LONDON – Millions of people in the UK woke up the day after Christmas with more severe restrictions on coronavirus on Saturday, when authorities in France and other European countries reported their first cases of the mutant and potentially more contagious strain.
Excerpts from England were placed under the strictest set of blocking rules, known as “Tier 4”, which will result in the closing of gyms, cinemas, hairdressers and most stores. People will also be restricted to finding just one person from another family in a public outdoor space.
The UK’s capital, London, has been living under “Tier 4” regulations since last week, while other parts of the country were at lower and less restrictive levels numbered one to three.
As of Saturday, the number of people living in “Tier 4” in England will increase from 6 million to 24 million people or just over 40% of the population.
Scotland, which has its own level system, moved much of the continent to the highest level of restrictions for three weeks from Saturday, while Northern Ireland began six weeks of tight limits, including a partial curfew at night. Wales remains under a national blockade.
The total number of deaths caused by Covid-19 in the UK exceeded 70,000 on Christmas Day, while more than 2 million cases have been reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The rules went into effect less than 24 hours after Queen Elizabeth II delivered a message of hope in her annual Christmas speech broadcast on television to the nation.
“Of course, for many, this time of year will be tinged with sadness; some mourning the loss of their loved ones, and others losing friends and family away from safety, when all they really want for Christmas is a simple hug or squeeze. from the hand, “said the 94-year-old monarch.
She added that she was “proud and moved” by the country’s “peaceful untamed spirit”.
On the other side of the English Channel, French health officials confirmed the country’s first case of the mutant virus variant that led to strict blocking measures in Britain.
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A Frenchman arrived in France on December 19 from London and tested positive for the new variant on Friday, the French public health agency said in a statement.
He had no symptoms and was isolating himself at his home in Tours, the statement said. Adding that the authorities were tracking their contacts and laboratories analyzing tests from several other people who may have the new variant.
The new strain has also been detected in Sweden, Japan, Ireland and Spain, health officials in those countries said. Although it was found in places as far away as Denmark, Iceland and Australia at the beginning of last week.
Elsewhere in Europe, Russia for the first time on Saturday exceeded the 3 million mark for the number of coronavirus cases.
In Germany, infections increased, as cases jumped from 14,455 to 1,627,103, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.
Nations in the European Union, including France, Germany and Italy, will begin mass vaccination from Sunday, administering the first injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, while the pandemic continues to increase across the continent.
Reuters contributed to this report.
