LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday tightened controls on coronavirus on millions of people in England and drastically reduced plans to reduce Christmas restrictions in a bid to reduce a new, more infectious strain of the virus.
The number of cases in England has risen in the last two weeks due to a variant of the virus that scientists have said is up to 70% more communicable. Johnson said the government must take urgent action.
“With a very heavy heart, I must tell you that we cannot continue Christmas as we have planned,” Johnson told a news conference. “I honestly think there’s no alternative for me.”
London and the south-east of England – about a third of the English population – are currently at the highest level of a three-tier rules system, but will now be placed in a new tier 4.
People at that level will be required to stay home, except for essential reasons such as work, and non-essential retail trade will be closed, as will leisure and indoor entertainment. Social mixing will be limited to meeting another person in an outdoor space.
Johnson said on Friday he hoped England would not need a third blockade after Christmas.
He also resisted calls to change plans to ease restrictions for five days during the holiday season and to allow three separate households to meet indoors. He said on Wednesday that it would be “sincerely inhuman” to ban Christmas.
However, those now at level 4 will not be allowed to mingle with others at Christmas. And everyone else will now be allowed to see friends and family for just one day.
The new rules will take effect on Saturday night at midnight.
Like other European countries, the UK is struggling to contain the virus. Johnson’s action comes after concerns about an increase in the number of cases caused by the new infectious strain of the virus – VUI202012 / 01.
The infection rate is what worries the government and its advisers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more severe disease,” Johnson said. Likewise, there is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine will be less effective against the new variant.
England Medical Director Chris Whitty said authorities had alerted the World Health Organization and were continuing to analyze available data to improve their understanding of the new strain.
The United Kingdom reported 27,052 new cases of COVID-19 and 534 deaths on Saturday. The reproduction number “R” is estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2, which means that the number of cases is growing rapidly.
“The failure of decisive action now will mean further suffering,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter.
The UK was one of the hardest hit countries in Europe – with over 67,000 coronavirus-related deaths and over 2 million reported cases.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William Schomberg; Edited by Catherine Evans and Frances Kerry