Have your say: Would you agree with another national lockdown from Boxing Day?
Andy Wells
·Freelance Writer
December 23, 2020, 2:43 a.m. ·2 min read
With the new strain of coronavirus reported to have spread across the UK, ministers are said to be considering a third national lockdown from Boxing Day.
Genomic researchers have found the new variant, which is said to be 70% more infectious than previous strains, in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Cabinet are understood to have previously discussed plunging the whole country into the highest Tier 4 restrictions when it met on Saturday.
However, a source told The Mirror that the decision may yet be taken to go for a full lockdown rather than the regional tier system currently in place.
The source told the paper: "The situation is developing quickly so we need to respond at the same pace."
Commenting on the reports, housing and communities secretary Robert Jenrick said there is no "immediate plan" to widen coronavirus restrictions on Boxing Day.
The Tier 4 COVID lockdown rules explained
But Jenrick told BBC Breakfast that the government would be meeting today to review the situation and "make a judgement".
He said: "We don't have an immediate plan to take action, but the number of cases is rising and the [new coronavirus] variant is spreading to other parts of the country, so we will see whether it's necessary to do more and make sure that the tiered system is sufficiently robust for the new circumstances.
"Because remember, the tiered system was designed before we knew the full ferocity of the new variant, and so we do have to make sure it's sufficiently robust to be able to withstand this and to stop cases just rising at the very worrying levels they are now in parts of the country."
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has written to Boris Johnson to say his party would back any government moves to tighten restrictions if that is what scientists recommend.
Read more: England set for new year lockdown as coronavirus variant spreads across UK
Watch: How England's coronavirus restrictions work
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THULASENDRAPURAM, India — People in a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies flocked to a Hindu temple, burst crackers and uttered prayers Wednesday hours before its descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office to become the U.S. vice-president. Groups of women in bright saris and men wearing white dhotis thronged the temple with sweets and flowers, offering special prayers for Harris' success. "We are feeling very proud that an Indian is being elected as the vice-president of America," said Anukampa Madhavasimhan, a teacher. The ceremony in Thulasendrapuram, where Harris' maternal grandfather was born about 350 kilometres (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, saw the idol of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva, washed with milk and decked with flowers by the priest. Shortly after, the village reverberated with a boom of firecrackers as people held up posters of Harris and clapped their hands. Harris is set to make history as the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency. What makes her achievement special in this village is her Indian heritage. Harris' grandfather was born in Thulasendrapuram more than 100 years ago. Many decades later, he moved to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. Harris' late mother was also born in India, before moving to the U.S. to study at the University of California. She married a Jamaican man, and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for "lotus flower." In several speeches, Harris has often spoken about her roots and how she was guided by the values of her Indian-born grandfather and mother. So when Joe Biden and Harris triumphed in the U.S. election last November, Thulasendrapuram became the centre of attention in entire India. Local politicians flocked to the village and young children carrying placards with photos of Harris ran along the dusty roads. Then and now, villagers set off firecrackers and distributed sweets and flowers as a religious offering. Posters and banners of Harris from November still adorn walls in the village and many hope she ascends to the presidency in 2024. Biden has skirted questions about whether he will seek reelection or retire. "For the next four years, if she supports India, she will be the president," said G Manikandan, who has followed Harris politically and whose shop proudly displays a wall calendar with pictures of Biden and Harris. On Tuesday, an organization that promotes vegetarianism sent food packets for the village children as gifts to celebrate Harris' success. In the capital New Delhi, there has been both excitement — and some concern — over Harris' ascend to the vice presidency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invested in President Donald Trump, who visited India in February last year. Modi's many Hindu nationalist supporters also were upset with Harris when she expressed concern about Kashmir, the disputed Muslim-majority region whose statehood India's government revoked last year. Rishi Lekhi And Aijaz Rahi, The Associated Press
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