Amid coronavirus, Boris Johnson calls for keeping distance on UK Mother’s Day
Queen Elizabeth issues statement on coronavirus outbreak
Amid the rapid outbreak of COVID-19, the British monarch released a statement addressing the current and upcoming challenges presented by the pandemic. Here is how the Queen is showing her determination to support the people of the United Kingdom during these uncertain times.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this weekend urged people to not visit their mum on Mother’s Day — which is Sunday in the United Kingdom — amid the coronavirus pandemic.
«This time, the best thing is to ring her, video call her, Skype her, but to avoid any unnecessary physical contact or proximity,» Johnson wrote in an op-ed for the Times of London.
“If your mother is elderly or vulnerable, then I am afraid all the statistics show that she is much more likely to die from coronavirus, or Covid-19. We cannot disguise or sugar-coat the threat,” he said.
«We cannot disguise or sugar-coat the threat.»
— Boris Johnson, British prime minister
When asked in a Friday news conference if he would be visiting his 77-year-old mother, the prime minister at first said he would “certainly be sending her my very best wishes and hope to get to see her.”
UK gov’t to pay wages amid coronavirus crisis; pubs, restaurants to close
His office later clarified that he planned to Skype with her on Sunday, according to BBC News. Johnson warned the country’s National Health Service was in danger of being “overwhelmed” as coronavirus cases continued to rise in the country.
By Saturday, more than 5,000 had contracted the virus in the U.K. and at least 233 had died.
This week, the government plans to send out letters to the 1.5 million people they consider the most vulnerable, including the elderly and those with underlying conditions, urging them to stay inside for the next three months, the BBC reported.
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Mother’s Day in the U.S. this year will be May 10.
