[ad_1]
The draconian new restrictions imposed last night were drawn up after the number of people carrying the coronavirus tripled in a week.
The rapid rise in areas that sank last night to new Level 4 measurements is said to be due to a new strain of virus, which was first announced on Monday.
Last night Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, warned: “The virus has taken off, it is moving fast.”
The restrictions will apply in London, Kent, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother, and Hastings, all of which were previously at level 3.
Epidemiologist John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: “This is the worst moment of the epidemic due to the extraordinary infectivity of the new strain.”
Last night Sir Patrick Vallance, (pictured) the Government’s top scientific adviser, warned: ‘The virus has taken off, it is moving fast’
He added: ‘This tension has increased exponentially during the blockade and during the Level 3 restrictions that Kent and other parts of the Southeast have been subjected to.
“Although the blockade was enough to bring cases elsewhere, it was not enough to prevent this tension from spreading rapidly. We will need much more severe measures to reduce the incidence.
“Worse than that, we are starting from a very high incidence with overburdened hospitals and NHS staff under pressure. It’s a very dangerous situation. ‘
Analysis shows that the area most affected was Rochford, Essex, where the number of cases increased by 207 percent, from 180 to 533 in one week. Elsewhere in Essex, Castle Point saw a 183 percent increase, from 182 cases to 516, and Epping Forest saw a 140 percent increase.
Infections in some London boroughs have increased by almost 150 percent.
Richmond saw an increase in cases by 148.4%, Enfield by 109.5%, Lewisham by 137.5%, Hammersmith and Fulham by 130%, Southwark by 117.2%, Sutton by 118.9% and Lambeth by 152.3%.
The number of people in Kent who contract the virus has also skyrocketed. There was a 118 percent increase in Sevenoaks, with 942 cases, up from 431, while Swale has the most cases in the county at 1,127.
Large increases have been recorded in commuter belt cities such as Woking in Surrey with 327 infections recorded as of December 14.
Cases in West Berkshire increased 149 percent, from 149 cases to 244, while infections in Rother increased 123 percent.
The rapid rise in areas plunged into new Level 4 measurements last night is said to be due to a new strain of virus, which was first announced on Monday.
Mole Valley, which is in the heart of Surrey, halfway between London and the Sussex coast, doubled its numbers from 70 to 177 cases, with Reigate and Banstead seeing a 132 percent increase.
Professor Chris Whitty told a Downing Street briefing yesterday that there had been a “really dramatic” increase in the proportion of cases seen with the new variant.
Screening tests suggest that in southeast England 43 percent of the virus was now the new variant, in the east it was 59 percent and in London 62 percent. The new strain is believed to have spread along a corridor from Kent to London, before spreading in the capital and then spreading to the counties of origin via commuter routes. The Office for National Statistics estimated that 567,300 people had Covid last week, up from 481,500 seven days earlier.
Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford in Kent, responded to the latest wave by tweeting: ‘I feel quite depressed (personally and professionally) by the tighter restrictions … but I also understand why this has happened.
“Our local hospitals have reached their maximum capacity, the virus and its new variant abound in our community. The focus should be on the launch of vaccines. ‘
Tudor Price, deputy director of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said the new restrictions for the county were “disappointing but not surprising.” He said: ‘It is the worst of all possible situations from a business point of view, but understandable from a public health point of view. I have great empathy for the businesses that now have to close ”.
Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, whose North Thanet constituency is also in Kent, said: ‘It is very difficult, but if we want to enjoy Christmas and be safe at the same time, it is vital that everyone adhere to the restrictions that have been announced. this afternoon.
“The alternative will be a truly dangerous and terrible start to 2021.”
