LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed tougher controls on the coronavirus on millions of people in England and drastically scaled back plans to relax restrictions over Christmas, in an effort to contain a new, more contagious strain of the virus. .
The number of cases in England has skyrocketed in the past two weeks due to a variant of the virus that scientists said is up to 70% more transmissible. Johnson said the government needed to take urgent action.
“It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we can’t go on for Christmas as planned,” Johnson told a news conference. “I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me.”
London and South East England – about a third of the UK population – are currently at the top tier of a three-tier rule system, but will now move to a new level 4 level.
People at that level will have to stay at home, except for essential reasons such as work, and will close non-essential stores, as well as indoor leisure and entertainment. Social mixing will be limited to meeting one other person in an outdoor space.
Johnson had said on Friday that he hoped England wouldn’t need a third lockdown after Christmas.
He also opposed calls to change plans to ease restrictions for five days during the holiday season and allow three separate households to meet indoors. He said on Wednesday that it would be “downright inhumane” to ban Christmas.
However, those who are now in level 4 are not allowed to mingle with others during Christmas. And everyone else is now only allowed to see friends and family for one more day.
The new rules take effect from midnight on Saturday evening.
Like other countries in Europe, Britain is fighting to contain the virus. Johnson’s move comes after concerns about an increase in the number of cases fueled by the new contagious strain of the virus – VUI202012 / 01.
It is the contagion rate that worries the government and its advisers.
“There is no evidence that it is more deadly or causes more serious illness,” Johnson said. “Nor are there any indications that the vaccine will be less effective against the new variant.”
Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, said authorities had alerted the World Health Organization and continued to analyze the available data to improve their understanding of the new species.
Britain reported 27,052 new COVID-19 cases and 534 deaths on Saturday. The reproduction “R” number is estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2, which means that the number of cases is increasing rapidly.
“If we don’t act decisively now, it will bring further suffering,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) said on Twitter.
Britain is one of the hardest hit European countries – with more than 67,000 deaths from the coronavirus and more than 2 million reported cases.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William Schomberg; Adaptation by Catherine Evans and Frances Kerry