Toughest coronavirus restrictions to be imposed on London

Under Tier 3 restrictions, the toughest level in England’s three-tier system, people can’t socialize indoors and bars, pubs and restaurants must close except for takeout.

SHARE Toughest coronavirus restrictions to be imposed on London
A pedestrian wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past COVID-19 street art, advising to “Stay Alert” anfd “Save Lives” in central London, on November 22, 2020.

A pedestrian wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past COVID-19 street art, advising to “Stay Alert” anfd “Save Lives” in central London, on November 22, 2020.

Getty

LONDON — London and surrounding areas will be placed under the highest level of coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, Britain’s health secretary said Monday.

Matt Hancock said the government must take swift action after seeing “very sharp, exponential rises” in Greater London and nearby Kent and Essex. He said that in some areas, cases are doubling every seven days.

Under Tier 3 restrictions, the toughest level in England’s three-tier system, people can’t socialize indoors and bars, pubs and restaurants must close except for takeout.

In November, London was among areas with the lowest regional infection rates in England. But some areas in and around London have now become virus hotspots.

Hancock told lawmakers that officials have identified “a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the faster spread in the south of England.”

“We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the south of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas,” he said. “And numbers are increasing rapidly.”

He didn’t provide details about the virus variant, but said there was nothing to suggest it was more likely to cause serious disease, or that it wouldn’t respond to a vaccine. Hancock said the government has notified the World Health Organization about the new variant.

Local officials in some boroughs of the capital have already advised some schools to close and move to online learning as coronavirus cases spike. On Sunday, Greenwich officials said the borough was experiencing a period of “exponential growth” in cases, with infection rates now at their highest since March.

Mayor Sadiq Kahn has suggested that the government asks all secondary schools and colleges in London to shut early before Christmas because of outbreaks among those ranging in age from 10 to 19.

The Latest
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Woman is getting anxious about how often she has to host her husband’s hunting buddy and his wife, who don’t contribute at all to mealtimes.