More U.K. lockdowns as variant spreads

Virus mutation from S. Africa also detected

LONDON • The British government on Wednesday said huge swaths of England would be placed under its strictest COVID-19 restrictions as a highly infectious virus variant sweeps the country, pushing the number of cases to a record level.

Britain reported almost 40,000 new infections as the mutated variant of the coronavirus, which could be up to 70 per cent more transmissible, causes the number of cases and hospital admissions to soar.

The number of recorded deaths, 744, was also the highest figure since April.

“Against this backdrop of rising infections, rising hospitalizations and rising numbers of people dying from coronavirus, it is absolutely vital that we act,” health minister Matt Hancock said. “We simply cannot have the kind of Christmas that we all yearn for.”

On Saturday, tight social mixing restrictions were brought in for London, southeast England and Wales while plans to ease curbs over Christmas across the nation were either dramatically scaled back or scrapped altogether.

Hancock said from Dec. 26, many more parts of southern England would be also be added to the highest level of social mixing restrictions, joining the 16 million already in Tier 4, while other areas across the country currently in lower tiers would also face tighter curbs.

The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have already announced that nearly everyone there would be subjected to the highest level of restrictions after Christmas.

Hancock said there was on average 1,909 COVID hospital admissions a day, with 18,943 people currently in hospital with the virus, levels not seen since April.

Meanwhile, Hancock also announced Wednesday that British officials have detected another variant in the U.K.

Britain is placing new restrictions on visitors from South Africa and calling on anyone who has recently been in the country or in contact with a recent arrival to self-isolate immediately, Hancock said, describing the measures as temporary while officials seek to better understand the variant.

“This virus is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and appears to have mutated further than the new variant that's been discovered in the U.K.,” he said.

South African officials announced last week that their scientists had detected a new variant that appeared to be fuelling a rapid rise in infections there. The detection of a South African variant in the U.K. comes as Britain is already grappling with a worsening outbreak linked to a different variant detected in England.

That new variant, Hancock announced on Sunday, could be even more contagious and was “out of control” in the country.

DAN KITWOOD / GETTY IMAGES A man is detained by police after a scuffle at England's Port of Dover Wednesday. Nearly 3,000 trucks were stranded around Kent after France banned all travel from the U.K. on Sunday, citing concerns over a new variant of COVID-19.