UK unveils three-level lockdown plan; Liverpool at highest risk

The British government carved England into three tiers of coronavirus risk in a bid to slow a resurgent outbreak, putting the northern city of Liverpool into the highest risk category and shutting its pubs, gyms and betting shops. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the three-tier national system was designed to “simplify and standardise” a confusing patchwork of local rules about what residents can and cannot do. Johnson said shops, schools and universities would remain open in all areas. He told politicians in the House of Commons the goal was to save lives and prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed without “shuttering our lives and our society” through a new national lockdown. But pubs, restaurants and other businesses are pushing back, arguing they are not to blame for rising infections. After falling during the past months, coronavirus cases have risen in the United Kingdom as winter approaches with northwest and northeast England seeing the steepest increases. Liverpool has one of the country’s most severe outbreaks with more than 600 cases per 100,000 people, even more than the hard-hit European cities of Madrid and Brussels. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, said while northern England has the highest infection rates, cases are on the rise across the country. Infections have risen most rapidly among older teenagers and young adults, who generally suffer mild symptoms, but are spreading to older and more at-risk groups. “This is a nationwide phenomenon now,” Van-Tam said. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">