Queen Elizabeth II has been shifted out of Buckingham Palace in London to Windsor Castle as the UK plans for isolation measures for people over 70 amid the country’s death toll from COVID-19 hitting 21, nearly doubling from 11 within a day.
The 93-year-old monarch and her 98-year-old husband, PrincePhilip, are likely to be placed in quarantine at the royal Sandringham Estatein Norfolk in the coming weeks as tougher measures are put in place to fightthe coronavirus outbreak in the UK affecting over 1,140 people.
“Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis inline with the appropriate advice,” a Buckingham Palace statement said asit announced diary cancellations for the monarch.
Some reports indicate that her move from the palace in theheart of London, which has a large staff and frequent visitors, was part of aregular weekend getaway for the Queen to Windsor on Thursday. However, otherreports indicate that the situation will be kept under constant review beforeshe is brought back to London and may instead be shifted to Sandringham, with amuch smaller level of staff.
“She is in good health but it was thought best to move her,”a royal source was quoted by ‘The Sun’ as saying.
“The Palace hosts a constant stream of visitors, includingpoliticians and dignitaries from around the world. The Queen has met a lot ofpeople there until recently. But she is weeks away from her 94th birthday andadvisers believe it is best to get her out of harm’s way,” the source said.
Meanwhile, UK health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed thegovernment’s plans to put the elderly and vulnerable into complete isolationwithin weeks.
The heightened measure, in response to all the deaths fromCOVID-19 so far being among over-60s, would mean older people being asked toremain at home without visitors and with vital supplies dropped off for them ontheir doorsteps.
“The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest public healthemergency in a generation. It calls for dramatic action, at home and abroad, ofthe kind not normally seen in peacetime,” he wrote in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ ashe called for a similar spirit as the previous generation which faced World WarII in the 20th century.”Nextweek we will publish our emergency bill, to give the government the temporarypowers we will need to help everyone get through this. The measures in it allowfor the worst case scenario. I hope many of them won’t be needed. But we willask Parliament for these powers in case they are,” he said.