INSTANT VIEW-PM Johnson locks down England as COVID-19 surges

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered England back into a national lockdown after the United Kingdom passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases and the second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service. Following are comments from business leaders after the announcement:

ADAM MARSHALL, HEAD OF BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE "Business and market confidence has been hit hard by the unclear, stop-start approach taken by governments across the UK over the past eight months, with little end in sight.

"Many firms are in a much weaker position now than at the start of the pandemic, making it far more challenging to survive extended closures or demand restrictions." STEPHEN PHIPSON, CEO OF MANUFACTURERS BODY MAKE UK

"Given this could not have come at a worse time for jobs, Make the UK welcomes the decision to extend the job retention scheme at 80% of salaries which has played such a key role so far in protecting as many jobs in our sector. "Given this crisis has some time to run, the government is going to have to continue to adopt a flexible and fast-paced approach to policy for all sectors of the economy, not just those forced to close."

HELEN DICKINSON, CEO OF BRITISH RETAIL CONSORTIUM "The announced closure will have a significant economic impact on the viability of thousands of shops and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

"The previous lockdown cost ‘non-essential’ shops 1.6 billion pounds a week in lost sales; now that we are entering the all-important Christmas shopping period, these losses are certain to be much bigger." JONATHAN GELDART, HEAD OF INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS:

"Controlling the virus is crucial for the economy in the long run. But make no mistake, these measures will put great strain on an already fragile business community. "The decision to reinstate furlough is absolutely the right one, and the announcement should bring relief to many businesses. Directors will be eager for clarity on the employer contributions, as we are now returning to circumstances much like the start of the summer."

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