London was urgently blocked while Britain was fighting a new strain

Photographer: Hollie Adams / Bloomberg

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Boris Johnson imposed a complete blockade of London and south-east England in a desperate attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK

After urgent talks about the virus mutation with his senior officials, the prime minister canceled his plan to ease the pandemic rules for five days during the holidays. Household mixing will be banned in London and the South East and socialization will be limited to Christmas in the rest of England. Residents across the country were told to stay in their local areas.

The prime minister announced that a new higher level of pandemic borders will be brought to the hot-spot regions of the capital starting Sunday, with all non-essential stores closing and millions of people ordered to stay at home.

“When the virus changes its method of attack, we need to change our method of defense,” Johnson told a news conference Saturday. “Without action, evidence suggests that infections would increase, hospitals would become overwhelmed and many thousands more would lose their lives.”

Major blow

The new measures will be a major blow to retail businesses during the busiest time of year. Britain has already suffered the deepest recession since the Great Depression of 1709, and ministers have been forced to expand crisis lending and wage support programs amid fears that unemployment will rise.

The dramatic escalation of Johnson’s pandemic response has been triggered by a new strain of the virus, which is virtually unique in the UK. Emerging scientific evidence suggests that the new variant may spread much faster than previous strains in circulation and is behind a huge wave of infections in recent years. days.

Rates of Covid-19 cases have almost doubled in London in the past week, with almost 60% of these infections being attributed to the new strain of the virus, according to government officials. Existing Level 3 measures in Kent County – the toughest rules in place at the moment – have failed to stop the spread. This led Johnson to introduce a new higher level of infection control, level 4.

Tier 4 London Lockdown Rules of December 20th

People need to stay home unless they have to travel for work, education, health care Households are largely forbidden to mix, there will be no Christmas bubbles All non-essential shops, leisure and indoor entertainment and personal care, such as hairdressing salons, will be closed. Limited socialization – a person can meet from another household, in an outdoor public space. Exceptions apply to support bubbles People will be advised not to enter level 4 areas, and residents of level 4 areas should not stay away from home overnight. Travel abroad should be avoided for all but essential trips Level 4 applies to the whole of London, Kent, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, most of Surrey, Bedfordshire, Luton, Hertfordshire, most of Essex. The rules apply for two weeks and will be reviewed on December 30

England’s medical director, Chris Whitty, said the new variant is spreading faster and probably behind the alarming increase in the number of cases around the country’s capital and south-east.

“There is no current evidence to suggest that the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is being done to confirm this,” Whitty said. “Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever for the public to continue to act in its area to reduce transmission.”

On Friday, Johnson refused to rule out a third blockade in the UK to control the spread of the virus. The UK has joined Italy and Austria in tightening borders during the holiday season, with all three countries facing a rapidly growing number of cases.

Growth rate

The rate of London virus infection is rising sharply

Source: Bureau of National Statistics

The situation has deteriorated dramatically across Europe, with French President Emmanuel Macron contracting the disease and countries such as Italy and Germany introducing new measures during the festive period.

Unpredictable mutations

Leaders also face another set of challenges, just as vaccines are being launched.

Viruses tend to evolve or move rapidly, especially those like the flu that require new vaccines to be developed each year due to changes in key proteins. SARS-CoV-2 also changes, although generally at a slower rate than other viruses, because it has a self-correction mechanism that keeps its genetic sequence relatively stable.

Other variants of coronavirus have been reported in the past, including one in minks that are sensitive to the virus. This was feared to be extremely transmissible and was reported to the World Health Organization. Millions of farm mines have been slaughtered, although as of November 20, the WHO has said that the most worrying strain related to animals is no longer circulating in humans.

(Add Johnson’s comments from the third paragraph.)