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National lockdowns imposed in England and Scotland
With immediate effect, Johnson ordered people to remain in their homes and only go out for food shopping, essential work and exercise. All schools and colleges will be closed.
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he holds a remote press conference to update the nation on the post-Brexit trade agreement, inside 10 Downing Street in central London on December 24, 2020. Britain said on Thursday, December 24, 2020 an agreement had been secured on the country's future relationship with the European Union, after last-gasp talks just days before a cliff-edge deadline. (Agence France Presse/Paul Grover)
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ritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday England will go into a national lockdown following a surge in cases brought on by a new variant of the coronavirus, while Scotland separately announced a stay-at-home order and closed schools through January.
With immediate effect, Johnson ordered people to remain in their homes and only go out for food shopping, essential work and exercise. All schools and colleges will be closed.
In a televised address, the prime minister said he hoped the lockdown could be eased in the second half of February when it is hoped all those in care homes, people over 70 years of age and front-line health workers will have been vaccinated.
He said the new variant was spreading at an "alarming" speed with nearly 27,000 hospitalizations in England, 40 percent higher than the first peak in April last year.
On Dec. 29, more than 80,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the United Kingdom, a new record, while the number of deaths is up by 20 percent over the last week, according to the prime minister.
Wales and Northern Ireland, already under various restrictions, are likely to adopt similar measures, Johnson added.
Britain is the first country to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and on Monday a man in Oxford became the first person in the world to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials.
As of Monday, the number of people in the United Kingdom who died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 75,431.
