UK goes into ‘Tier 4’ lockdown as new ‘variant’ of COVID-19 spreads

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that London and Southeast U.K. have been hit with a “new variant” of coronavirus and that he will be instituting tougher restrictions to combat the outbreak.

Johnson’s announcement will have a significant effect on travel during the Christmas holiday, forcing millions to unexpectedly cancel their plans.

READ MORE: United Airlines offers free rapid virus tests for select international flights

During a news conference, Johnson said that he is putting the regions into a level of lockdown called “Tier 4,” starting Sunday, Dec. 20. Under the new restrictions, people can only meet with one other person from another household in an outdoor public space.

In addition, several non-essential businesses are being closed for a two-week period, including bowling alleys, hair salons, cinemas and gyms.

The World Health Organization has been informed by England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, about the variant strain of coronavirus, and that the “new strain can spread more quickly.”

READ MORE: Black health professionals sound the alarm on second wave of COVID-19

“As announced on Monday, the U.K. has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance,” Professor Whitty said. At this point, over 66,000 people in England have died of the novel coronavirus since the pandemic hit the country.

As reported by The New York Post, this will be the third time that the city of London will go into coronavirus-related lockdown. In the past week alone, 60 percent of the new infections in the city have been due to the new variant strain.

Prime Minister Johnson says that the new strain “may be up to 70 percent more transmissible” than the earlier coronavirus. The new variant has infected over 1,000 people so far, Forbes reports. Since the pandemic hit the U.K., England accounts for over 58,000 of the U.K.’s total cases, as reported by the New York Times.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!