Western Morning News (Saturday)
‘Tough measures’ needed to halt variant
TOUGH restrictions are required now to stop coronavirus “running out of control” in January due to the new variant of the virus, Boris Johnson has warned.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference that England was facing “considerable new pressures” from the mutant strain, which has led to harsher restrictions across the South East of the country.
He said that a tough tier system, community testing and rolling out the vaccine would be the approach to tackling the pandemic – but did not rule out a second national lockdown after Christmas.
It comes after analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that around half of all new coronavirus cases in England could be the new variant.
Concerns over the mutant strain, which scientists have concluded spreads more rapidly, mean millions of people in England will join those already under lockdown conditions from Boxing Day.
Asked if he could rule out a national lockdown after Christmas, Mr Johnson said: “Obviously we face very considerable new pressures, particularly from the new variant and the speed with which that’s been spreading.
“We believe that we’re going to have to get through this tough period now with, as I say, as I have said many times, very tough restrictions, with tough tiering.
“You will have seen what has been announced over the last day or so about that and, much as I regret that, I do think it is necessary for us to grip this virus now, to stop it running out of control in January.
“Because we need to buy ourselves time to get the vaccine into as many arms of the elderly and vulnerable as we can. That is the real way in which we will defeat the virus.
“So, it’s tough tiering, community testing and rolling out the vaccine, and we’re going to continue with that approach.”
He added: “I know that it’s been very, very tough over the last few weeks and, I must tell people, it will continue to be difficult.”
Official figures showed a further 574 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, while there had
been a further 39,036 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK
During his address on reaching a post-Brexit deal with the European Union on Thursday, Mr Johnson said that almost 800,000 people had now been vaccinated.
New figures published by the Department of Health and Social Care on Thursday said that 616,933 people in the UK had received the first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine between December 8 and December 20.
Meanwhile, the ONS said an estimated 645,800 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between December 12 and 18 – the equivalent of around 1.18% of the population, or one in 85 people.
In London, 68% of positive cases from December 14 to 18 were estimated to be genetically compatible with the new variant, while in eastern and south-east England the estimate is 65%.
For England as a whole, the statistics agency estimates that 49% of new cases could be the mutant strain that resulted in the creation of the new Tier 4 restrictions.
Following disruption which has left thousands of lorry drivers stranded in Kent, a further 800 military personnel were sent to the county to help hauliers waiting to cross into France.
Some 1,100 troops have been deployed as part of the operation at the English Channel border after French Covid-19 restrictions caused severe disruption at the Port of Dover.
Army personnel will be testing drivers for coronavirus and distributing food and water, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Friday that more than 10,000 tests had been carried out, of which 24 came back positive for the virus.
France closed its border last Sunday following the discovery of a fast
spreading mutant Covid-19 strain in the UK.
Drivers must now show proof of a negative coronavirus test result taken within the past 72 hours before crossing into the country.
About 4,000 vehicles, including 2,000 freight lorries and 1,000 cars, have been cleared for departure at Dover since the border reopened on
Wednesday, a port spokesman said.
However, about 5,000 lorries remained unable to get home days later, despite some progress in testing drivers in their vehicles at nearby Manston Airport, on a closed section of the M20, and in the town of Dover itself. Some had already spent nearly a week stranded due to the diplomatic impasse.