By The government of the United Kingdom has ordered a fresh lockdown to stop the continued increase in COVID-19 infections in the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the third lockdown order in a national address on Monday, according to media reports.
He said the new restrictions take off in 24 hours and are expected to last until March. Also, all schools will shut down on Tuesday, January 5 for the compulsory ‘stay at home’ order.
The British PM is, however, optimistic that the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine could provide a way out of the lockdown by mid-February.
Johnson said the new lockdown was to prevent the UK’s health system from being overwhelmed due to the increase in infections caused by the new coronavirus variant in the country.
“We now have a new variant of the virus. It has been both frustrating and alarming to see the speed with which the new variant is spreading.
“As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic,” he said.
