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UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told the House of Commons that a new variant of coronavirus has been identified in England.
In a statement, Hancock said: “In recent days, thanks to our world-class genomic capabilities in the UK, we have identified a new coronavirus variant that may be associated with more rapid spread in southern England.”
Matt Hancock said the numbers of the new variant of the coronavirus “are increasing rapidly.”
He told Commons: “Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than existing variants.
“We have currently identified more than 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in almost 60 different local authority areas.”
Hancock added: “I must emphasize at this point that there is currently nothing to suggest that this variant is more likely to cause severe disease and the latest clinical advice is that it is highly unlikely that this mutation will not respond to a vaccine, but it shows that we have to be vigilant and follow the rules and that everyone must take personal responsibility not to spread this virus.
“I have to tell the House that over the last week, we have seen very sharp and exponential increases in the virus in London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.
“We do not know to what extent this is due to the new variant, but regardless of its cause, we have to take swift and decisive action which, unfortunately, are absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is launched.”
He made the statement when he described that London will move to the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions from Wednesday as a result of high case rates.
He told the Commons: “We have therefore decided to relocate Greater London, South and West Essex, which includes Basildon, Brentwood, Harlow, Epping Forest, Castle Point, Rochford, Maldon, Braintree and Chelmsford, along with Thurrock and Southend – Maritime Townships and Southern Hertfordshire, which means Broxbourne, Hertsmere, Watford and the Three Rivers local authority at Level 3, which is the very high alert level.
“This means that people can only see friends and family they do not live with or who do not live with in a support bubble in public places outdoors and, of course, according to the rule of six.”
“Hospitality establishments should close, except for takeout and delivery, and people should avoid traveling outside of their area and reduce the number of trips they take whenever possible.”
Hancock said the action being taken is “absolutely essential.”
He told MPs: “I know this is difficult news and I know that it will mean the disruption of the plans and that for the companies affected it will be a significant blow, but this action is absolutely essential not only to keep people safe, but because I have seen that early action can prevent more damaging and long-lasting problems later.
“These restrictions will go into effect at midnight on Wednesday morning because when the virus is moving fast, we too must and we must take actions that are not necessarily easy but effective.
“We will continue to support those who are most impacted through our licensing and support scheme for freelancers. We have already started increasing mobile testing in these parts of London, Essex and Kent and are expanding community testing as well.
“Furthermore, I can tell the House that this weekend, as part of our community testing expansion, we are rolling it out to 67 local authorities across England and furthermore today we will publish a guide for colleagues to promote, support and defend local community evidence and contact tracing. ”
England GPs Launch Vaccine Amid New Christmas Warnings
Family physicians across England will begin vaccinating their patients against Covid-19 when health experts issued new warnings about an increase in cases caused by Christmas socializing.
GP’s offices in more than 100 locations will begin administering the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine this afternoon, with those 80 and older among those called to receive the vaccine.
Residents of nursing homes in Scotland will also begin receiving the vaccine, while those in nursing homes in England can expect to see traveling teams administer the jab starting later this week.
Dr Nikita Kanani, Director of Primary Care at NHS England, urged all those waiting to receive the vaccine to be patient and wait for their GP to call them.
“There is a wide variety of things that general practitioners are already doing, so if we can ask people to wait a moment and wait for them to contact us, it would be greatly appreciated,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC Breakfast that arrangements had been made “to ensure that vaccine distribution is not interrupted in any way” in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
He added that there would be “a few million” of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in the UK before Christmas.
“We are going as fast as we can in terms of the vaccination program,” he said.
The vaccination centers will operate from the surgeries of doctors or community centers in villages, towns and cities, and will come after more than 70 UK hospitals started giving injections.
GP leaders have cautioned that the requirement to observe patients for 15 minutes after the jab poses a challenge for some practices with limited space, especially while observing social distancing rules.
Some GP surgeries have turned to their communities for help, requesting tents or outdoor tents that can be heated so that observations can be made outside.
It comes as experts issued new warnings about the gathering of families and friends for Christmas, which is expected to lead to an increase in cases.
Under the rules, people will be able to form a “Christmas bubble” between December 23 and 27 made up of people from no more than three households.
Professor Devi Sridhar, president of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, warned that the virus “spreads like cigarette smoke” indoors and that people could easily get sick.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “This is the concern around Christmas because once you walk into someone’s house, you’re probably going to get the virus if someone else has it.
“The three things I would tell people are, first, we have a vaccine around the corner: Pfizer is already rolling out, AstraZeneca is on the way.
“So in a few weeks people will be vaccinated and safe, that they would otherwise be at risk.
“Secondly, the NHS staff are exhausted, they beg people to be cautious, not to get infected, because in the end they are the ones who have to report to the hospital on Christmas Day, Saint Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Eve and actually having to take care of everyone who passes by
“And third, look at what happened in the United States with the American Thanksgiving.
“You just have to read the stories, look at the numbers to see what happens if people are not cautious right now during the Christmas period.”
England’s first tiering review will take place on Wednesday and NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, have urged “extreme caution” when moving any area of the country down, while areas they must be moved to the highest level. level of restrictions “as soon as necessary, without delay”.
A government spokeswoman said the ministers “will not hesitate to take the necessary actions to protect local communities.”
Meanwhile, Greenwich schools have been asked to close as of tonight and switch to online learning following the “exponential growth” of the coronavirus in the south-east London borough.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the government should consider asking schools and universities to close before Christmas in the capital and reopen later in January.
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