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Boris Johnson is resigned to moving more parts of England to the strictest level of level 4 coronavirus restrictions, as concerns mount about the rapid spread of a new variant across the country.
An ally of the prime minister said Tuesday that it was “inevitable” that more areas would have to enter the new upper level of restrictions announced over the weekend, echoing a warning from Patrick Vallance, the government’s top scientific adviser, one day before.
Pressure on Johnson to act intensified after the latest daily infection figures released Tuesday showed 36,804 people had tested positive for coronavirus. This is the highest number on record since the pandemic outbreak, with more cases detected in the second wave due to more extensive testing than at the beginning of the year.
On Tuesday night, reports emerged that discussions between the government and health officials were now focused on whether or not to expand Level 4 to other parts of England. Any new measures could be announced as early as Wednesday and could take effect from Boxing Day.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said Tuesday that the government would be prepared to implement tougher measures. “If the virus continues to spread, then we will take stronger action because at the end of the day our goal is to save lives and keep people safe,” he said. Sky News.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s prime minister, underscored concerns about the impact of the new strain when she warned that the nation’s highest level of restrictions could be further tightened.
“It appears that we may be facing a virus that is spreading much faster now than in March, so we must consider whether the current level 4 restrictions will be sufficient to suppress it in the coming weeks,” he said.
Scientists have found that the new variant, labeled B.1.1.7, spreads faster than previous strains, and early studies suggest it could be 71% more transmissible.
Any expansion of coronavirus restrictions in England is likely to exacerbate tensions between Johnson and some members of his parliamentary party.
Several backing Conservative MPs criticized the government’s decision over the weekend to break plans to allow the Christmas bubbles and put London and much of south-east England at Level 4 without having a vote in parliament.
Keir Starmer will increase the pressure on Johnson on Wednesday, urging him to act immediately should the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) recommend stricter restrictions. In a letter to the prime minister, the Labor leader said his party would support more restrictions, adding: “The last thing the NHS and businesses there can afford is a third wave caused by a slow response to the latest advice and scientific data.” .
Some high-level conservatives have described a mixture of skepticism and concern among colleagues ahead of a revision of the restrictions on December 30 and are pressing Downing Street to clarify the long-term strategy behind the decision.
This stance is in contrast to government scientific advisers who urged Johnson to face the gravity of the situation and act sooner rather than later.
“Definitely Level 4 will have to spread to other parts of the country and I would be very surprised if we finally didn’t have another national lockdown,” said Robert West, professor of health psychology at University College London and a member of the Scientific Behavior Group. of Pandemic Influenza (Spi-B), a subgroup of Sage, who was speaking in a personal capacity.
The latest figures indicate a 62 percent increase in the number of positive cases over the past week. The concentration of cases is centered in London, and all but three of London’s 33 boroughs now have more than 400 positive cases per 100,000 people during the most recent week of data.
With hospitals filling up, the latest data on the B.1.1.7 strain showed that it was also increasing rapidly in East Anglia, much of which still only has level 2 restrictions. Norfolk has detected 186 cases of the new variant they represent. 20 percent of the cases.
The country’s two main teacher unions, the National Education Union and the NASUWT, have warned that it may not be possible to reopen schools in England safely in January, raising new questions about the fairness of students taking the GCSE exams. and A-level this summer. . Scotland and Wales have already eliminated the end-of-year exams.
Mary Bousted, NEU’s deputy general secretary, has said there are “serious doubts” about whether the government could reopen schools and maintain control of the virus.
Information from Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe, Chris Giles and John Burn-Murdoch in London, Peter Foster in Brighton and Mure Dickie in Edinburgh
