Lockdown

UK PM’s former adviser says Johnson knew about lockdown party

A former senior adviser to Britain's Boris Johnson said on Monday he was willing to "swear under oath" that the prime minister knew a party was being held at his…

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UK PM Johnson loses poll lead after lockdown party revelations

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives have lost their poll lead over the opposition Labour Party after revelations about alleged lockdown parties at Johnson's residence provoked an outcry over hypocrisy. A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper…

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Austria locks down unvaccinated as COVID cases rise across Europe

IENNA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Austria slapped a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus on Monday as winter approaches and infections rise across Europe epicentre, with Germany considering tighter…

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COVID lockdowns only used as last resort, says UK PM’s spokesman

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government will only introduce a new COVID-19 lockdown as a last resort, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, after the country's health…

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New Zealand PM Ardern extends lockdown in Auckland to September 21

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's largest city Auckland will remain in lockdown to beat the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.…

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Spanish court says COVID-19 state of emergency was unconstitutional

Spain's Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that a national state of emergency, which included a strict home confinement to curb the first wave of COVID-19 infections last year, was unconstitutional, the court said in a…

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Australia extends Sydney lockdown as COVID-19 outbreak nears 900 infections

SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - Australian authorities extended a lockdown in Sydney on Wednesday by at least 14 days, after three weeks of initial restrictions failed to stamp out the…

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Three Australian cities lock down in fight against Delta COVID-19 variant

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), reported a slight rise in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, while officials tightened curbs to contain flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant in several other…

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UPDATE – UK PM voices ‘serious concern’ over Delta variant in hint at delay to lockdown end

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday expressed "serious concern" about rising infections of the Delta variant of coronavirus, reinforcing suggestions that he is set to delay lifting England's last…

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Back to pubs, gyms and movies: plotting the road back to normal around the world

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gains momentum, many countries are planning a gradual return to normal, opening borders and letting people back into restaurants, shops and sports venues after more…

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UK PM Johnson denies saying ‘let the bodies pile high’ than order a third COVID-19 lockdown

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday denied a newspaper report that he had said he would rather bodies piled "high in their thousands" than order a third COVID-19…

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Merkel says lockdowns, curfews vital to break Germany’s third wave

BERLIN, April 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged lawmakers on Friday to approve new powers that would allow her to force coronavirus lockdowns and curfews on areas with…

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Italy starts spending Easter in lockdown

Italy is spending Easter in lockdown as the whole nation became a COVID-19 'red zone' from Saturday to Easter Monday in order to prevent social interaction fuelling contagion. With this…

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Macron’s ‘Waterloo’? French president comes under attack for lockdown U-turn

French President Emmanuel Macron's order for a third COVID-19 lockdown, having insisted for weeks on keeping the country open against the advice of scientists, has exposed him to criticism from…

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Brisbane goes into a three-day COVID-19 lockdown after 7 new cases

Australian authorities announced a snap three-day COVID-19 lockdown in the northern city of Brisbane from Monday afternoon, as they attempt to stamp out an outbreak of the virulent UK variant…

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Germany set to extend COVID-19 lockdown, draft proposal says

Germany is set to extend a lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic into its fifth month, according to a draft proposal, after infection rates exceeded the level at which authorities…

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Poland announces nationwide restrictions amid record coronavirus cases surge

WARSAW, March 17 (Reuters) - Poland announced on Wednesday it was introducing nationwide restrictions as the daily tally of new coronavirus cases reached the highest level this year. Poland has been implementing regional…

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Paris region ICUs “at near saturation” as severe COVID-19 cases hit 3-month high

France is not planning to put the Paris region into lockdown even though the number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care is at its highest since November, the country's health authorities said on…

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Britain brings in new paperwork for lockdown travellers

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Britain said on Friday it would require people travelling abroad from March 8 to carry a new form setting out why their trip was permitted…

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New Zealand’s Auckland starts second COVID-19 lockdown this month

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Exactly a year after New Zealand recorded its first coronavirus case, the biggest city of Auckland woke on Sunday to a second lockdown this month, as authorities…

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Palestinians shut West Bank schools to contain coronavirus variants

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Schools in the occupied West Bank will shut down for 12 days in an effort to stop a sharp rise in coronavirus variant infections, Palestinian…

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May this lockdown be the last – UK PM Boris Johnson – UPDATE

LONDON, Feb 15 (Sky/Reuters) - Boris Johnson has set out his hope that the current COVID lockdown will be the last - thanks to the "unprecedented" vaccine rollout. Speaking at…

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Italy needs a strict lockdown – Virologist

CDE / Tgcom - Italian virologist Andrea Crisanti said that Italy should consider a strict circuit-breaker lockdown to prevent the English variant from having devastating effects like in England, Portugal…

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Greek premier orders full lockdown in Athens after surge in coronavirus cases

ATHENS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday announced a full lockdown in the capital Athens and the surrounding region to curb a resurgence in coronavirus…

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Merkel wants German lockdown to continue until March – sources

BERLIN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to keep restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus in place until at least March 1, participants in a…

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France was right to decide against new national lockdown – health minister

Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday the COVID-19 situation was currently stable in France and that the government was right to have decided against imposing a new national lockdown. Veran also told France Info radio that…

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French PM says no need for new national lockdown

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said that the coronavirus situation in France remained fragile but that for the moment there was no need for a new national lockdown. Castex said the rate of…

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French Govt still hoping to avoid third lockdown

France's main COVID-19 indicators have reached two-month highs on average on Monday and the country's ski lifts will remain closed throughout February but the government is still hoping to avoid…

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Austria to loosen lockdown, allowing shops and schools to reopen

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria said on Monday it will loosen its coronavirus lockdown from Monday next week, switching to a nighttime curfew and letting non-essential shops and schools reopen despite…

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Germany’s stricter lockdown sinks retail sales in December

BERLIN, Feb 1 (Reuters) - German retail sales plunged more than expected in December as a decision to tighten lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19 choked consumer spending in…

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Norway to start gradual easing of capital region’s lockdown on Feb 3

OSLO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Norwegian government will gradually loosen the capital region's coronavirus lockdown, allowing some shops and recreational activities to reopen from Feb. 3 onwards, Health Minister…

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France mulls third lockdown despite population “can’t take it any more”

The French Government has not closed the door to a third lockdown, despite risks from a population wearied by successive restrictions, after conceding a nightly curfew was failing to suppress…

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English lockdown set to last until at least March, Johnson indicates

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated on Wednesday the COVID-19 lockdown in England would last until March 8 when schools could start to reopen as the…

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Lockdown and dementia: for some, COVID-19 has created an isolated, confusing but calmer world

The approximately 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK have been badly affected by COVID-19. Many live in care homes, which have arguably been hit hardest by the pandemic,…

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Surge for dogs and cats during lockdown

A surge in demand for dogs and cats has been reported across the world with countries such as Germany and Australia, traditionally animal lovers, speaking an inundation of calls at…

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Merkel sees coronavirus lockdown until early April – Bild

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers in her conservative party that she expects a lockdown in Germany to curb the spread of the coronavirus to last until…

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Germany extends lockdown to end-January, adds stricter measures – Merkel – UPDATE

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is extending its nationwide lockdown until the end of the month and introducing tougher new restrictions in an effort to curb surging coronavirus infections, Chancellor Angela…

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Sturgeon orders Scots to stay at home as new variant advances

Scotland on Monday imposed the most stringent COVID-19 lockdown since last March and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would shortly impose tougher curbs in England to contain a…

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Lithuania orders tougher lockdown, to last until January 3

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania told citizens to stay at home for three weeks from Wednesday as it seeks to rein in a raging coronavirus spread that has seen the country…

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Case of revenge porn spike in Italy

Italian authorities are currently investigating more than 1,000 alleged cases of revenge porn, which refers to the illegal distribution of sexually explicit imagery or videos. The data was provided by…

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France to start easing lockdown in three stages

France will start easing coronavirus lockdown rules in coming weeks, carrying out the process in three stages so as to avoid a new flareup in the pandemic, the government said…

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England not going back to normal after lockdown, official says

It is too soon to say what restrictions England will face once its COVID lockdown ends next month but it will not be going back to normal, health officials said…

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Austria orders three-week lockdown to rein in surging coronavirus cases

Austria on Saturday ordered a three-week lockdown in a last-ditch effort to bring surging coronavirus cases under control and relieve the stress on the health service in time for retailers…

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“Lockdown” declared 2020 word of the year by Collins dictionary

"Lockdown" has been declared the word of the year for 2020 by Collins Dictionary, after a sharp rise in its usage during the pandemic. It "encapsulates the shared experience of…

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France extends lockdown for two more weeks

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said there would be no easing for at least two weeks of the country's second COVID-19 lockdown, with the number of people in hospital with…

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Britain to go into lockdown until December 2

Update : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a new monthlong lockdown for England after being warned that without tough action a resurgent coronavirus outbreak will overwhelm hospitals…

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Reduce movement, limit socialisation to avoid lockdown – Spain’s PM

Measures to reduce mobility and limit socialising are needed to curb the spread of coronavirus in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday, adding that he wanted to avoid…

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Britain’s Labour leader call for circuit breaker lockdown

Britain's opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called on Tuesday for a two to three week "circuit breaker" lockdown, piling pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is struggling to sell…

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Johnson unveils tiered lockdown system for the UK

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday imposed a tiered system of further restrictions on parts of England including shutting pubs as the COVID-19 outbreak accelerates, though anger is rising…

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Liverpool to face strictest imminent lockdown restrictions

The city of Liverpool may go into the strictest "third tier" of new anti-coronavirus restrictions to be announced imminently by the British government, Sky News said on Sunday, adding that…

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Boris Johnson to address country on Monday

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a statement to MPs on Monday, amid expectations that a three-tier local lockdown system will be introduced across England. Developing Story

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UK workers in businesses forced to shutdown to get two-thirds of salaries paid by government

Workers at businesses forced to shut due to stricter lockdown measures will have two-thirds of their salaries paid by the government. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the expansion of the Job…

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Ireland’s Emergency Health Team recommends full lockdown

Ireland's National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) recommended to the government on Sunday that the country be moved to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions and return to a full…

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Britain likely to reintroduce national lockdown – senior advisor

Britain is likely to need to reintroduce some national coronavirus lockdown measures sooner rather than later, a former senior government health advisor said on Saturday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said…

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Second UK Lockdown? – COVID hospital admissions doubling every 8 days

Britain's health minister said on Friday that the novel coronavirus was accelerating across the country with hospital admissions doubling every eight days but refused to say whether or not another…

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Israel to impose three-week nationwide lockdown – reports

Israel’s government has approved the imposition of a three-week nationwide lockdown, starting on Friday, to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Israel’s Ynet news website and Channel 12 television reported…

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California back in lockdown

California's governor on Monday clamped new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared, and the state's two largest school districts, in Los Angeles and San Diego, said children…

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