December 31 – British Prime Minister Johnson said on the 30th that 60% of the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK are infected with new variants of the virus.
He appealed to British people not to gather together on New Year’s Eve and to welcome the New Year safely at home.
Johnson said in an interview with the BBC on the 30th that 60% of the confirmed cases in the UK are new and more infectious variants. Asked if the government’s slow response led to the outbreak, Johnson said that the British government could not predict that this was a new variant of the virus.
Johnson said that the mutant virus spread rapidly from its origin, starting from eastern London and Kentshire to spread across the UK.
At the same time, the British government announced that more parts of England will be upgraded to Level 3 and 4 alerts from the 31st. After the alarm was upgraded, almost all of the English regions were classified as level 3 or 4. Johnson held a meeting on the afternoon of the 30th and said that at this critical moment, the people should “double their efforts” to prevent the epidemic, and he expressed confidence that the situation would get better by the Monday after Easter in 2021 (April 5).
Johnson also called on the British people to abide by the epidemic prevention regulations on the evening of the 31st and welcome the New Year safely at home. “This means that you can’t meet your relatives and friends at home, unless you already live together or belong to the same circle of communication, and avoid any large gatherings.”
On the 30th, the number of new confirmed cases in the United Kingdom exceeded 50,000, reaching 5,023, and the number of deaths reached 981, more than twice that of the 29th.
Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer, said that the average infection rate in the UK has doubled in the past two weeks to 380 people/100,000 people.
The number of cases has increased “substantly” across the UK, especially in London, southeastern England and southern Wales.
