British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday that more expensive blocking restrictions in England are likely in the coming weeks, as the country is staggering from one new coronavirus variant which pushed infection rates to the highest levels recorded.
Johnson, however, insisted that he “has no doubts” that schools are safe and asked parents to send their children back to classrooms in areas of England where they can. Unions representing teachers have asked schools to return to distance learning for at least a few more weeks due to the new variant, which scientists said was up to 70% more contagious.
The UK is battling an acute outbreak, registering more than 50,000 new coronavirus infections one day in the last six days. On Sunday, it registered another 54,990 cases, slightly below the daily record of the previous day of 5,725. The country also recorded another 454 deaths related to the virus, totaling 75,024. According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the United Kingdom is alternating with Italy as the most affected European country.
“We are totally reconciled to do whatever it takes to keep the virus under control, which could involve tougher measures in the coming weeks,” Johnson said in an interview with BBC News. “Obviously, there are a number of stricter measures that we would have to consider.”
Johnson admitted that school closings, curfews and a total ban on household mixes may be on the agenda for areas under greater stress.
London and south-east England are experiencing extremely high levels of new infections and there is speculation that restrictions will have to be tightened to keep the virus under control. In parts of the British capital and its surroundings, there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.
Johnson’s conservative government is using a layered system of coronavirus restrictions. Most of England is already at the highest level 4, which involves closing stores that do not sell non-essential items and places like gyms and recreation centers, as well as home classes.
“What we are using now is the rating system, which is a very difficult system and, unfortunately, it will probably get more difficult to keep things under control,” he said. “We are going to review it and we have the prospect of vaccines reaching tens of millions, offering people literally life and hope.”
Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition party, the Labor Party, asked Johnson to bring more national restrictions the next day or later, although he stopped calling for school closings, as he said he did not want to “add to the chaos “which should appear on Monday.
“The virus is clearly out of control,” said Starmer. “We cannot allow the prime minister to spend the next two or three weeks and then bring in a national blockade, which is inevitable.”
Starmer also said it was inevitable that more schools would be closed and asked the government to come up with a plan for both students and working parents.
One area in which the UK has changed rapidly is vaccination. It was the first to vaccinate people over 80 and health professionals on December 8 with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Last week, regulators approved another vaccine made by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that is cheaper and easier to use than the Pfizer vaccine.
Hundreds of new vaccination sites are expected to be in operation this week, as the National Health Service is stepping up its immunization program with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Authorities say some 530,000 doses of the new vaccine will be in place on Monday, as the country moves towards its goal of vaccinating 2 million people a week as soon as possible.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered in a small number of hospitals during the first few days so that authorities can be on the lookout for any adverse reactions. Hundreds of new vaccination sites – both in hospitals and in local doctor’s offices – are expected to be launched this week, joining more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.
In a shift in practices in the United States and elsewhere, Britain plans to give people a second dose of both vaccines within 12 weeks of the first injection, instead of 21 days, to speed up immunizations in the largest number of people as quickly as possible.
“My mom, just like you or your older loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the nation as a whole,” said the government’s deputy medical director, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam , said in an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.