As coronavirus lockdowns have been extended globally, billions of people have found that they are now faced with unique limitations and extreme measures.
Police across the world have been given the authority to control activities in a way that would normally be punished even for an authoritarian state.
UK
Boris Johnson announced the lockdown for three weeks and he pledges citizens to follow the rules.
He said:
“If you don’t follow the rules, ‘the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings”
Initially, lockdown in the UK was not strict and there were four reasons people were allowed to leave home.
- Shopping for food or medicine only
- Exercise for yourself or pets alone or with members of your household only.
- Medical appointment or as a career visiting a vulnerable person.
- Travel to and from work for essential workers only.
The police chief has told officers that citizens should not be punished for driving a reasonable distance.
New rules and guidance reissued to enforced coronavirus lockdown
- All non-essential shops closed
- No gathering of more than two people except for households
- Places of worship such as churches and mosques closed except to host funerals
- Police have given emergency powers to arrest or fine anyone who does not comply
- Travel on roads, trains, and buses is also banned unless it’s essential to get to work.
Police officers are patrolling the cities and at some forces setting up checkpoints and using drones to target people go out without any reason.
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In an incident in the capital, police officers were seen asking two people outside the bakery to obey social distancing policies.
In another incident, Foles-hill police in the West Midlands caught twenty plus people having a BBQ.
The police warned them to listen to government advice else this will get worse and will last longer.
Anyone who disobeys the new restriction of lockdown will face fines of up to £1,000 or even arrest.
Police now have the power to issue on-the-spot fines of £30 for gathering.
Police confirmed that no one had been punished or arrested till now.
In the coming days, the police will possess the proper powers to enforce breaches of the new rules.
The public can call 101 anytime with information about large-scale breaches of lockdown and then action will be taken accordingly.
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USA
The novel coronavirus hits every nook and cranny of the United States of America.
Coronavirus cases in the USA jumped to five lacs and eighty-seven thousand till now and the death toll rises to twenty thousand.
To prevent the further spread of deadly coronavirus social distancing is essential until a cure or vaccine invented.
The spread has compelled businesses and schools to close the masses as state and local governments work to stop the spread.
The Trump administration issued guidelines advising Americans throughout the country to avoid gathering, limit nonessential travel, and keep in-person gatherings to 2 people or fewer and stay home.
All states are taking exceptionally invasive measures to control the spreading virus. All of the US states are on complete lockdown.
There is no school, university, theater, cinema, nightlife, sports, funerals, or weddings.
As forces threaten to fine those who are making the non-essential journey and send people back home.
Joint Committee on Human Rights said police can punish people without any legal basis to make them stay home during a pandemic
Police forces have powers to arrest and fine people for breaking quarantine rules.
