UK leader orders new strict lockdown as the COVID-19 variant increases

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered a new nationwide lockdown for England in an effort to contain a new version of the Corona Virus. at Televised titleIn, Johnson described the next few weeks as a “defining moment” in the nation’s fight against COVID-19. The leader of Scotland announced similar measures the day before.

The New scale It enforces the closure of all schools, closes personal grooming services such as barbers and hairdressers, and bans eating in restaurants. While fines apply to those who leave their homes without justifiable excuses, there are exceptions that allow people to go out to get food or medical supplies, or to get to and from childcare, or in real emergencies.

Residents are asked to limit their outdoor exercise to once per day. Residents of England can only meet one person from a different household for outdoor sports, and social distancing must be maintained.

Johnson said he understood the “inconvenience and distress” that rapid school closures would wreak on families, many of which had brought primary-age children back to school earlier on Monday in what proved to be a one-day school week, and on teachers.

“We did everything in our power to keep schools open because we know how important every day in education is to children’s life chances,” Johnson said. “The problem is not that schools are not safe for children – as children are still unlikely to be severely affected by the new variant of COVID – the problem is that schools may nonetheless act as vectors of transmission, causing the virus to spread among families.”

The new variant of COVID-19 was The first discovery Late last year in the southeast of England and fueling a significant increase in the number of cases. More than 50,000 cases of the new coronavirus are recorded daily, and hospitals in some areas are already overburdened with the influx of patients. Johnson said the new variant was 50-70% more transmissible, making it easier to pick up and pass it on to others.

Before the announcement, more than two-thirds of Britain was already subject to the most severe Tier 4 restrictions. Crucially, if everyone plays their part by following the rules, then I hope we can steadily emerge from lockdown, Johnson said.

The rapidly spreading variant of COVID-19 has already appeared elsewhere around the world. Recently, it was discovered in New YorkAnd the California And Colorado, in patients who do not have any recent travel history. According to an infectious disease expert in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, there is “likely to be more cases” of the new strain that has not been discovered in the United States.

More than 2.7 million people have contracted COVID-19 in the UK, with more than 75,000 deaths, according to data collected by you. Johns Hopkins University.

Tucker Ryals and Charlie Dagatta contributed to this report.