TIGHTER LOCKDOWNS IN UK FEARED OVER COVID VARIANT

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that a new lockdown is to be imposed in London and parts of south and eastern England due to concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus, Benedikt von Imhoff reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

"When the virus changes its method of attack, we have to change our method of defense," said Johnson during the press conference. The new coronavirus variant is thought to be spreading rapidly in the region and is said to be 70 per cent more transmissible, the Press Association (PA) reported Johnson as saying.

However, there's no evidence the variant, named VUI 202012/01, has a higher death rate or leads to more severe illness, nor that it is less likely to respond to the vaccines currently being developed.

Under the new regulations starting Sunday, described as Tier 4, residents can only leave their homes for important reasons, non-essential shops are to close and plans to ease contact restrictions over Christmas have been cancelled.

According to PA, around a third of England's population will be affected by the new measures. Residents in Tier 4 are not allowed to leave the zone, and people are advised not to visit the area.

"Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, the potential risk it poses, it is with a very heavy heart I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned," Johnson said.

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