The UK Prime Minister has ordered new lockdown measures due to COVID-19. These are said to be stricter than the ones in March.
What We Know:
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, on Monday, a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of COVID-19. Johnson said people must stay at home again, as they were ordered to do so in the first wave of the pandemic in March, this time because the new virus variant was spreading in a “frustrating and alarming” way.
- Starting Tuesday, primary and secondary schools and colleges will be closed for face to face learning except for the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils. University students will not be returning until at least mid-February. People were told to work from home unless it’s impossible to do so, and leave home only for essential trips. All nonessential shops and personal care services like hairdressers will be closed, and restaurants can only operate takeout services.
- According to WNYT, large areas of England were already under tight restrictions as officials tried to control an alarming surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. This was blamed on a new variant of COVID-19 that is more contagious than existing variants. Authorities have recorded more than 50,000 new infections daily since passing that milestone for the first time on Dec. 29. On Monday, they reported 407 virus-related deaths to push the confirmed death toll total to 75,431, one of the worst in Europe.
- On Dec. 29, the United Kingdom reported more than 80,000 new cases of COVID-19 across the country, a new record. “The number of deaths is up by 20% over the last week and will sadly rise further and my thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones,” Johnson said.
- The announcement of the lockdown came on the same day that AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford were administering the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The National Health Service has set a mid-February goal for vaccinating all vulnerable residents, including those living in care homes, over age 70, and all frontline health workers.
As of Monday, there were 26,626 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in England, an increase of more than 30% from a week ago. That is 40% above the highest level of the first wave in the Spring.
