New strain forced tighter restrictions in London and south-east England – Telam

New strain of coronavirus forces tightening restrictions in London and south-east England

The British government has announced that from this Sunday and until December 30 it will tighten restrictions in London and in the south-east of England, after the appearance of a new strain of coronavirus which is spreading rapidly .

Prime Minister Boris Johnson reported that During the holidays, these regions will drop from level 3 to 4, the strictest of all, which prompts residents to stay at home, with very specific exceptions..

In addition, non-essential stores must remain closed and travel to another lower level area or overseas will not be permitted.

The new strain

The announcement is the result of a new strain of the coronavirus which has caused a wave of infections in the south of the UK and the discovery of which has already been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It seems that this spread is fueled by a new variant of the virus”, which is transmitted “much more easily”the Prime Minister said at a press conference.

“There is no evidence that it is more lethal or causes a more severe form of the disease” or that it reduces the effectiveness of vaccines, he added.

Meetings between members of different households cannot take place in areas affected by the high alert, while in the rest of the areas they must be held over a single day.

“It is with great regret that I have to tell you that we cannot let Christmas go as planned,” said Johnson, who said he had “no choice”.

“Sacrifice an opportunity to see our loved ones this Christmas to better protect them and thus be able to see them during the next Christmas holidays,” he urged.

The coronavirus in England

Currently, some 38 million people in England, equivalent to 68% of the population, were already living under strict restrictions, such as the closure of pubs, restaurants and museums, and subject to the ban on meeting people who do not. not live together, with some exceptions.

However, the UK government had planned to ease travel restrictions and social distancing for the Christmas period, between the 23rd and 27th of this month, which was ultimately ruled out for London and the South East. England.

Despite the surprise of Johnson’s announcement, other territories in the country had already announced new lockdowns this week: a six-week one starting December 26 in Northern Ireland, and a three-week one starting December 28 in the country. of Wales, which was advanced by the new strain of the virus.

Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford has decided to implement the closure from midnight on Saturday, which will only be exempted on Christmas Day.

“While we all want to avoid further disruption to Christmas business and planning, our main duty is to protect lives here in Wales. We know 2021 will be a different and better year. Our economy will recover. Christmas will come again, ”said Drakeford.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced “a strict travel ban” between the territory and the rest of the UK during the holiday season, except Christmas Day.

From December 26, all of Scotland will move to Alert Level 4, which means containment of its population, a provision to be reviewed two weeks later, he said.

The UK has seen an increase in hospital admissions and cases this month.

Authorities on Friday recorded 28,507 new cases of coronavirus and this week infections are up 40.9% from the previous week.

With 67,177 deaths, the country is the second country with the most deaths in Europe, behind Italy, and exceeded the threshold of more than 2 million people infected with Covid-19 this Saturday since the start of the pandemic.

Johnson’s executive, widely criticized for dealing with the crisis since the outbreak of the pandemic, opted for vaccination and launched a campaign on December 8 which in its first phase focuses on the elderly and health workers .

After approving the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the British Medicines Agency (MHRA) is expected to approve, on December 28 or 29, a second vaccine, developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory with the University of Oxford, according to the newspaper The Telegraph .