BORIS Johnson was last night holed up in emergency meetings after being presented with evidence the new Covid strain ripping through the South East is “frighteningly transmissable.”
The Prime Minister could announce new travel restrictions on London and Kent on Saturday after a chilling warning from medics that is poised to ruin Christmas for millions.
Such action would risk ruining Christmas for millions plunged into deeper lockdown rather than allowed to meet up under the festive bubbles plan.
While it is too late to change the law, Mr Johnson was on Friday night consulting with Cabinet colleagues over whether to change festive advice for begging people not to leave the Capital next week.
And the commuter belt of the South East has been blighted by soaring virus numbers meaning Christmas is on the cusp of being cancelled across the Home Counties.
A government source told HOAR: “what we do not know yet is whether the new strain is more or less likely to cause you harm, but what we have learnt is that it will pass to person to person much more easily and that is what we are really worried about.”
Mr Johnson could announce the new advice on travel at a press conference on Saturday according to Whitehall sources.
A source said on Friday night said: “This is a live and fluid situation but it’s not looking good and we have to act fast.”
One source even claimed the evidence showed that the new strain was 50 per cent more contagious than previous Covid-19 cases.
The PM called the unscheduled meeting about the variant – which has so far largely been confirmed in London and the South East.
Large swathes of the South East were put in Tier 3 this week after the Government’s review.
Scientists have found this new strain of Covid-19 spreads faster than the original strain of the virus.
It come as Boris Johnson today refused to rule out a third national lockdown after Christmas – and warned that the Covid infection rate was growing.
The PM said he “hoped” that England would not have to shut down once again – after Northern Ireland joined Wales in saying it would shut down from Boxing Day onwards.
Britain’s R rate has risen this week as cases of the coronavirus continue to increase across the country.
The current R value – the number of people an infected person will pass Covid on to – is now estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2.
This is up from last week from week when Sage experts estimated that the rate was between 0.9 and 1.
The R rate must be kept below 1 to cause the outbreak to shrink. Above 1, and cases will continue to rise.
The coronavirus’ natural R rate is around 3. But it can be squashed by cutting back on social contact.
