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Covid: new variant found in the UK from South Africa
Some 24 million people will start the New Year with level 4 coronavirus restrictions after Matt Hancock announced that much of the south of England would move to the toughest Boxing Day measures.
The health secretary warned that the UK variant of the coronavirus was spreading at a “dangerous rate” and urged people to stay home from Saturday in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, other parts of the country, such as Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset, have slipped to Level 3 amid concerns about rising infection rates over the Christmas period.
Came like The independent revealed that the government had asked England’s Test and Trace service to reduce its working hours during the Christmas holidays despite an increase in confirmed cases.
Nearly 40,000 positive tests for Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday, yet clinical staff working for the system have been told to cancel shifts before a shorter workday.
New York City will require all international visitors to be quarantined due to a new variant
New York City has said it will require international visitors to self-quarantine to protect against the new variant of the coronavirus found in the UK.
Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Wednesday that all international travelers to the city would begin receiving a quarantine order from the city, delivered by certified mail to homes and hotels.
Officers from the city sheriff’s office will also visit UK travelers to ensure they self-isolate.
All international travelers must provide their contact information when arriving in the city and those who violate quarantine orders could be fined $ 1,000 a day, the mayor said.
“There will be a follow-up, a direct home visit or a visit to the hotel by the sheriff’s deputy to confirm they are following the quarantine,” de Blasio said.
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 09:35
French firefighters dispatched to Dover with 10,000 Covid tests for stranded truck drivers
A team of French firefighters has been dispatched to Dover with coronavirus tests for truck drivers who are stranded while waiting to cross the English Channel.
The French government has required a negative test from drivers seeking to cross to the mainland due to concerns about the fastest-spreading variant of coronavirus that has been detected in the UK.
Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has the full story below:
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 09:19
Drivers stranded in Kent are treated as ‘pawns in big game’, says trade association head
Truck drivers stranded in Kent are being treated as “pawns in a bigger game”, said the head of the Road Transport Association.
Richard Burnett told the BBC he was sympathetic to drivers trapped near the port of Dover after France closed its border due to concerns about the fastest-spreading coronavirus variant detected in the UK.
“I really feel sorry for these guys who have ended up being pawns in a bigger game,” Burnett said.
“Will they stay here until Boxing Day or beyond?”
He added that he was “relieved” that drivers could move to France after testing negative for Covid-19, but added that it would “take some time” to eliminate the delay.
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 09:03
The ferries will also sail on Christmas Day and December 26, as French firefighters have been recruited to help with testing thousands of drivers who have been stranded in the port of Dover this week.
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 08:39
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that the UK has agreed with France to keep the border between the two countries open “during Christmas” to help transporters and citizens returning home.
Conrad DuncanDecember 24 2020 08:36
Starmer says there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in a Christmas message
Sir Keir Starmer has said there is “light at the end of the tunnel” in the coronavirus crisis as part of his first Christmas message as leader of the Labor Party.
He used the video message to send a personal thank you to key UK workers as well as emergency services workers, NHS staff and carers who will “have to step up again, once again, this Christmas.” .
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:
Conrad DuncanDecember 24 2020 08:29
Test and Trace cuts Christmas working hours as infections rise in England
The government has asked England’s Test and Trace service to reduce its working hours during the Christmas holidays despite the increase in the number of cases in the country.
Although nearly 40,000 positive tests for Covid-19 were reported Wednesday, clinical staff working for the contact tracing system have been told to cancel shifts before a shorter workday.
Our health correspondent, Shaun lintern, has the full story below:
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 08:15
‘We have to be prepared for future variants,’ says senior advisor
A senior government medical adviser warned that “worrisome” variants of coronavirus are likely to emerge in the future.
The government has already reported two variants, one that appears to have emerged in Kent and the other in South Africa, which are believed to spread faster than other versions of the virus.
Peter Horby, Chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG), told BBC Radio 4 Today program: “We have to be prepared for future variants like this
“This is clearly an emerging pattern. That we are going to see different viruses. Some of them will be cause for concern. “
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 08:07
Level 4 restrictions were spread across England to include Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk
About 24 million people will be on Level 4 restrictions from Boxing Day after the health secretary warned that the government’s three-tier system was not strong enough to control a faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus believed to have originated in Kent.
“Level 3 is not enough to control the new variant. This is not a hypothesis. It is a fact. And we’ve seen it on the ground, ”Matt Hancock said at a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday.
Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 08:01
Hello and welcome to The independentLive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic today.
Conrad Duncan24 December 2020 07:51
