British prime minister Boris Johnson has announced more rigid pandemic measures in London, the South East and East of England in the wake of worries about the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus which health experts say could be more transmissible.
Johnson said the capital and other areas in southern England currently under Tier 3 restrictions will move to an even stricter new Tier 4 level that mandates non-essential businesses and indoor leisure venues to shutter after the end of business hours Saturday.
The prime minister had initially planned to loosen COVID-19 restrictions for five days during the Christmas holiday but made an abrupt revision after emergency meetings on the disease' mutation with his top officials. However, communal worship will be permitted under strict protocols.
This means millions of people will be prohibited from mixing with other households during the holidays. "It's with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we can't proceed with Christmas as originally planned," CNBC quoted Johnson as saying in a statement.
The new measures came as the UK registered 27,052 new coronavirus infections and 534 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test. Based on government figures, a total of almost 2 million confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in the UK, and over 65,000 people have perished.
The new restrictions are expected to hit retail businesses hard at what's normally their busiest time of the year. The UK has already been devastated by the global health crisis since the Great Frost of 1709, and the government has been forced to dole out financial assistance and wage support programs in the midst of concerns the rate of joblessness will balloon.
Under Europe's highest level of pandemic guidelines, only one person can meet with another from a different household outside, though exemptions will continue for so-called support and childcare bubbles.
Johnson said a finding by the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group indicates the new viral strain could be "up to 70 percent more transmissible."
Johnson had previously announced that scrapping festive activities would be "inhuman." However, he had faced increasing pressure to remove relaxations as soaring cases of the virus, and the new strain grips the land.
The prime minister said he concluded that there was "no alternative open to me," and people must sacrifice this Christmas to gain a better chance of protecting the lives of loved ones.
