‘OPERATION Broadshare’ has been launched by the military to put 10,000 troops on the streets. The military said that it will work alongside the police in tackling coronavirus.
An army source told Sky News: ‘It feels like we’re getting ready for war, but this time at home.
‘This is what the military is good at, we are always planning scenarios and ready to step in to help, however I’ve never known anything like this. There are just so many unknowns.’
The military plans to use at least 20 per cent of its personnel to fight the virus, with the proposals including how to cope with ‘the breakdown of society’ – in other words, civil unrest.
It was announced yesterday that another 171 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, taking the country’s total to 1,543 as of 9am on Monday according to the latest Department of Health figures.
At least 36 people have now died in the UK after Wales confirmed its first death – a 68-year-old man who was being treated at a hospital in Wrexham.
However, the true figure of how many people are infected is anyone’s guess as only 44,000 people have been tested in the UK. People self-isolating with mild symptoms are no longer being tested.
The virus has infected more than 169,387 people and killed at least 6,513 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Tory PM Johnson’s testing strategy was at odds with the World Health Organisation and its Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who said yesterday: ‘The main thing is to test, test, test. Even mild cases must be isolated and treated and cared for.’
However, most schools across the UK remained open yesterday, despite blanket closures in countries such as Spain, France and Ireland.
Meanwhile, teachers’ unions have welcomed the suspension of Ofsted inspections.
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘Scotland and Wales have shown England the way.
‘It is unacceptable for Ofsted inspections to be taking place at a time of national emergency.
‘School leaders and staff are straining every sinew to support and protect their students.
‘They should be allowed to focus on this, not have their stress made worse by the threat of an imminent Ofsted inspection.’
