Covid-19: London reconfines itself to fight against a new strain of the virus

Health authorities have detected a new, more contagious strain of the virus. 

"It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we cannot let Christmas go on as planned," said Boris Johnson. The British government has decided to reconfine London and the south-east of England from Sunday 20 December, dealing a final blow to the Christmas reunion. The objective of the authorities is to try to stop a surge of contaminations attributed to a new strain of coronavirus.

"It seems that this spread is now fueled by a new variant of the virus", which is transmitted "much more easily", "up to 70% more", said Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference. "There is no evidence that it is more deadly or causes a more severe form of the disease" or that it reduces the effectiveness of vaccines, he added. Studies will be conducted soon to learn more about this mutation.

Turn of the screw

Already subject to restrictive restrictions, the inhabitants of the capital and the south-east of England will be placed under a new alert level, the fourth and highest. They will be instructed to stay in their homes and non-essential shops will no longer be allowed to reopen after Saturday's curtain falls, putting an end to last-minute Christmas shopping.

Pubs, restaurants and museums had already closed their doors on Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after the release in early December of a second month-long lockdown in England. All travel outside this area, whether to other parts of the UK or abroad, will be banned.

On Sunday, the Netherlands also announced the suspension of all flights from the United Kingdom, following the discovery of a case of contamination by the new British strain.

The prospect of a strict turn of the screw was rejected a few days ago by Boris Johnson. On the contrary, a loosening was planned to allow up to three outbreaks to occur for five days around Christmas. From now on, all gatherings are forbidden for Christmas in the highest alert level, while reunions will have to be concentrated on a single day, December 25, in the other alert levels.