Fact check: Did the United Kingdom announce a lockdown for 6 months?

Claim: UK lockdown for 6 months

Rating: False

What is the rumour about?

• Rumour says that the UK will be in lockdown for about 6 months due to the rising Coronavirus cases in the country

Who is sharing the rumour? 

• People who are confused about the latest speech that the UK officials gave are probably the ones spreading the rumour. Some news agency was also spreading inaccurate news without proper verification. 

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Facebook forwards like these are responsible for creating confusion

Image courtesy: Facebook

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Google trends analysis of "UK lockdown for 6 months" rumour

Take a look at the Google trends after a number of people misunderstood the 6-month lockdown news in the UK. The spike in the number of people who want to know the truth about the news came on March 27 early morning IST. 

Image courtesy: Google Trends

Related Queries people searched

Image courtesy: Google Trends

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Republic World did a fact check on the UK lockdown rumour

• The statement is false according to the fact check performed by the Republic World team as the UK officials have clearly talked only about the possibility of a 6-month lockdown. 
• The current lockdown in the UK is only for about three weeks and would be concluded on April 13 until further notice. 
• The lockdown was imposed after the advisories called for action to battle Italy-like situation that the UK might face if strict actions aren't taken. 
• The UK lockdown has been started since Monday evening, at the very point when UK PM said in an interview all the instructions the people need to follow during this lockdown.
• The three-week lockdown is said to be the most stringent restrictions imposed in the UK after World War II.

PM Boris Johnson shared the rules that the UK citizens need to follow during the current three-week lockdown

PM Boris Johnson mentioned the following rules that need to be followed. 

• Only people with essential work would be allowed to walk on the streets. However, a group of more than 2 people is not allowed. The police would be dispersing any crowd that they observe on the streets. 
• All the non-essential functions are closed within this lockdown period including weddings and baptisms; however, funerals are exempted from it.
• People not following the rules would face a fine of 30 Euros which may even rise up to 1000 Euros in case of repeated offences.
• Shopping for basic needs should be done at long intervals. Not regularly.
• People can do one form of exercise every day like walk, run, cycle either alone or with family members or in a park if people religiously practice social distancing
• People can even travel to and fro from work if it is absolutely necessary and only when the work can't be done at home.

Image courtesy: Boris Johnson Twitter

• PM also hugely focused on the fact about why people need to stay at home. This self-quarantine measure will ensure that the NHS is not exhausted and everybody gets access to proper care. 
• The UK has reported up to 6650+ coronavirus cases as of now, out of which 335 people have died.
• This announcement by PM is the result of the latest data that suggested that the UK is just two weeks behind the level of crisis that Italy faced.

Deputy Chief medical officer Jenny Harries explains the possibility of a 6-month lockdown

Image courtesy: A still from the interview of Deputy Chief medical officer Jenny Harries

• Deputy Chief medical officer Jenny Harries revealed in an interview recently that Britain could face a lockdown of about 6 months to avoid the second wave of cases that are predicted to come.
• Adding to that, she said that certain restrictions could even remain till September. She mentioned that if everything goes well, then the number of cases is expected to diminish by Easter.
• She also said that the duration of the lockdown could be decreased or increased depending on the curve that the epidemiology observes in the UK.
• But currently, there is no doubt that the measures would be in place for three weeks until April 13, after which the situation would be again reviewed.

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