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Health Secretary Matt Hancock will hold a press conference in Downing Street this afternoon to update the nation on efforts to contain the new mutant strain of coronavirus.
It will inform people what measures are in place to contain the spread of the new variant, amid speculation that other new areas could face more restrictions in a few days.
The new variant is believed to be 50% to 70% more transmissible than other strains of the virus, but it is not believed to be any more or less deadly.
It comes as plans were rumored to be in the works to move large swaths of England to Level 4 from Saturday Boxing Day.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson slashed the Christmas bubble from five days for Tiers 1-3 to just one day, on Christmas Day, as families are urged to limit their social interactions to avoid a spike in infections.
The government’s Covid operations committee met this morning to consider whether more areas should be closed.
Currently around 17 million people in London and the South East are on a new ‘Level 4’, which causes all but non-essential shops to close and people to stay local.
This morning travel restrictions were lifted at ports to the French channel, although there were chaotic scenes in which truck drivers clashed with police.
Grant Shapps, the Secretary of Transportation, urged carriers to stay away as they must have a negative Covid test before they are allowed to proceed.
Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the government advisory group on New and Emergency Virus Threats (NervTag) warned that the new mutant strain has infected swaths of people in the Southeast and beyond and is “everywhere now.”
He told a committee of parliamentarians that he hoped for new measures to help control it, but the critical question is what will happen next month.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to speak sometime between 3 pm and 3.30 pm.
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