UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown for England’s 56 million residents to combat the fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus.
In a televised address, the PM asked the public to follow the new rules, which have now replaced England’s tiers system, immediately.
It is expected the new lockdown in England – the third time a national shutdown has been introduced – will last until the middle of February.
Mr Johnson expressed his hope that, at this point, nearly 14 million people will have all been offered the first dose of a vaccine.
“As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic,” Mr Johnson said in the televised address to the country as he ditched his regional approach to fighting the pandemic.
“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it’s clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control.
“We must therefore go into a national lockdown, which is tough enough to contain this variant. That means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home.”
The PM said the measures would include school closures and rules requiring most people to stay at home apart from essential shopping, exercise and other limited exceptions.
As of Monday, 4th January there were 26,626 COVID patients in hospital in England – an increase of over 30% in one week and now more than 40% higher than the peak of the first wave of coronavirus infections last April.
There has also been a near 25% increase in the number of deaths in the past seven days, compared to the previous week.
Mr Johnson said the new coronavirus variant, judged to be between 50% and 70% more transmissible, was spreading at a “frustrating and alarming” speed.
The prime minister warned this means “you are much, much more likely to catch the virus and pass it on”.
However, the Prime Minister hailed COVID vaccines as “one huge difference” compared to England’s first lockdown last spring.
He outlined plans to offer a first vaccine dose to all care home residents, over-70s, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is extremely vulnerable by the middle of next month.
“If we succeed in vaccinating all those groups, we will have removed huge numbers of people from the path of the virus,” he said.
“And of course, that will eventually enable us to lift many of the restrictions we have endured for so long.”
In a call for national unity, Mr Johnson also said people “now more than ever, must pull together”.
“The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but I really do believe that we are entering the last phase of the struggle,” he added.
Meanwhile, media reports indicate that the German government and the majority of Germany’s 16 federal states have also agreed to extend lockdown measures until January 31 to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The extension of the lockdown is expected to be officially announced later on 5th January following a meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state premiers.
