Tonight the Prime Minister addressed the nation, announcing a national lockdown, as he asked the British public to once again stay at home, control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
The Prime Minister added that while there is no doubt that in fighting the old variant of the virus, our collective efforts were working and would have continued to work, we now face a new variant of the virus – which is spreading at an alarming speed - and made it clear that we need to do more to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out.
From Tuesday morning, everyone must once again stay home and only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law, such as to shop for essentials. People should work from home unless they absolutely cannot and the government is advising the clinically extremely vulnerable to begin shielding again. Primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across England are closed except for the children of critical workers and the most vulnerable as one of the latest measures to slow the spread of the virus. The Prime Minister also announced that is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal and the Education Secretary will work with Ofqual to put in place alternative arrangements. Further announcements are expected shortly.
This decision was not taken lightly and follows a rapid rise in infections, hospital admissions and case rates across the country attributed to the new variant of COVID-19. This has put our hospitals under more pressure now than they have been at any other point throughout the pandemic. With the UK’s Chief Medical Officers advising that the country should move to alert level 5 - meaning that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days – it is clear that these measures are now essential. Parliament has been recalled to debate these measures on Wednesday, with these new restrictions due to be formally reviewed on 15th February.
Commenting, Richard said: "The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but with every vaccination, we are tilting the odds against Covid and in favour of the British people. So far, we have vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined. With yesterday’s arrival of the UK’s own Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, the pace of vaccination is accelerating.
"By the middle of February, if things go well, the government expects to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups, including all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, everyone over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, enabling the lifting of many of the restrictions."
