LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed urgent action with his senior ministers on Saturday after it was confirmed that a new strain of the COVID-19 virus could spread faster and lead to an increase in the number of cases. could lead.
The BBC reported that London and South East England would be placed in a new higher level of restrictions and that the government would cut back on a planned relaxation of the rules over Christmas, but gave no further details.
Johnson will hold a press conference around 4:00 PM GMT to discuss his plans in light of an increase in infections in London and South East England related to a new, more transmissible variant of the virus.
Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, said that while there is currently no evidence that the variant of the novel coronavirus caused a higher death rate or affected vaccines, urgent work was underway to confirm this.
“We have warned the World Health Organization and will continue to analyze the available data to improve our understanding,” Whitty said in a statement.
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.
Johnson said Friday that he hoped England would not need a third shutdown after Christmas, and has so far opposed calls to change plans to ease restrictions for five days during the festive season, allowing three separate households to meet indoors.
Much of the country, including London, is currently in the highest of a three-tiered system of restrictions to curb the spread of the pandemic. The Daily Telegraph newspaper said ministers can now announce curbs for travel between South East England, including the capital, and the rest of the country.
The BBC said these areas would now be placed in a new “Tier 4”, with the rules tightening up for Christmas.
“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. “We have to keep asking ourselves ‘are we doing enough, are we acting fast enough’.”
The opposition Labor party said the tiering system could not have contained the spread of the virus.
“It has been clear for several days that the virus is getting out of control in parts of the country,” said Jonathan Ashworth, Labor’s health spokesman.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Ros Russell, William Maclean, Catherine Evans