British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that London and other parts of England would enter sharply restrictive “Tier 4” lockdown conditions, starting this morning and extending through the entire holiday season. According to numerous press accounts, a new COVID-19 variant that is “70% more transmissible” has emerged in the U.K., although it is not thought to be more lethal or resistant to existing vaccines.
“We already know more than enough to be sure that we must act now,” Johnson said. “Christmas this year will be different, very different, but we must be realistic. We’re sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them at future Christmases,” the prime minister said.
Britain has alerted the World Health Organization that the new variant identified this week appears to be accelerating the spread of COVID-19, saying it accounted for some 60% of the capital’s cases. The Dutch government has announced the suspension of all airline flights coming from the U.K. for at least the remainder of 2020, as have Italy and Belgium.
