U.K. orders London shops closed and bans holiday household mixing

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced the closure of most shops and nonessential businesses in London and much of southern England, as well as a ban on mixing households during Christmastime.

London and many surrounding areas have been under Tier 3, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, but the rules have done little to slow the surging number of infections, fueled by a new strain of the virus.

Starting Sunday, London and nearby regions will be moved into Tier 4, a new, even stricter level of lockdown, which will close nonessential shops, hairdressers and indoor leisure venues.

The announcement is a marked reversal of Johnson’s earlier plans to ease socializing rules between Dec. 23 and 27, which would have allowed for up to three households to meet in “Christmas bubbles.”

Under Tier 4 guidelines however, mixing households for the holidays is strictly prohibited.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” the prime minister said.

“I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is, for instance, for grandparents to see their grandchildren, for families to be together. We have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science. When the science changes, we must change our response.”

Johnson on Saturday also held an emergency meeting with cabinet members to discuss ways to battle the new strain, which may spread faster than the original one.

There is no evidence to suggest the mutated virus, which England’s public health agency identified through genomic surveillance, is more deadly or that it affects vaccines and treatments, according to England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty.