Full lockdown looms
The British government is expected to put ‘‘far more areas’’ into tier 4 lockdown, after daily coronavirus cases yesterday exceeded 50,000 for the first time.
It was previously thought that up to two-thirds of England would be placed in the toughest restrictions. Following a meeting, a government source there would be ‘‘far more areas going into upper tiers’’.
Pressure has been mounting to expand tier 4 restrictions in the face of increasing strain on hospitals in England, where the number of patients has surpassed the April peak of the first wave of the pandemic. Whitehall sources suggested that ‘‘sizeable chunks’’ of the Midlands and the North were expected to enter the highest tier.
However, Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at University College London, and a member of the government’s new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group, said ‘‘even higher’’ tiers would be required to cope with the new mutant strain of the virus.
The government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to introduce a national lockdown, saying: ‘‘The pandemic in England is now at the most threatening stage of the entire year.’’
■ New South Wales has reported 18 cases of community transmission of coronavirus, and a second cluster of the deadly disease in Sydney.
The so-called Avalon cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches, which erupted earlier this month, generated another nine cases, bringing the total to 138. They were joined by another group of six infected persons, dubbed the Croydon cluster, in Sydney’s inner west.
The NSW state government has announced more New Year’s Eve restrictions for Sydney, with household gatherings limited to five people inside and 30 outdoors.
Meanwhile, the highly infectious South African variant of Covid-19 has reached Australia – in a woman who arrived in Queensland on December 22 and went straight into hotel quarantine.
At least 24 countries have recorded cases of the more infectious South African or UK coronavirus variants. Australia has identified five cases of the British variant in arrivals from the UK. ■ Spain will add people who refuse to be vaccinated against coronavirus to an official register, in an apparent warning to antivaxers as the country begins mass inoculations.
Health Minister Salvador Illa said that while those who refused the jab were within their rights to do so, the list would be shared with other European nations. It would not be shared with the public or employers. Like most of Europe, Spain began delivering the vaccine developed by Pfizer-biontech last weekend.