The majority of people in Britain think that Boris Johnson's government did not act quickly enough in the corona crisis. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, believes that he did everything right. However, he sees no easing of the measures yet.
London (dpa) - Two thirds of the British believe that the government in London has waited too long to introduce contact restrictions. This is the result of a survey by the polling institute Ipsos Mori.
According to this, 66 percent of the British now believe that the government was too hesitant. In a survey two weeks ago, the proportion was still 57 percent. Between April 24 and 27, around 1,000 British adults were interviewed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, however, defended the government's actions. "We did the right thing at the right time," said the conservative politician at Thursday's daily press conference. Johnson took part in it again for the first time since his Covid 19 disease. It was only on Monday that he returned to the seat of government on Downing Street in London after a break of several weeks. The country has now passed the peak of the pandemic, said Johnson. The number of new infections would slowly decrease and this is now also evident in the number of victims.
Britain is now the country with the second most coronavirus deaths in Europe. The number was only dramatically revised upwards on Wednesday because the deaths in nursing homes and private households had not been counted up to now. By Wednesday evening, 26,700 deaths from lung disease Covid-19 had been registered. There was only more in Italy.
But there is also criticism of the government in London because of the initially small number of tests and the lack of protective clothing for hospital staff. In the meantime, the government has increased capacities considerably. Test centers have been opened all over the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to close shops on March 23 and ordered the British to stay at home. Exceptions only apply to sports as well as purchases for daily needs, visits to the doctor and the way to work if you cannot work from home. However, he did not promise any early easing on Thursday. But he will present a plan in the coming week, said Johnson.
The 55-year-old head of government had spent a week in St. Thomas Hospital in London because of his coronavirus infection. The Tory politician even had to be treated in the intensive care unit for three days.
Survey results on the Ipsos Mori website