Boris Johnson announced UK is returning to quarantine for new strain of coronavirus

Britain has decreed the third total confinement in the kingdom from this Wednesday, faced with a serious scenario, to save lives and that their hospitals do not overflow because of Covid 19 in less than 21 days. The reason? The new variant of Covid, which is growing exponentially. With luck and vaccination, the “lockdown” this can last until mid-February.

In a deep voice and in less than eight minutes, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country at 8 p.m. UK time on Monday evening to announce it. He explained that “collective efforts had worked in the fight against the previous variant. But the new variant is spreading at an alarming rate. It is between 50 and 70% more transmissible ”.

With this argument he ordered close all schools, high schools and universities since this Tuesday. Everyone at home, with a few exceptions for going out. The kingdom is going into “lockdown”, ahead of week six of the virus rising and its new strain growing exponentially and with more deaths from the coronavirus.

“Now more than ever” it is vital to follow the rules, Johnson insisted.

The measures will become law in the early hours of Wednesday. Parliament will meet remotely on the same day.

Until mid February

“If our understanding of the virus does not change, the vaccine launch continues to be successful, if deaths decrease and everyone does their part by following the rules, we hope to be able to emerge from the lockdown from mid-February,” said the Prime Minister. Then the regions will start to descend “cautiously” in the alert levels.

The lockdown came on the same day Britain launched inoculation of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. “The pace of vaccination is accelerating with the new AstraZeneca vaccine launched today,” Johnson said.

Since mid-February, “if things go well,” Johnson says the government hopes to have offered “the first dose to everyone” in the four categories of “priority” citizens and that it will have saved lives.

His battle was always economy or health. And in this equation was included the opening of educational centers. This time he had to shut them down. Johnson explained that “the problem is not that schools are not safe. Children are unlikely to be affected by a new variant, but they can act as vectors of transmission. “

The government will provide support to ensure that children who receive free school meals continue to receive them. There will be help with the devices for children who need to learn from a distance.

Telecommuting and distance learning

“The Secretary of Education will work to put in place alternative arrangements, since the government recognizes that the exams will not be able to proceed normally”, admitted the Prime Minister.

Primary schools, secondary schools and universities in England will switch to distance education, with the exception of children of key workers and vulnerable children.

The government is advising clinically “extremely vulnerable” people to start protecting themselves again. People will be getting a letter on this shortly.

“England must enter a national blockade strong enough to contain this variant,” warned the Prime Minister. “It is clear that we must do more together,” he hinted.

The new measures

The new quarantine in England, the third time a national lockdown has been imposed, is expected to last more than a month.

Across the country, people are now required to stay at home, with a few exceptions: to work, if they cannot do so from home, such as those in the construction industry or key workers; buy basic necessities such as food or medicine; exercise locally once a day. This can include with someone other than someone’s home or a bubble of support and child care.

Those who need to provide care or help vulnerable people, attend medical appointments, or escape the threat of violence or violence may also leave.

Nurseries can remain open while the healing and support bubbles will remain in place.

Those considered clinically vulnerable are urged to stay at home as much as possible and not to go to work, even if they cannot do so from home.

They should only go out for exercise or to attend medical appointments.

Overflowing hospitals

The Prime Minister’s announcement came after the British Covid alert level will drop from level 4 to 5, as high as possible, for the first time.

The UK recorded 58,784 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. It is the seventh day in a row that more than 50,000 infections are recorded daily, while government figures also show that there have been 407 more deaths in the past 24 hours.

A government source said medical chiefs recommended moving to alert level 5. This means that there is “a significant risk that health services will be overwhelmed” and require extremely strict social distancing. Previously it was 4 across the UK, at least 75% of the country. In the north of the kingdom, there are already overflowing hospitals.

“The spread of the new variant of Covid-19 has caused a rapid increase in the number of cases across the country. It is clear to the Prime Minister that further action must now be taken to stop this increase and protect the NHS and save lives, ”said a Downing St.

Containment and vaccinations

Labor leader Keir Starmer said on Sunday that a nationwide lockdown was needed “in the spirit of March” as schools were closed. He said the government should also clearly explain its plan to defeat the virus through vaccination, with the goal of inoculating 4 million people per week by February.

“The virus is out of control. The bearing system is clearly not working and we all know more stringent measures are needed. The Labor leader offered a social responsibility contract between government and society in the face of the restrictions.

“If we ask the British people to be bound by strict national restrictions, and we do, then the contract must be that the vaccination program be implemented as quickly as possible. At least 2 million a week in January and double that in February. That should be the deal, ”suggested Sir Keir Starmer.

Suspend international flights

Jeremy Hunt, the former Conservative health minister, who chairs the Commons health committee, had called for immediate action.

“I know all of these things will be under consideration, with decisions imminent,” Hunt tweeted. “What I mean is that in the face of exponential growth, even waiting for one more day results in many preventable deaths. These plans must therefore be accelerated urgently ”.

“The new measures are expected to be in place for only about 12 weeks, until enough people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus,” Hunt said. “Then there will be light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

“An overloaded NHS (health service) could also mean more potentially preventable cancer deaths as people stay away from hospitals and general practitioners,” Hunt warned.

“The first lesson is that countries act early and decisively save lives and get their economies back to normal faster,” he explained.

“Therefore, we cannot afford to wait: all schools must be closed. International travel must stop. Household composition must be limited and the level system must be revised so that the highest level is lowered. actually the levels. ” infection (as during the first shutdown) ”, suggested the Conservative MP.

Hunt added that it was “our moral duty” to ensure that frontline NHS staff are the first to receive Covid vaccines.

“Very hard weeks”

“Harsh and tough weeks ahead.” In a stern warning, the chief medical officers of the kingdom’s four nations said there was a “material risk” that the NHS health service in various regions would be overwhelmed for “the next 21 days” if it did not. there was no further action.

Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that a national lockdown in Scotland from midnight Tuesday.

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, imposed a six week lockdown, December 26. The Welsh government announced on Monday evening that all schools and universities will switch to e-learning until February 18.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan are also among those calling for a third shutdown in England.

A new poll released by YouGov has suggested that 79% of Britons support another lockdown for the UK, compared with 16% who are against a new national lockdown.

Paris, correspondent