The prime minister broke the news on Saturday that London and the south-east of England, where cases are on the rise, will move to level 4 restrictions on Sunday, similar to a closure.
“The spread is being driven by the new variant of the virus,” Johnson said in a hastily convened press conference. “It seems to spread more easily and can be up to 70% more transmissible than the previous strain.”
“It’s spreading very fast now,” Johnson warned. “It’s with a very heavy heart that I say we can’t continue with Christmas as planned.”
Johnson exposed that in areas under the harshest restrictions, there will be no possibility of domestic mixing during Christmas. In Level 3 areas, the mix will now be restricted to Christmas Day.
Level 4 alert restrictions will apply in Wales from midnight, the country’s Prime Minister Mark Drakeford announced on Saturday, meaning “festive bubbles” can only form on Christmas Day , as reported by PA Media. Below alert level 4, people should stay home, except for very limited purposes, and should not meet with other households or meet people they do not live with, while many businesses should close.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Saturday that a strict travel ban would be imposed throughout the Christmas period north of the border, warning that people in Scotland should not visit other parts of the UK and vice versa.
“To reduce the risk of importing more strains of coronavirus into Scotland, we aim to maintain a strict travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK,” Sturgeon said.
Meanwhile, the most severe level of coronavirus restrictions will apply across mainland Scotland for three weeks from the day of boxing, he added.
No changes have yet been announced in Northern Ireland restrictions.
Critics spoil the treatment of the Johnson pandemic
Recently, this week, Johnson reiterated his commitment to relax the rules over the Christmas period, allowing up to three homes to be mixed for five days. But as of Saturday, the entire nation is being asked not to travel and those with the highest level of restrictions will not be able to travel abroad, except for work reasons.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, criticized the government’s handling of the crisis and said: “Many people will be heartbroken by the news that their Christmas plans are being torn up.
“I’m very frustrated because I raised it with the prime minister on Wednesday and he fired him. He kept telling people to have a ‘happy little Christmas,’ just three days later, to dodge his plans,” he said. he told Sky News.
Experts are urgently looking for clarity on the new strain of the virus
According to Whitty, the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have almost doubled in the last week.
Earlier, he said work is being done “urgently” to determine whether the new strain, prevalent in the south-east of England, could cause a higher mortality rate.
“There is no current evidence to indicate that the new strain will cause a higher mortality rate or affect vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is being done to confirm this,” Whitty said in a statement.
As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, this one has a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and is now commonplace. This does not mean that the mutation has made it spread more easily, nor does it necessarily mean that this variation is more dangerous.
Several experts in virus genetics and epidemiology observe that this could be just one “lucky” strain that has been amplified due to a superspar event; the mutation may somehow make it spread more easily without causing more serious illness; or it could simply be by chance.
The government’s scientific advisory group for Covid-19 has also warned that the new strain is a “real cause for concern” and has called for urgent action. On Twitter, Jeremy Farrar said: “Research is underway to understand more, but acting urgently is crucial now. There is no part of the UK and around the world that should not be concerned. As in many countries, the situation is fragile. “
Whitty also urged people to take more precautions. “Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that citizens continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission,” he said.