LONDON, Dec. 19 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a conference call with senior ministers on Saturday to discuss concerns about a new strain of COVID-19 virus growing in parts of Britain. his word.
The government said on Monday that an increase in infections could be partly linked to a new, more transmissible variant of the virus when it moved London and other parts of the country to the highest level of restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID.
Johnson said Friday that he hopes England will not have to enter a third blockade after Christmas, but scientists warned that urgent action may be needed to reduce the spread of the virus.
The UK reported 28,507 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 489 deaths, the number of “R” reproduction estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2, which means that the number of cases is growing rapidly.
“This is a very major concern,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter.
“Failure to act decisively now will mean further suffering. We must continue to ask ourselves “we do enough, we act fast enough”. “
Johnson has so far resisted calls to change government plans to reduce restrictions for five days over Christmas, allowing three separate households to meet indoors.
Sky News reported that SAGE will meet on Monday to discuss how the current three-tier system of restrictions could be strengthened.
The Daily Telegraph said ministers may announce an urgent tightening of measures on Saturday, including restrictions on travel between the south-east of England, including London and the rest of the country. (Reporting by Michael Holden Editing by Ros Russell)