Covid: Millions of people under tighter restrictions amid concerns about an increase in cases associated with new variants

Millions of people live in more difficult situations in the UK Coronavirus Restrictions from today in fear that a new variant of Covid-19 may be accelerating the spread of the disease.

Boris Johnson held an unscheduled meeting with the Minister on Friday amid “increasing concerns” about the threat posed by the fastest-growing mutant strains in southeast England.

The new strain of the virus, identified by Matt Hancock on Monday, is probably substantially more infectious than the other strains we have dealt with.

That may be a disturbing development, but it does not surprise virologists.

Dr. Simon Clark of the University of Reading told ITV News scientific editor Tom Clark, “Infectious pathogens like viruses want to make more copies of themselves to infect people. “.

“Communicability means that it infects more people or is more likely to infect more people.”

Downing Street did not comment on reports of new travel restrictions in southeastern England among the measures being considered by the Minister.

However, the conference will take place as much of the region follows London and most of Essex and Hertfordshire have entered the strictest Tier 3 restrictions earlier this week.

The Kent NHS has announced that it will suspend non-urgent hospital procedures as it was treating twice the number of patients at the peak of the first wave in April.

Meanwhile, according to Sage’s latest figures, the number of reproducible coronavirus infections (R-values) across the UK is estimated to have risen from 1.1 to 1.2, indicating that the spread of the disease is accelerating. Means

On Friday, Johnson refused to rule out the possibility of a third blockade of Britain in the New Year, fearing that it could rise further if Christmas restrictions were relaxed.

• Tom Clarke, science editor at ITV News, explains what a virologist told him about a new variant.

“We very much want to be able to avoid that, but in reality, infection rates have increased significantly over the past few weeks,” he said during his visit to Bolton. Told the reporters.

In Scotland, health minister Jean Freeman said the post-Christmas blockade option “remains at the table,” but Northern Ireland and Wales are preparing for a new blockade after the festival.Dr. Kit Yates, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, University of Bath, said: “I don’t think the hierarchy at this point is clearly sufficient.

“Tier 2 isn’t enough to do anything almost everywhere. Tier 3 is enough to reduce cases in some areas, but not in others.”

The UK’s latest hierarchy change, which came into effect on Saturday at 0:01 am, means that 68% of the UK’s population now has 38 million people living in Tier 3.

Areas moving to the top are Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterbara, Hertfordshire as a whole, Surrey, East Sussex, Waverly, Hastings, Rosa, Hampshire’s Portsmouth, Gosport, Havant. is.

We enter January in a very serious situation that requires very strong measures to reduce social distance. It becomes even more essential if the virus is changing.

Bristol and North Somerset moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2, and Herefordshire moved to Tier 1, but the county’s director of public health expressed concern about mitigation.

Elsewhere in the UK, Northern Ireland will have a six-week blockade starting December 26, curbing an increase in cases. This limits only non-essential retail and contact service closures and take-out of the hospitality sector.

Wales will enter its third complete blockade from 28 December in a “sustainable rise in coronavirus”.

A government spokesman said: “Following the advice from Sage, we will step up our steps and continue to take decisive action in the areas where the virus is most prevalent. If everyone follows the rules, the Tier 3 area is expected to push down R.

“As the latest numbers show, we need to stay vigilant to put this virus under control to protect the NHS and save lives.”

What can you do in each tier from December 2nd? New British rules at a glance:

• Tier 1: Up to 6 people can meet indoors or outdoors. Pubs and restaurants are open, last orders are at 10pm and closes at 11pm.

• Tier 2: There is no indoor mixing except for the support bubble. Up to 6 people can meet outdoors. Pubs and restaurants can be opened, final orders are at 10 pm and closes at 11 pm, but alcohol can only be served with a sufficient amount of food.

• Tier 3: There is no indoor mixing. People can only meet outdoors in limited places such as parks and public gardens. Pubs and restaurants must be closed, except for takeaway sales.

At all levels, you can open non-essential shops, gyms, hairdressers and personal care services. People of all ages can work from home.Details of what each layer can do here