Britons who still have Christmas shopping to do today lashed out at strong indications that Boris Johnson could force non-essential retailers in London and large parts of the South-East to close as part of new ‘Tier 4’ measures.
The PM has summoned an emergency press conference this afternoon after holding crisis talks with Cabinet – with signs that swathes of the home counties, including London, will be shifted up to the new level of restrictions.
That bracket will potentially include closing non-essential shops and travel restrictions including a ‘stay at home’ order for Christmas Day itself, even though Mr Johnson insisted just days ago that five-day festive ‘bubbles’ would go ahead.
The move would scupper the plans of millions who are still yet to do their Christmas shopping and who had planned to head to their local high streets.
Britons took to social media to air their frustration, with one writing: ‘Wtf is tier 4 I need to do Christmas shopping’.
Britons who still have Christmas shopping to do today lashed out at strong indications that Boris Johnson could force non-essential retailers in London and large parts of the South-East to close as part of new ‘Tier 4’ measures. Pictured: London’s Oxford Street on Saturday
Another wrote: ‘So what is tier 4 now? Are all non essential things closing? Like stuff everyone who hasn’t finished Christmas shopping?’
A third said: ‘Dunno what Tier 4 is and if it’s legit but that has incentivised me to do all my in-store Christmas shopping today.’
One worried woman added: ‘Let me get ready to go and do the rest of my Christmas shopping cos I dunno what this tier 4 talk is about.’
A fifth angry shopper wrote: ‘Boris had better not close the shops… I need to go my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve!’
The extraordinary U-turn would also cause fury among families that have already made plans, booked travel and bought food for reunions.
It follows talks between ministers on how to contain the mutant strain, which is so far thought to have been confined largely to the South East.
The PM also spoke to the cabinet on a phone call shortly after 1pm, while Michael Gove has held talks with the devolved administrations.
Speculation had already been mounting that England will have to follow Wales and Northern Ireland in announcing a draconian crackdown for after Christmas.
The Welsh government broke ranks with the rest of the UK by scaling back Christmas bubbles, in effect from December 23 to 27, from three to two households. It is thought bubbles will still be permitted in Tiers 1-3 in England.
Britons took to social media to air their frustration, with one writing: ‘Wtf is tier 4 I need to do Christmas shopping’
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty this afternoon confirmed that the new variant is more contagious.
He said: ‘As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance.
‘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.
‘We have alerted the World Health Organisation and are continuing to analyse the available data to improve our understanding.
‘There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments although urgent work is underway to confirm this.
‘Given this latest development it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.’
His warning follows experiments from Wiltshire’s Porton Down laboratory which found that the new variant is 50 per cent more contagious than any strain detected before.
Unaware of the bad news to come, countless Britons still flocked to the country’s high streets and supermarkets today as they stocked up on Christmas essentials and bought presents.
The PM has summoned an emergency press conference this afternoon after holding crisis talks with Cabinet – with signs that swathes of the home counties, including London, will be shifted up to the new level of restrictions
Experts predict the UK’s tills will ring with a staggering £2.5million-a-minute spent before December 22 as shoppers stack up on last-minute gifts.
A source told the Daily Telegraph that Downing Street could restrict travel to and from the South East, with other proposed measures banning commuters from travelling into London.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been pushing for tighter restrictions all week, but senior government sources insist there are no current plans for a third national lockdown or a fourth tier – though proposals are understood to have been drawn up.
It is understood the Prime Minister was last night provided with ‘alarming’ new evidence on the harmfulness of the mutant strain, but one expert said today it could be weeks before it is known just how damaging it could be.
Professor Sir Mark Walport – a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – said last night there was a real possibility that it could have a ‘transmission advantage’.
xperts predict the UK’s tills will ring with a staggering £2.5million-a-minute spent before December 22 as shoppers stack up on last-minute gifts
‘What happens with viruses is they do naturally mutate all the time and the ones that are likely to do well are the ones that increase transmission,’ he told BBC2’s Newsnight.
‘We know that this is a new variant, it has been seen in other countries but it seems to be quite widespread which suggests that it has got a transmission advantage.
‘Scientists are working extremely hard to work out what is going on. But it does definitely seem possible that this transmits more easily.
‘It will make the social-distancing even more critical.’
It comes after data used to justify putting 38 million people into Tier 3 were published yesterday, with the UK’s R number rising above one again.
A series of charts were released by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), the secretive Whitehall organisation tasked with allocating the whack-a-mole-style lockdowns, after swathes of the South East were plunged into the strictest bracket as part of the first shake-up of the system since the national shutdown ended.
They highlight the North-South divide that has emerged since the country came out of lockdown on December 2, with London and the home counties now bearing the brunt of the winter wave and the epidemic fizzling out in Tier 3 northern areas.
A sea of green – representing shrinking outbreaks – has emerged in the former hotspot regions of the North East and Yorkshire since the national intervention was lifted, with infections now concentrated in and around London and its commuter belt.