LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed with senior ministers on Saturday what urgent action needs to be taken after it was confirmed that a new strain of COVID-19 virus could spread faster and lead to growth of cases.
The BBC reported that London and the south-east of England would be placed on a new higher level of restrictions and the government would reduce the planned reduction in Christmas rules, but did not provide further details.
Johnson will hold a press conference at about 1600 GMT, during which he will discuss his plans in light of an increase in infections in London and the south-east of England, related to a new, more transmissible variant of the virus.
England Medical Director Chris Whitty said that although there is no current evidence that the new coronavirus variant has caused a higher mortality rate or affected vaccines, urgent work is being done to confirm this.
“We have alerted the World Health Organization and we are continuing to analyze the available data to improve our understanding,” Whitty said in a statement.
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.
Johnson said Friday that he hopes England will not need a third blockade after Christmas and has so far resisted calls to change plans to reduce restrictions for five days during the holiday season, allowing three separate households to meet indoors. .
Much of the country, including London, is currently in the highest level of three-tier restrictions to reduce the spread of the pandemic. The Daily Telegraph said ministers could now announce curbs in travel between the south-east of England, including the capital, and the rest of the country.
The BBC said these areas would now be placed in a new “Level 4”, with tougher rules for Christmas.
“The failure of decisive action now will mean further suffering,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter. “We have to keep asking ourselves, ‘We do enough, we act fast enough.'”
The opposition Labor Party said the leveling system had failed to limit the spread of the virus.
“It has been clear for several days that the virus is once again out of control in parts of the country,” said Jonathan Ashworth, a spokesman for Labor health.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Ros Russell, William Maclean, Catherine Evans