UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said that the situation with the new type of COVID-19 is “out of control.” His words are quoted by Sky News .
In his opinion, residents of the country should behave as if they already have a virus. “Especially in the areas of England with the highest levels of restrictions,” he said.
The minister added that while everyone is looking forward to Christmas, the new contagious variant of COVID-19 is spreading too fast, so the government has been forced to act decisively.
Hancock suggested that the intensified measures could last for several months until the introduction of the vaccine begins. The minister also called the crowd of people at train stations “completely irresponsible behavior” due to the fact that Londoners decided to leave the city before the new lockdown took effect.
Earlier, the Public Health Service of England stated that the mutated type of coronavirus was was discovered in the UK in September, but has become widespread since mid-November. An increase in the number of cases of morbidity precisely because of the new variant was first identified at the end of November.
On December 14, UK Health Minister Matthew Hancock announced that a new SARS-CoV-2 strain has been identified in the country, which is spreading faster than the original form. The virus spreads more easily from person to person and is therefore more contagious, he said. Later, experts recalled that the new type of coronavirus is spreading faster than the already known, but it is still impossible to talk about its greater danger. In addition, there is no evidence that the mutation of the virus reacts differently to the vaccine.