The UK government has decided to put London under the highest coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday (December 16) due to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the city, as a new variant of the coronavirus has been identified for the “faster.” “responsible is the spread” of the deadly viral disease.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs in the House of Commons that “quick and decisive action” is needed to keep things under control in and around London.
The Tier 3 restrictions announced by the UK government mean that London will be almost completely closed.
“A new variant of the coronavirus has been identified in the UK, which may have been linked to the fastest spread in the south east of England,” Hancock said in Parliament.
“We don’t know how this is due to the new variant, but whatever the cause, we need to act quickly and decisively, which is unfortunately essential to control this deadly disease during the vaccine launch. We need to act.” Now to move the curve – because if the virus is moving fast, we have to move fast too, “he added.
According to Hancock, over 1,000 cases are identified with the new fatal variant. Most of the cases were recorded in the south of England. “Cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authorities and the number is growing rapidly. Similar variants have been identified in other countries in the past few months,” said Hancock.
Hancock announced in parliament that the World Health Organization had been informed about the new variant of the coronavirus.
Regarding the launch of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines that began in the UK a few days ago, Hancock said that thanks to science, “help is on the way” but “it is not over yet”.