LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday that more difficult blockade restrictions in England are likely as the country moves away from a new variant of coronavirus that has pushed infection rates to record levels.
Johnson, however, insisted he had “no doubt” that schools were safe and urged parents to send their children back to class in areas of England where they could. Teachers’ unions have called on schools to use distance learning for at least two weeks more due to the new variant, which scientists have said is up to 70% more contagious.
The UK is in the midst of an acute outbreak, with over 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day in the last six days. On Sunday, it registered another 54,990 cases, slightly lower than the previous day, with a daily record of 57,725. The country also recorded another 454 virus-related deaths, reaching 75,024. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the United Kingdom alternates with Italy, the most affected European nation.
“We are fully committed to doing whatever it takes to control the virus, which could involve tougher action in the coming weeks,” Johnson said in an interview with the BBC. “Obviously, there are a number of tougher measures that we should consider.”
Johnson acknowledged that school closures, shutdowns and a total ban on mixing in households could be on the agenda for areas with the greatest stress.
London and the south-east of England are facing extremely high levels of new infections and it is speculated that restrictions there will have to be tightened to control the virus. In some parts of the British capital and surrounding areas, there are about 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.
Johnson’s government uses a multi-level coronavirus restriction system. Most of England is already at the highest Tier 4 level, which means closing non-essential stores and places such as gyms and leisure centers, as well as home training.
“What we’re using now is the leveling system, which is a very tough system, and unfortunately it’s going to be harder to keep things under control,” he said. “We will review it and we have the prospect of vaccines going down the rails in the tens of millions, giving people literally life and hope.”
Britain moved quickly to the vaccination front. He was the first to start vaccinating people over the age of 80 and health care workers on December 8 with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Last week, regulators approved another vaccine produced by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which is cheaper and easier to use than the Pfizer vaccine.
Hundreds of new vaccination sites are set to be launched this week, while the National Health Service expands its immunization program with the Oxford-AstraZeneca blow. Officials say about 530,000 doses of the new vaccine will be in effect Monday, as the country moves toward its goal of vaccinating 2 million people a week as soon as possible.
“We hope to be able to make tens of millions in the next three months,” Johnson said.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be given to a small number of hospitals in the first few days, so that the authorities can look for any side effects. Hundreds of new vaccination sites – both in hospitals and in local doctors’ offices – are set to be launched this week, joining the more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.
In a move from practices in the US and elsewhere, the UK intends to provide people with secondary doses of both vaccines within 12 weeks of the first shot, rather than 21 days, to speed up immunizations to as many people as possible.
“My mother, as well as you or your older loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the nation as a whole,” said Deputy Government Medical Director Professor Jonathan Van-Tam. , said in an article for the newspaper Mail on Sunday.
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