LONDON, December 19 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a conference call with his senior ministers on Saturday to discuss concerns about a new strain of the COVID-19 virus growing in parts of Britain, his spokesman said.
The government said on Monday that an increase in infections could be linked in part to a new, more transmissible variant of the virus as it moved London and other parts of the country to the highest level of restrictions to curb the spread of COVID.
Johnson said Friday that he hoped England would not go into a third lockdown after Christmas, but scientists have warned that urgent action may be needed to stop the spread of the virus.
Britain reported 28,507 new COVID-19 cases and 489 deaths on Friday, with the reproduction “R” number estimated at between 1.1 and 1.2, meaning the number of cases is rapidly increasing.
“This is a major concern,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter.
“If we don’t act decisively now, it will mean even more suffering. We must keep asking ourselves ‘are we doing enough, are we acting fast enough’. ”
Johnson has so far resisted calls to change government plans to ease restrictions on five days at Christmas, allowing three separate households to meet indoors.
Sky News reported that SAGE would meet on Monday to discuss how to strengthen the current three-pronged restriction system.
The Daily Telegraph said it was possible that ministers could announce emergency measures on Saturday, possibly including restrictions on travel between the south-east of England, including London, and the rest of the country. (Reporting by Michael Holden Editing by Ros Russell)