Passengers walk down the Thames in view of Tower Bridge in London, England on Monday, December 14, 2020.
Holy Adams | Bloomberg via Getty Images
LONDON – London will be placed under strict UK corona virus control from Wednesday, following a sharp rise in Govt-19 infection rates.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the move on Monday. He said British authorities had identified a new variant of the virus associated with the rapid spread of cases in the southeastern UK.
“Preliminary analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than existing variants,” Hancock said, adding that so far, 1,000 cases of the new variant have been identified in the UK.
“Nothing is currently being said that this variant is more likely to cause serious illness, and the latest medical advice is that it is unlikely that this mutation will fail to respond to a vaccine.”
Hancock said similar strains of the corona virus have been identified in other countries in recent months and UK health officials have notified the World Health Organization. Hancock said public health experts will continue to study the newly identified virus in the UK.
Earlier this month, the government imposed three-tier public health measures across the UK to prevent the spread of the eruption following a month-long lockout.
Millions of people across the country were placed in “Tier 3” at the time, but the UK capital was placed under the second highest tier restrictions.
A nationwide review of the deployed organization was initially scheduled for December 16th.
Along with London, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire are set to move to “Tier 3” from 00:01 on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock arrives at the BBC Broadcasting House in London to appear on the Andrew Marr show.
Aaron Sawan | B.A. via Getty Images. Images
“I know this is tough news. I know it’s a disruption to projects and it will be a significant blow to affected businesses,” Hancock said.
“But this measure is absolutely necessary, not only to keep people safe, but also to prevent further harmful and long-term problems that we have seen since the initial measures were taken,” he added.
What is Tier 3?
Under Tier 3 restrictions, people cannot mix indoors, in private gardens or in most outdoor areas. Shops, gyms and personal care services such as hairdressers are allowed to remain open, but bars, pubs and restaurants should be closed except for takeaways and deliveries.
“I know these steps are tough, but we shouldn’t be shaken when we enter the final length, so when we look back at this crisis time, we can all say that we all did our part,” Hancock said.
Last week, the UK became the first country to vaccinate people with coronavirus treatment, which carried out a full trial.
Margaret Keenan, who was 90 at the time, made history by becoming the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine outside of experimental conditions.
It will now be offered to leading health care workers, nursing home workers and those over 80 years of age.
It is believed that a safe and effective vaccine will help put an end to corona virus infection.
To date, more than 72.3 million people worldwide are affected by Govt-19, with 1.61 million deaths associated with it, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
– Holly Elliott of CNBC contributed to this report.