British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Christmas gatherings cannot go ahead and unnecessary shops have to close in London and much of the south of England because he has imposed a new, higher level of coronavirus restrictions to prevent the rapid spread of disease
Johnson said Saturday that the capital and other areas in the south of England that are currently below Stage 3, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, will move to a new Level 4 that is even tougher. all non-essential shops, hairdressers and indoor leisure centers will have to close after the end of business hours on Saturday.
With just five days to go until Christmas, Johnson also announced that a planned relaxation of social rules that would allow up to three families to meet in “Christmas bubbles” from December 23 to December 27, has been postponed for Level areas. 4 and sharply cut in the rest of England.
Homes A mixture of homes in Tier 4 will only be permitted under very small external conditions in public places. In the rest of England, people will be allowed to meet in Christmas bubbles for just one day instead of five, as the government originally intended.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we cannot proceed with Christmas as planned,” said Johnson.
He said he decided there was “no other option open to me” and that people must sacrifice this Christmas so that they have a better chance of protecting the lives of loved ones.
“I know how much emotion people invest at this time of year, and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren,” Johnson said. “But when the virus changes its attack, we need to change our way of defending.”
A rapid new version of the coronavirus that is more than 70% more mobile than existing strains appears to be driving rapid spread in London and the south of England, Johnson said. London now has the highest disease rates in England.
“There is no evidence to suggest that it is more deadly or worse,” he said, or that vaccines will not be as effective against it.
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the UK has warned the World Health Organization that the new variant identified this week appears to be accelerating the release of COVID-19. Government scientific advisers came to that conclusion based on initial modeling figures, and are continuing to analyze the available data, he said.
Viruses circulate regularly, and scientists have found thousands of different strains among samples of the virus that causes COVID-19. But many of these changes have no effect on how easily the virus spreads or how severe the symptoms are.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director of COVID-19, told reporters after receiving a report from England this week that “the DA health agency had no evidence that this variant is conducive to “different” and that it was similar to a mink that was first reported among mink in Europe. She said scientists would study the weight of the virus to see if there is any difference in how it stimulates an immune response in humans.
Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own devolved governments and independent rules to control the virus, have already announced locks after Christmas.
UK officials reported a further 28,507 confirmed cases on Friday, and 489 deaths within 28 days of being tested positive for the virus. Italy has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, standing at 66,541 as of Saturday.
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