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Downing Street is considering new travel restrictions for London and other parts of the southeast as ministers try to combat the spread of a new strain of Covid-19.
Boris Johnson reportedly held unscheduled talks about the new “highly contagious” mutated strain, and limits on travel between the capital and the rest of the UK were apparently seen as slowing the spread.
Johnson reportedly held an unscheduled ministerial meeting on Friday amid “growing concern” about the threat posed by the mutant strain, which is believed to be spreading more rapidly in London and Kent.
The Telegraph reports that ministers are considering “cutting off” the area from the rest of the UK, with possible bans between areas where the “highly contagious” variant of coronavirus is high and elsewhere.
Scientists have warned that the new variant is up to 50 times more contagious than any strain detected before. It is understood that Johnson received new data on the new strain of the virus at the meeting on Friday night.
Johnson during a trip to Bolton on Friday
/ POOL / AFP via Getty Images )Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been pushing for tougher restrictions all week. However, high-level government sources insist there are no current plans for a third national shutdown or a fourth level, although it is understood that proposals have been drawn up.
Professor Sir Mark Walport, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said there was a real possibility that it could have a “transmission advantage.”
“The thing about viruses is that they mutate naturally all the time and the ones that are likely to do well are the ones that increase transmission,” he told BBC2’s Newsnight.
“We know that this is a new variant, it has been seen in other countries but it seems to be quite widespread which suggests that it has a transmission advantage.
“Scientists are working very hard to find out what is going on. But it definitely seems possible that this is more easily transmitted.
“It will make social distancing even more critical.”
Downing Street declined to comment on reports that new travel restrictions for south-east England are among the measures ministers are considering.
However, the meeting comes as much of the region was following London and much of Essex and Hertfordshire, which entered the tighter Level 3 restrictions earlier this week.
Johnson leaves Downing Street earlier this week
/ Pennsylvania )The NHS in Kent announced it would suspend non-urgent hospital procedures as it was treating twice as many patients as it had at the peak of the first wave in April.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from Sage showed that the reproduction number, or R-value, of coronavirus transmission in the UK is estimated to have risen to between 1.1 and 1.2, meaning the spread of the disease is accelerating.
Fearing that the relaxation of restrictions over Christmas could lead to a new rally, Johnson on Friday refused to rule out the possibility of a third national shutdown for England in the new year.
“We are very hopeful that we can avoid something like this. But the reality is that infection rates have risen a lot in recent weeks, “he told reporters during a visit to Bolton.
