Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said he was confident the country can slow the spread of coronavirus in the next three months through tough measures to cut social contact.
Earlier this week, the government called for more people to work from home, and avoid public transport, pubs, clubs and restaurants, to try to slow infection rates.
The UK death count has risen to 144, and the government has unveiled plans for emergency powers to deal with the spiralling outbreak, including forced testing for suspected cases.
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During a press briefing, PM Johnson said, “I do think, looking at it all, we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks… but only if we all take the steps that we have outlined.
In Northern Ireland, schools closed at 5p.m. (1700GMT) Wednesday for students, although teachers are understood to be attending for another two days, according to local media.
Meanwhile, he also mentioned that a test to determine whether an individual has developed antibodies to tackle the coronavirus is “coming down the track”.
“But I simply can’t say that that’s for certain. Of course not. We don’t know where we are and we don’t know how long this thing will go on for”, he added.
“But what I can say is that this is going to be finite. We will turn the tide and I can see how to do it within the next 12 weeks.”
On Tuesday, Johnson government unveiled a huge package of support for businesses to help them survive the introduction of tough new social measures to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
The country has closed all public and private educational institutions, marriage halls, cultural centres, cinemas, and cancelled all sports activities and official events and also blocked its western border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan.
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