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London, the southeast and east of England will go this Sunday to level 4, serious, risk of Covid-19, with the closure of non-essential stores, due to the rise in cases of the virus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this Saturday.
The prime minister, who held a government meeting during this day, announced at a press conference that restrictions will also be reinforced during the Christmas period in these areas after detecting a new variant of Covid-19.
The authorities indicated that they have already alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) about the finding of this new strain, which spreads faster although there is no evidence that it is more lethal or that it may have an impact on the effectiveness of vaccines developed against Covid-19, although this point is being urgently evaluated for confirmation.
Stores selling non-essential items, gyms, cinemas and hair salons will be forced to close for a period of two weeks, while the meeting of one person with another who does not live under the same roof only outdoors will be authorized, said the head of the Government.
Also, at Christmas, those who live in this level 4 -grave- they will not be able to meet others outside of their family “bubble”.
The prime minister asked the people who are in the different levels of restrictions in which England is divided, depending on the number of cases, to stay in their places of residence while the population must “carefully consider whether there is a need to travel abroad” .
In addition, those who live in areas with level 4, similar to a confinement, will not be allowed to travel abroad, although with “limited exceptions”, such as for work.
The “premier” has asked residents of level 4 to work from home, while it has modified the plans for the Christmas period by establishing that those in levels 1, 2 and 3 of restrictions – low, moderate and substantial – can only meet three groups of different ceilings only on the 25th.
Until today, these meetings were authorized between December 22 and 28, to give flexibility to families.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said Saturday that following “preliminary data and the rapid increase in cases in the south-east (of England),” the New Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats (NERVTAG) advisory group ) considers “that the new strain spreads more rapidly”.
“We have alerted WHO and continue to analyze available data to improve our understanding“of the virus, he added.
Faced with this situation, “it is now more vital than ever for the population to take measures in their area to reduce transmission,” said the medical director.
