British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed a complete blockade of London, saying on Saturday that the Christmas holidays could not go on and non-essential retailers had to close temporarily amid a rapidly rising rate of coronavirus infection.
Game status: London, the south-east and the east of England, which are currently at level 3, will impose level 4 restrictions from Sunday. Johnson said an expected postponement of Christmas Day – a planned postponement of restrictions that would allow up to three households to gather in “Christmas bubbles” – will be canceled for level 4 areas.
- The British government urges people to stay home and has advised people to work from home whenever possible.
- People will not be allowed to leave or enter level 4 areas, and residents will be prohibited from traveling abroad.
- Non-essential retail sales, indoor gyms, leisure facilities and personal care services will be closed.
- Religious assemblies will be allowed to continue.
- Social gatherings should be limited, while people living in level 4 areas are advised to stay in their own households.
What it says: “Yesterday afternoon I was informed of the latest data showing that the virus is spreading faster in London, the south-east and east of England than would be expected, given the harsh restrictions that are already in place,” he said. Johnson.
- “It seems that the spread is now driven by the new variant of the virus,” Johnson continued. “Our advisory group on new and emerging respiratory threats, NERVTAG, has spent the last few days analyzing this new variant – there is no evidence that it would cause more severe disease or higher mortality, but it seems to be transmitted more easily.
- Although there is considerable uncertainty, it can be up to 70% more transmissible than the old version, the original version of the disease.
- There is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine will be less effective against the new variant.
- “When the virus changes its method of attack, we need to change our method of defense,” Johnson said. “We need to act on the information we have, because it is spreading very fast now.”
The whole picture: Johnson held an emergency meeting with his cabinet on Saturday to settle on the latest restrictions. British health officials have told the World Health Organization data on the suspected strain, the prime minister said in his announcement.
Not worth anything: “The new measures, which come into force at the end of Saturday, are in fact designed to cut off the capital and surrounding counties from the rest of England, “the New York Times writes.” These are the most severe measures the government has taken since imposing the country’s blockade in March, and it reflects fears that the new variant could overload the virus’s transmission as winter catches on. “
By numbers: The UK has over 1.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 66,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- The country reported 28,560 daily cases on Friday.