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Families should cancel their Christmas gatherings and most stores should close in London and much of southern England, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, imposing a new, stricter level of coronavirus restrictions on the region to curb the rapid spread of infections.
Johnson said on Saturday (local time) that the capital and other areas in southern England currently under Level 3, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, will move to a new, even more stringent Level 4 requiring all stores, nonessential indoor barber shops and entertainment venues. close after the end of business hours on Saturday.
Toby Melville / AP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Christmas gatherings cannot continue and non-essential shops must close in London and much of southern England.
With just five days left until Christmas, Johnson also announced that a planned relaxation of socialization rules that would have allowed up to three households to gather in “holiday bubbles” from December 23 to 27, will be canceled for Level 4 and reduced areas. in the rest of England.
Household mixing will not be allowed on Level 4, except under very limited conditions outdoors in public places. In the rest of England, people will be able to gather in Christmas bubbles for just one day instead of five, as the government originally planned.
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“It is with great regret that I must tell you that we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” Johnson said.
Matt Dunham / AP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was with “great regret” that he announced the new restrictions.
He said he concluded that “there was no other alternative open to me” and people must sacrifice this Christmas to have a better chance of protecting the lives of their loved ones.
“I know how much excitement people get at this time of year and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren,” Johnson said. “But when the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense.”
Matt Dunham / AP
A new level of Covid-19 restrictions is taking effect in parts of England, including London.
A new fast-moving variant of the coronavirus that is more than 70% more transmissible than existing strains appears to be driving the rapid spread in London and southern England, Johnson said. London now has the highest infection rates in England.
“There is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or that it causes a more serious disease,” he emphasized, or that vaccines will be less effective against it.
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the UK has alerted the World Health Organization that the new variant identified this week appears to be accelerating the spread of Covid-19. The government’s scientific advisers reached that conclusion based on preliminary modeling figures and continue to analyze the available data, he said.
Kirsty O’Connor / AP
The new restrictions were announced hours after an anti-lockdown protest was held in Parliament Square in central London.
Viruses mutate regularly, and scientists have found thousands of different mutations among samples of the virus that causes Covid-19. But many of these changes have no effect on how easily the virus spreads or the severity of symptoms.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO technical leader on Covid-19, told reporters after receiving a notification from England this week that the UN health agency had “no evidence that this variant behaves differently” and which was similar to a variant initially reported among minks in Europe. He said scientists would study the virus strain to see if there might be a difference in how it elicits an immune response in people.
Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own delegated governments and independent rules to control the virus, have already announced new closures once Christmas is over.
UK officials reported a further 28,507 confirmed cases on Friday and 489 deaths of people within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.
The UK has the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Europe behind Italy, at 66,541 as of Saturday.
