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Boris Johnson is expected to announce a tier 4 of tougher restrictions for London and the southeast with a legal requirement to stay at home amid an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus, reports suggest.
Christmas bubbles are set to be allowed in tiers 1 to 3 on Christmas Day, but people are advised to stay local and avoid international travel.
The prime minister held crisis talks after government scientists confirmed a new variant of coronavirus was spreading more rapidly in England than the original strain.
Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said the UK had alerted the World Health Organisation.
There is no evidence to suggest the new strain is more deadly or that it affects vaccines and treatments, he added.
Restrictions on socialising were to be eased from 23 to 27 December to allow people to travel and celebrate Christmas with family and friends and up to three households could meet in a “Christmas bubble”.
But the plans to relax the rules were expected to be tightened, according to the BBC.
Mr Johnson is expected to announce any changes at a press conference, alongside Prof Whitty and chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance, at 4pm on Saturday.
London now has the highest case rates in England, and this week moved under the highest level of coronavirus restrictions in the country’s three-tier alert system.
Most of southern England joined the capital in an expansion of tier 3 rules on Saturday, meaning some 38 million people — or 68 per cent of England’s population — are living under the toughest rules.
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