Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday that Scotland would enter a month-long lockdown from midnight as a highly contagious COVID-19 variant continues to spread rapidly across the UK.
Why it matters: Sturgeon warned that increasing infections are putting “significant pressure” on the National Health Service, and that hospitals can reach capacity in three to four weeks. As a result, people must legally stay at home and work from home whenever possible.
What they say: “I am more concerned about the situation now than ever since March,” said Sturgeon.
The big picture: The new variant appears to have a greater degree of transmissibility, but there is “no evidence to suggest that the variant has any effect on disease severity or vaccine efficacy,” said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).