resources” to retain border security through customs and immigration officers falling sick.

There are further measures to speed up cremations and burials. “In a reasonable worst-case scenario the death management industry will be rapidly overwhelmed,” the government said in a draft. “There is a significant gap in body storage requirements to ensure we are prepared for the reasonable worst-case scenario.”

Next week Boris Johnson will follow Scotland and Ireland by banning gatherings of more than 500 people, including football matches, concerts and festivals.

The move came less than 24 hours after the prime minister rejected the proposals. They are designed to reduce pressure on the health service and police as the pandemic reaches its peak, rather than to slow the virus.

In other developments:

•President Trump threatened to extend a ban on travellers into the United States to all flights from Britain.

•The US and Spain both declared states of national emergency, with Britons advised to avoid all non- essential travel to Madrid and other municipalities.

•The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned governments not to “just let this fire burn” as he urged people to avoid large social gatherings.

•The London Marathon was cancelled along with all Premier League and English Football League fixtures, and two Formula One races.

•Mr Johnson postponed the May local elections for a year, hours after he said that they were going ahead.

•Pressure grew on the government to publish the model guiding its response to coronavirus, as cross-party consensus frayed.

•British Airways warned that flights could be grounded “like never before” as it faced a battle for “survival”.

•Britain’s leading supermarkets said that they were not prepared for an unprecedented surge in online buying, forcing customers isolated at home to wait more than a week for deliveries.

•European and US stock markets rallied after falling by record levels on Thursday.

The emergency laws will enable police and immigration officers to detain people “for a limited period” if there are concerns that they could be infected. The government will have the power to direct schools and nurseries to stay open if they are closed unnecessarily by teachers and staff and to close them as the pandemic peaks. The care given to the elderly could also be stripped back. Local authorities will be able to offer reduced levels of care to people in their homes or in care homes as long as it does not lead to “serious neglect or harm”.

Fans of Scottish Premiership club St Mirren made a coronavirus-themed protest at their match against Celtic
ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA

It could mean that people receive support with washing and cooking once a day rather than twice. The move is intended to protect local authorities from legal challenge for failing to fulfil their statutory duties.

The government stopped short of banning care home visitors despite concerns that there could be high fatality levels if elderly people caught the virus. Official estimates are that one in 12 people over 80 who catch the virus will die.

Next week’s legislation allows the government to relax registration requirements for doctors, social workers and pharmacists to enable those who have recently retired to return to the health service. Care workers who have almost finished their qualifications will also be allowed to register.

Doctors will be able to provide a medical certificate detailing the cause of death without seeing the body of the deceased. Senior health professionals other than doctors will be allowed to sign off death certificates, and the requirement for coroners to hold jury inquests will be lifted.

Ministers will relax the terms of the Mental Health Act to require fewer doctors in clinics so they can be diverted to help hospitals.

The government has not declared an effective “state of emergency” by enacting powers under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which would enable ministers to force through legal changes without parliamentary approval.

The director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that Europe was now the “epicentre” of the pandemic. Spain, the worst-affected European country after Italy, reported a 50 per cent rise in fatalities to 120 yesterday. Infections increased to 4,231.

Posted By: essexcanaryOTBC, Mar 14, 00:14:34