Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference a 4 p.m. today with the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser where it is expected he will announce further restrictions to try to deal with the spiralling infection rate in London and the South East of England.
The Prime Minister is chairing a cabinet call now to discuss the measures. There were also talks late last night after warnings that the new strain of the virus can spread more rapidly. Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has just issued a statement saying the government has alerted the World Health Organisation about this, explaining: ‘As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly.’
Just days ago Boris argued it would be ‘inhuman’ to cancel Christmas and yet today he seems set to do just that
Whitty adds: ‘Given this latest development it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in