In Scotland, the government ordered a month-long shutdown due to a new mutation in the coronavirus



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Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced in Edinburgh Parliament on Monday afternoon that the restrictions take effect on Tuesday from zero and last until the end of January.

According to Sturgeon, the sharp increase in the number of infections places a great burden on the Public Health Service (NHS) and, without restrictive measures, Scotland’s hospitals would be full in three to four weeks.

Under the measure, people living in Scotland are required to stay at home, work from home whenever possible, and go outside only to exercise or to get essentials and medicines or, if necessary, to see their doctor .

In public, everyone can only meet one person with whom they do not live under one roof. Religious institutions are being closed and schools are also shifting largely to online education.

Nicola Sturgeon said the gravity of the situation and the urgency of protective measures are indicated by the fact that 15 percent of coronavirus tests in Scotland show a positive result.

The Scottish prime minister added that half of all coronavirus infections in Scotland are caused by a recently identified variant of the virus.

The new variant of the coronavirus, identified in England in mid-December and isolated in several other countries since then, has been shown to be 50-70% more infectious than previous versions.

In the UK, the number of new coronavirus infections detected by screening has risen above 50,000 in recent days, respectively, after the average number of new new cases tested by tests in the previous weeks of 20-25,000 .

Experts say that the new variant of the virus plays a major role in accelerating the spread. On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “no doubt” more restrictions would also be needed in England. Johnson did not elaborate on what they were, but Downing Street announced shortly after that the prime minister would announce the plans after 9 p.m. CET on Monday night.

Cover image: Getty Images



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