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The prime minister broke the news Saturday that London and south-east England, where cases are increasing, will enter Level 4 restrictions, similar to a lockdown, on Sunday.
“The spread is being driven by the new variant of the virus,” Johnson said at a hastily called news conference. “It appears to spread more easily and can be up to 70% more transmissible than the previous strain.”
“This is now spreading very fast,” Johnson warned. “It is with a heavy heart that I say that we cannot continue with Christmas as planned.”
Johnson noted that in areas subject to the most stringent restrictions, there will be no chance for them to mix at home during Christmas. In areas below Level 3, mixing will now be restricted to Christmas Day.
Alert Level 4 restrictions will be brought forward to apply across Wales from midnight, the country’s Prime Minister Mark Drakeford announced on Saturday, meaning that “holiday bubbles” can only form on Christmas Day, reported PA Mean. Under Alert Level 4, people must stay at home, except for very limited purposes, and must not meet with other households or meet people they do not live with, while many businesses must close.
Recently this week, Johnson reiterated his commitment to relaxing the rules over the Christmas period, allowing up to three households to mingle for five days. But starting Saturday, the entire nation is asked not to travel and those under the highest level of restrictions will not be able to travel abroad except for work reasons.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, criticized the government’s handling of the crisis, saying: “Many people will be heartbroken by the news that their Christmas plans are being shattered.
“I’m really frustrated that I raised this with the Prime Minister on Wednesday, and he dismissed it. He kept telling people to have a ‘merry Christmas’, just three days later, to break their plans,” he said. he said on Sky News.
According to Whitty, the new variant is responsible for 60% of infections in London, which have almost doubled in the last week.
Earlier, he said “urgent work” is underway to establish whether the new strain, prevalent in south-east England, could cause a higher mortality rate.
“There is no current evidence to suggest that the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or affects vaccines and treatments, although work is urgently underway to confirm this,” Whitty said in a statement.
As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, this one carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to trace, and it turns out to be one that is now common. That doesn’t mean that the mutation made it spread more easily, nor does it necessarily mean that this variation is more dangerous.
Multiple experts in virus genetics and epidemiology are pointing out that this could simply be a “lucky” strain that has been amplified due to a super-propagation event; it could be the mutation that somehow makes it spread more easily without causing more serious disease; or it could be by chance.
The government’s scientific advisory group for Covid-19 also warned that the new strain is a “real cause for concern” and called for urgent action. On Twitter Jeremy Farrar said: “Research is underway to understand more, but acting urgently now is critical. There is nowhere in the UK and the world that you need not worry about. As in many countries, the situation is fragile.”
Whitty also urged people to take more precautions. “Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission,” he said.
This is a story in development.
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