Scientists have warned that the whole of England should be put into Tier 4 immediately to stop the spread of the new mutant coronavirus strain that was first detected in Kent.
SAGE have said thousands more people will now be infected in the new year, with one of their experts Dr Zubaida Haque today questioning why the government haven’t placed the whole country under the toughest restrictions to save lives.
She tweeted: ‘Given that we surpassed 70,000 #COVID19 deaths in UK on Christmas Day, and there are now more patients with coronavirus in hospital than at any point in the pandemic, why hasn’t the government implemented #tier4 restrictions everywhere in the UK? @IndependentSage are very worried.
‘Given the crisis situation we’re in with the highest number of daily deaths with #COVID19 in 2nd wave, with 1000’s more likely to be infected because of relaxation of rules in tier 1-3 on Christmas Day AND failed govt’s test & trace system, we need #tier4 everywhere now to save lives.’
Scientists have warned that the whole of England should be put into Tier 4 immediately to stop the spread of the new mutant coronavirus strain that was first detected in Kent
SAGE have said thousands more people will now be infected in the new year, with one of their experts Dr Zubaida Haque, (pictured) today questioning why the government haven’t placed the whole country under toughest restrictions to save lives
Britain suffered 34,693 new coronavirus cases on Boxing Day – an increase of more than 7,000 on last Saturday despite incomplete figures, it was revealed today. Pictured are people at the Boxing Day sales in Bournemouth today
Britain suffered 34,693 new coronavirus cases on Boxing Day – an increase of more than 7,000 on last Saturday despite incomplete figures.
But deaths in England and Wales have fallen by 55 per cent on last week’s figures, as 210 were recorded on the UK Government’s dashboard today.
The mutant strain of coronavirus has sparked fear as the number of cases rise dramatically, especially in London and the Home Counties.
And researchers have now said there is ‘some evidence that the increase may be particularly marked in children’, which raises the question of whether schools should open in January after the Christmas break.
The new variant will lead to a wave of coronavirus cases and deaths that will peak in spring 2021 for London, the South East and east of England, they said.
The figures for December 25 are just for England, as the devolved nation’s statistics haven’t been included in the Government dashboard over Christmas. And the figures for December 26 are just England and Wales
It comes as millions of people moved into Tier 4 today after those already under the tightest coronavirus restrictions celebrated a Covid Christmas any way they could.
Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire moved into Tier 4, created in response to a variant of Covid-19 discovered in the UK, from Saturday.
The parts of Essex still in Tier 2, Waverley in Surrey and Hampshire including Portsmouth and Southampton, but with the exception of the New Forest, also moved into the toughest tier.
The additional six million that went into Tier 4 took the total number of people under the toughest restrictions to 24 million – 43 per cent of England’s population. A further 24.8 million moved to Tier 3.
It came after many had to make the most of a Christmas Day already under Tier 4 restrictions in London and the south east.
Yesterday two women braved the elements to have a socially distanced Christmas lunch, with all the trimmings, on Clapham Common in London which is in Tier 4
Four-year-old Archie receives gifts, socially distanced, from his grandparents in Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham on Christmas Day. Birmingham will remain in Tier 3
Some headed to beach in Brighton on Christmas Day to get some fresh air ahead of moving up a Tier. Brighton and Hove moved to Tier 4 on Boxing Day
Photographs showed groups meeting to eat their Christmas dinners on Clapham Common in London while others headed to beach in Brighton to get some fresh air ahead of moving up a Tier to 4 on Boxing Day.
Meanwhile in other parts of the country some families were able to visit their elderly relatives in care homes to celebrate festivities. Some families in Birmingham were pictured meeting grandparents in parks to exchange gifts.
In Tier 4, no household mixing is allowed, though one person can meet one other person outside in a public space, while all non-essential shops and businesses must close, including personal care and indoor entertainment.
Nobody can enter or leave Tier 4 areas and residents must not stay overnight away from home.
Meanwhile, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset including the North Somerset council area, Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and Northamptonshire plus Cheshire and Warrington moved up to Tier 3.
Families turned out for the traditional Christmas Day swimming on the beach on Friday in Brighton. The area moved into Tier 4 today
Mary Orme (right) and her son Michael McKimm embrace their mother and grandmother, Rose McKimm, during a Christmas Day visit at Aspen Hill Village care home in Hunslet, Leeds. The care home was able to host almost 50 visits for family members this Christmas after running successful trials of lateral flow testing for coronavirus
Some families in Birmingham were pictured meeting grandparents in parks to exchange gifts. This family does so while socially distancing on Christmas Day
Swimmers take a Christmas Day dip at Blackroot Pool at Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham on Christmas Day. The area remains in Tier 3
Photographs showed groups meeting to eat their Christmas dinners on Clapham Common in London on Christmas Day as the city is in Tier 4
Four-year-old Archie receives gifts, socially distanced, from his grandparents in Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, on Christmas Day
Many turned out for the traditional Christmas Day swimming on the beach in Brighton before the city moved into Tier 4 restrictions on Boxing Day
Albie, Clive and their father Hudson take a Christmas Day dip in the sea at Saltdean, East Sussex, on Christmas Day. The area moved into Tier 4 on Boxing Day
In the ‘very high’ alert level, no household mixing is allowed indoors or outdoors, except in parks and public gardens.
All hospitality is closed, except for takeaways and deliveries, and accommodation and entertainment venues must shut.
Cornwall and Herefordshire moved up to Tier 2 from December 26, where the main restrictions are no household mixing allowed indoors, but the ‘rule of six’ applies outdoors.
Hospitality venues must close unless serving substantial meals with drinks, while large sport and entertainment events are allowed but with a very limited audience.
The Isles of Scilly, which has a population of just 2,000 people, was the only area of England that remained in Tier 1.
In the lowest alert level, the ‘rule of six’ must apply indoors and outdoors, while there must be table service in hospitality venues, with last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm.