New coronavirus strain steals English Christmas

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government’s plans to ease coronavirus restrictions over Christmas would have to be dropped because of a rise in cases fuelled by a new variant of Covid-19.

“Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, the potential risk it poses, it is with a very heavy heart I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at a press conference, just days after he said it would be “frankly inhuman” to cancel the holidays. “I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me,” he added.

A stringent tier-4 lockdown has been imposed in the worst-affected parts of the country, with restrictions on household mixing in London and the southeast, while in other parts of the country socialising will be allowed only on Christmas day.