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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday that more onerous lockdown restrictions are likely to be put in place in England in the coming weeks as the country reels from a new variant of the coronavirus that has pushed infection rates to its knees. highest levels recorded.
Johnson, however, insisted that he “has no doubt” that schools are safe and urged parents to send their children back to the classroom in areas of England where they can.
Heathcliff O’Malley / AP
Boris Johnson has warned that there are likely to be more onerous lockdown restrictions in England as the country reeling from a new variant of the coronavirus that has seen infection rates skyrocket to their highest levels on record.
Unions representing teachers have called for schools to turn to remote learning for at least a couple more weeks because of the new variant, which scientists have said is up to 70 percent more contagious.
The UK is in the midst of an acute outbreak, recording more than 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day for the past six days.
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On Sunday, it recorded another 54,990 cases, slightly below the previous day’s daily record of 57.725.
The country also recorded another 454 virus-related deaths to bring the total to 75,024. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the UK alternates with Italy as the worst hit European nation.
“We are fully reconciled to do whatever it takes to control the virus, which may mean tougher measures in the coming weeks,” Johnson said in an interview with the BBC.
Gareth Fuller / AP
Deputy Technical Officer Lukasz Najdrowski unpacks doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and UK-based drug maker AstraZeneca when they arrive at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, England.
“Obviously, there are a number of stricter measures that we should consider.”
Johnson admitted that school closings, curfews and a total ban on home mixing could be on the agenda for the most stressed areas.
London and south-east England are facing extremely high levels of new infections and there is speculation that restrictions will have to be tightened to control the virus. In some parts of the British capital and its surroundings, there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Conservative Johnson government is using a tiered coronavirus restriction system. Most of England is already at Tier 4 highest, involving the closure of non-essential shops and places like gyms and recreation centers, as well as a stay-at-home instruction.
“What we are using now is the tiered system, which is a very difficult system and sadly, it is probably about to get more difficult to keep things under control,” he said.
“We will review it, and we have the potential for vaccines to hit the slopes by the tens of millions, offering people literally life and hope.”
Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labor Party, urged Johnson to introduce more national restrictions in the coming days, although he stopped short of calling for the closure of schools because he said he did not want to “add more chaos” which is likely to ensue. Monday.
“The virus is clearly out of control,” Starmer said.
“We cannot allow the prime minister to exhaust the next two or three weeks and then install a national blockade, which is inevitable.”
Gareth Fuller / AP
One area in which the UK has moved quickly is vaccination.
Starmer also said it is inevitable that more schools will be closed and urged the government to come up with a plan for both students and working parents.
One area in which the UK has moved quickly is vaccination.
It was the first to begin vaccinating people over 80 and healthcare workers on December 8 with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Last week, regulators approved another vaccine made by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that is cheaper and easier to use than the Pfizer vaccine.
Hundreds of new vaccination sites should be operational this week as the National Health Service intensifies its vaccination program with the Oxford-AstraZeneca injection.
Authorities say around 530,000 doses of the new vaccine will be given Monday as the country moves toward its goal of vaccinating 2 million people a week as soon as possible.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered in a small number of hospitals during the first few days so that authorities can be on the lookout for any adverse reactions. Hundreds of new vaccination sites, both in hospitals and local doctor’s offices, will be launched this week, joining the more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.
In a change from practices in the US and elsewhere, Britain plans to give people a second dose of both vaccines within 12 weeks of the first injection rather than within 21 days, to speed up immunizations in as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“My mother, as well as you or your elderly loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the entire nation,” said the government’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam. he said in an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
