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LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed with his senior ministers on Saturday (December 19) what urgent action to take after it was confirmed that a new strain of the COVID-19 virus could spread more rapidly and cause an increase in cases .
The BBC reported that London and south-east England would be placed on a new higher level of restrictions and that the government would cut back on a planned relaxation of the rules over Christmas, but did not elaborate.
Johnson will hold a press conference at around 4 p.m. during which he will discuss what his plans are in light of rising infections in London and the south-east of England linked to a new, more transmissible variant of the virus.
Medical Director Chris Whitty said that while there was no current evidence that the coronavirus variant causes a higher death rate or affected vaccines, work is urgently underway to confirm this.
READ: New UK COVID cases rise to highest number since mid-November
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“We have alerted the World Health Organization and continue to analyze available data to improve our understanding,” Whitty said in a statement.
Britain reported 28,507 new COVID-19 cases and 489 deaths on Friday, with an estimated reproduction R-number between 1.1 and 1.2, meaning the number of cases is increasing rapidly.
Johnson said on Friday that he hoped England would not need a third lockdown after Christmas and has so far resisted calls to change plans to ease restrictions for five days during the holiday period, allowing three separate households to meet in the inside.
Much of the country, including London, is currently at the top of a three-tiered system of restrictions to slow the spread of the pandemic. The Daily Telegraph newspaper said ministers could now announce restrictions on travel between the south-east of England, including the capital, and the rest of the country.
READ: UK GPs May Use Additional Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine at Discretion – NHS
The BBC said these areas would now be placed at a new Level 4, with a tightening of the rules for Christmas.
“Failure to act decisively now will mean more suffering,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter. “We must keep asking ourselves ‘are we doing enough, we are acting fast enough.’
The opposition Labor Party said the tiered system had failed to stem the spread of the virus.
“It has been apparent for a few days that the virus is back out of control in some parts of the country,” said Jonathan Ashworth, Labor health spokesman.
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