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A healthcare worker administers a coronavirus vaccine to a study participant in the UK.
Kirsty O’Connor / PA Images via Getty Images
- England is delaying the start of the school year due to concerns about Covid-19.
- Meanwhile, the country is tightening its restrictions starting Thursday.
- This includes the closure of non-essential stores.
High school children in England will return to the classroom later than planned to allow for massive Covid-19 testing to roll out, Education Minister Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday.
Students in exam years will return on January 11 and all high school and college students will return full time on January 18.
Meanwhile, tighter coronavirus restrictions will be extended across England from Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Wednesday, blaming a new variant of Covid-19 for the record number of cases this week.
The strengthened rules, which require the closure of all non-essential shops, barber shops and entertainment venues, will now apply to more than 44 million people – three-quarters of the population of England.
The so-called Level 4 restrictions, which were already in place in London and the surrounding areas, also mean that people must stay at home with certain exceptions.
The rules are now being implemented in most of the South West, Central, North West and North East England.
Meanwhile, most of the rest of the country will enter Level 3, which closes the hospitality venues and indoor and outdoor bars for socializing between households.
The expansion of the restrictions comes as the government struggles to contain the increase in infection rates attributed to a new variant of the coronavirus.
Britain on Wednesday recorded 981 deaths a day within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, the highest daily figure since early April, bringing the total death toll to 72,548.
Another 50,023 positive cases were registered in 24 hours.
Hancock told the UK parliament that most of the new cases were believed to be the new variant.
“Unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of England and cases are rapidly doubling,” he added.
“The measures at levels three and four place a significant burden on people, and especially on affected companies, but I am afraid it is absolutely necessary due to the number of cases we have seen.”
Hancock said Wednesday was a day of “mixed emotions” because, hours before the new restrictions were announced, Britain became the first country in the world to approve the low-cost Covid vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. .
The independent Medicines and Health Products and Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the vaccine “met its strict standards for safety, quality and efficacy,” and a release was set for January 4.
“While we have the good news about the vaccine today, we also have some tough decisions to make,” Hancock said, noting that the nation’s state health service was “under very significant pressure.”
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that high schools and colleges would welcome students later in January than originally planned due to the situation.
Williamson said the delayed return would allow more preparations for a massive testing program at high schools and colleges next month.
He added that elementary school-age students in most areas were scheduled to return Monday as planned, while those in a small number of Level 4 areas would not.
“We must always act quickly when circumstances change,” he told lawmakers, noting that it was “a rapidly changing situation.”
