Skip to main content

Two-thirds of England will be under the toughest steps of COVID-19

LONDON (Reuters) - This weekend, wide areas of England will be added to the 'extremely high warning' category COVID-19, bringing people under the strictest collection of restrictions to combat an increasing number of infections.

Britain, like other nations, is struggling to tame a second wave of novel cases of coronavirus and deaths, and over Christmas, the government has to justify a decision to loosen communication restrictions for five days.

The government said most secondary school students will have a week of remote learning before returning to classrooms in January in a sign of mounting concern over the possible effects of Christmas socializing.

In the southeast of England, Health Minister Matt Hancock said cases have risen by 46 percent in the past week while hospital admissions have increased by more than a third. Cases were up by two-thirds in eastern England, and hospital admissions by nearly half.

"Therefore, Tier 3 measures need to be applied across a much wider area of England's east and southeast," he told parliament, referring to the strictest of the three tiers of COVID-related restrictions being applied in England.

He said that from Saturday, the new steps will be in place. A limited number of areas were relaxed by their limitations.

After an emergency assessment reported an increase in infections, London was placed into Tier 3 this week.

The changes mean that 68 percent of the population of England will be in Tier 3 and 30 percent in Tier 2 from Saturday. In the more relaxed Tier 1, there would be less than a million individuals.

Bars are locked in Tier 2, and households are prohibited from mixing indoors to socialize. Tier 3 also shuts dine-in restaurants, hotels, theaters and cinemas, and creates further socialization and travel regulations. On all levels, stores, workplaces and schools often remain open.

Under the latest high school plans revealed on Thursday, most pupils will spend the first week of the new term at home in January, studying remotely until Jan. 11. On Jan. 4, only those in examination years, those deemed vulnerable and the children of essential employees will be allowed back to school.

The Ministry of Education said that the delayed return, together with a free testing program for pupils and school workers, would "help deliver the national priority to keep education open to all and help combat the spread of the virus."

The government has allowed members of the family to travel over Christmas to visit relatives, but is now encouraging individuals to keep their celebrations small and local.

The semi-autonomous governments of the United Kingdom's other countries, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each set their own policies for public health, independently of London.

Comments

New comments are not allowed.

Popular posts from this blog

Britain's navy in the event of a no-deal Brexit to defend fishing waters

LONDON (Reuters) - In the event that the Brexit transition phase ends on Dec. 31 without an agreement on future relations with the European Union, four Royal Navy patrol ships are on standby to defend Britain's fishing waters, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said. The step attracted criticism from lawmakers within the Conservative Party of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but was brushed off by the French government. "Keep calm and carry on," said an Elysée official, using a British wartime slogan. Where no trade agreement is reached, questions are raised about potential skirmishes between British and international fishing vessels, with current transitional rules allowing EU boats access to British waters set to expire by the end of the year. "An MOD spokesman said The MOD has carried out comprehensive training and preparation to ensure that Defence is ready at the end of the Transition Phase for a variety of scenarios. The 80-meter-long navy vessels would h...
Post a Comment
Read more

The CEO of AstraZeneca plans to conduct the latest global COVID-19 vaccine trial: Bloomberg

(Reuters) - An additional global trial to test the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine using a lower dose is likely to be conducted by AstraZeneca, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday amid concerns about the outcome of its late-stage review. AstraZeneca could start a new study to test a lower dose of its vaccine that worked better than a full dosage, Pascal Soriot told Bloomberg News, instead of adding the trial to an existing U.S. phase. "We have to validate this now that we have discovered what looks like a better efficacy, so we need to do an additional study," he said, adding that the latest, likely global, study could be quicker because it would require less subjects as the effectiveness was already established to be high. The news comes as AstraZeneca faces concerns about its success rate that some analysts claim could impede its chances of securing rapid regulatory approval from the U.S. and EU. Several scientists have raised concerns about the r...
Post a Comment
Read more

In 'challenging point' Brexit trade negotiations, British minister says

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit trade negotiations are in a difficult process, and only if the European Union understands that Britain is a sovereign nation will an agreement be reached, said Business Secretary Alok Sharma. "We're at a critical stage," Sky TV told Sharma. "It is fair to say that we are in a difficult phase, that there are still some difficult problems to solve." "We have always said right from the beginning of this process that only if the EU recognizes that the UK is a sovereign independent nation can an agreement be reached," Sharma said. "It is on the basis of that a deal will be done."
Post a Comment
Read more