LONDON (AP) – Millions in Britain face severe restrictions on coronavirus on Saturday, with Scotland and Northern Ireland calling for stricter measures to try to stop a new variant of the virus that is believed to be spreading. fast.
Northern Ireland has been in a six-week blockade and in Wales, the restrictions that were relaxed for Christmas have also been re-imposed.
The number of people under the highest level of restrictions in England – Level 4 – rose by 6 million on Saturday to 24 million people in general, around 43% of England’s population. The region included London and many of the surrounding areas.
Household mixing is not allowed and only essential travel is allowed. Gyms, swimming pools, hairdressers and shops selling non-essential products have been ordered to close, and pubs and restaurants can only cook. Business groups say the restrictions will be economically devastating for their members.
Another 570 daily deaths were reported caused by COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 70,195, the second worst number of deaths in Europe after Italy. The UK also reported more than 32,700 new cases of the disease on Christmas Day.
Fears about the new variant of the United Kingdom caused a week of chaos at the border. About 1,000 British soldiers spent Christmas trying to remove a huge delay of trucks stranded in the south-east of England, after France briefly closed its border with Britain and demanded coronavirus tests from all drivers.
But British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday that more than 15,000 drivers had been tested and that the remains of a test site at Manston Airport had been removed by Sunday morning. Only 36 positive tests were reported, he said on Twitter.
“A massive THANK YOU to all those who have worked tirelessly in recent days to reduce the huge disruption caused by the sudden closure of the French border,” Shapps wrote on Twitter.
The first cases of the new variant of Great Britain have now been detected in France and Spain. A Frenchman living in England arrived in France on December 19 and tested positive for the new variant on Friday, the French public health agency said. He has no symptoms and is isolated at his home in the center of Tours.
Meanwhile, health authorities in the Madrid region said they had confirmed the UK version to four people, all in good health. Regional Health Chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero said the new strain arrived when an infected person flew to Madrid airport.
In her annual Christmas speech, Queen Elizabeth II, who spent much of the year isolating herself at Windsor Castle with her husband, Prince Philip, sent a heartfelt message of hope praising the “indomitable spirit” of the people. which have risen “magnificently” to the challenges of the pandemic.
The 94-year-old queen and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, set an example by not visiting relatives as usual at Christmas.
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