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More areas in England could be placed on Level 4 restrictions, amounting to a lockdown, as the variant COVID strain spreads across the country, the government’s top scientific adviser suggested.
London and vast tracts of south-east England have already been put in stricter measures due to the high presence of the new strain VUI-2020/01, which is feared to spread more rapidly than the original virus.
Sir Patrick Vallance told a Downing Street news conference on Monday that more areas in England could soon see tougher restrictions due to the variance.
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London got on Level 4 over the weekend
And Prime Minister Boris Johnson cast some doubt on whether schools would return to England in January following the latest development of the coronavirus crisis.
“The evidence for this virus is that it spreads easily, it is more transmissible, it is absolutely necessary to make sure we have the right level of restrictions,” said Sir Patrick.
“I think the number of the variant across the country is likely to increase, and therefore I think the measures are likely to have to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced.”
“I think it is the case that this will spread further.”
The government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG) had met early Monday and Sir Patrick revealed that there was now a “reinforced” view that the variant strain was spreading more rapidly.
“The conclusion was that the experts have great confidence that this is more easily transmitted,” added Sir Patrick.
“That again reinforces the point that it’s important to get ahead of this and make sure the tier system is right to stop things, and not look at it and react in hindsight.”
Sir Patrick said the “inevitable mix” around Christmas, in those areas where households can still meet, would mean “some increases in numbers over the next few weeks.”
He told people who were planning to see other people on Christmas Day that they should “follow the rules carefully and assume that you could be contagious, that you could be the person who gives it to someone else and behave accordingly.”
Sir Patrick also urged the public to take the new COVID strain “incredibly seriously” and cautioned that it requires “more action to keep it low and that is why Level 4 is important.”
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Downing Street previously suggested that schools would still reopen in Level 4 areas after the Christmas break.
But, asked about schools on Monday, the prime minister said that the return of students to classrooms in the New Year would be kept under “constant review.”
“The most useful thing I can tell you at this stage is that obviously we want, if possible, for schools to be staggered again at the beginning of January in the way that we have set out,” he said.
“But obviously … the most sensible thing to do is to follow the path of the epidemic and, as we showed last Saturday, to keep things under constant review.
“But it is very, very important to have children and keep them in education if possible.”
