PM plunges England back into March-style lock-down: Schools are shut as public are told again to Stay Home, Save Lives and Protect the NHS until at least the end of February - IF vaccine roll-out to 13.2million people succeeds

• Boris Johnson announces a dramatic new national lockdown for England as mutant Kovid strain spreads
• All primary and secondary schools are closed for everyone today, but the children of weak and prominent workers are
• Along with non-essential retail hospitality will be closed throughout the country until they can serve takeaways
• The sale of alcohol will not be allowed in a bid to stop people living in the streets with drinks
• The GCSE and A-Level exams have been largely canceled, with final replacement plans due later this week.
• People will only be allowed to leave the house for five specific reasons as in the previous lockdown in March.

Boris Johnson attacked in some ways even more brutally in the national lockdown in England last night in March, in a desperate bid to keep mutant coronoviruses at bay while vaccines are rolled out.

Exactly a day after parents urged to send their children back, the PM announced in an address to No10 that primary and secondary schools would be closed from at least February half-term from today, with only key activists weak And children will be allowed to go.

University students are being asked to stay at home and study from afar, while the examination will not proceed as planned. Nurseries may remain open.

Under the new guidance, all overnight hospitality, non-essential retail, all hospitality, gyms and swimming pools will be ordered to be closed nationwide.

Cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve takeaways - but in tightening with Draconian measures last spring, they will not be allowed to serve any alcohol. Where possible, vulnerable people are being told to shield. Communal worship may continue with social discrimination.

The public will once again be allowed to leave home for one of only six reasons: to go to work if necessary, shop for essentials, exercise - allowed with a person from another household, Take care of someone, or seek medical help or flee the risk of domestic violence.

Those who break the rules face £ 200 for the first offense, which doubles for the offense up to a maximum of £ 6,400.

The extraordinary third national squeeze will come into force in the early hours of Wednesday after it comes into force today, but Mr. Johnson urged the public to adopt the new rules. The MPs will get a vote on Wednesday when the parliament is called back, although they are unlikely to be defeated.

With his hands clasped together and seated behind a desk in Downing Street, Mr Johnson clarified that there was no possibility of him being picked up for at least seven weeks - and possibly if the vaccine rollout did not go well.

'There is more pressure on our hospitals than at any time since the epidemic began. It is clear that we need to do more .. while our vaccines are rolled out, 'he said.

He said that exams would not be 'possible or fair' to proceed normally this summer.

"The coming week is going to be the toughest but I really believe that we are reaching the end of the conflict," he said, adding that by mid-February he would have his first jabs in the top four categories on the vaccine distribution list.

The top four groups on the immunization list have 13.2 million people - domestic residents with care and over 80, borderline health workers, over 70 and clinically vulnerable.

But the Prime Minister admitted that he could only assure that the situation would improve, assuming that 'our understanding of the virus does not change again'.

He said: 'By mid-February, if things go well and with a fair air in our sails, we expect everyone to have the first vaccine in the four top priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization Doses will be offered.

'This means the vaccination of all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, all people over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers and everyone who is medically extremely vulnerable. To do.

'If we are successful in getting all those groups vaccinated, then we have removed a large number of people from the path of the virus.

'And of course, it will eventually enable us to lift many of the restrictions that we have endured for so long.

'I must emphasize that even if we achieve this goal, there is still two to three weeks left to get a job to get immunity.

'And there will be another time interval before the pressure on the NHS increases. So we should be cautious about the timetable.

'But if our understanding of the virus does not change dramatically once again ...

'If the rollout of the vaccine program was successful ...

'If the vaccine starts as soon as the deaths start happening ...

'And, critically, if everyone plays their role by following the rules ...

'Then I hope we can re-lockdown schools after half-time of February, reopen schools and start cautiously to move areas below the tier.

Mr Johnson said he was left with no choice after being confronted with horrifying statistics about the burden on the NHS by science majors.

Hospital patients with coronaviruses had a 40 percent increase in one week, and are now higher at the peak of the first wave.

The scale of the problem was underscored as the latest serious daily tally was released, with 58,784 new cases - a 42 percent increase on last Monday.

This means that the UK has passed the milestone of 50,000 infections every day for a week, suggesting that easing restrictions on Christmas helped mitigate the outbreak.

Health department heads also recorded 407 more deaths, which is just 14 percent on the figure recorded last week. But it can take several weeks for infected patients to become seriously ill and succumb to the disease, meaning fatalities have yet reached their peak and will continue to grow. The UK recorded nearly 1,000 deaths twice last week, which has not been seen since the darkest days of spring.

Nicola Sturgeon announced drastic action in Scotland's parliament on Monday afternoon, with the house order from midnight to remain legally enforced and schools north of the border set to remain closed until February.

Even Skill Isle did not survive, with a ban on transferring from Tier 1 to complete lockdown.

No10 sources insist that the government wants to return to the vaccination system if the virus is reduced.

Labor leader Keir Starr said the rift was 'necessary' and that his MPs would support him in the Commons, effectively guaranteeing his approval.

Senior Tory MPs joined the opposition to initiate the second national lockout. But the idea of ​​toughening sanctions is likely to spark fury among other conservatives, who emphasize the country's experience of the epidemic that lockdowns do not work and are crippling the economy.

• Matt Hancock said he is 'incredibly concerned' about a new South African version of coronovirus that experts fear may not catch the current crop of vaccines;
• Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old retired maintenance manager from Oxford, has become the first person to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine outside the trial;
• Teaching unions began a solid bid to close all classrooms, despite being open on Boris Johnson's plea, allowing millions of parents to begin homeschooling their children for at least a fortnight and often only a few With hours notice;
• The latest figures showed a 33 percent increase in the number of confirmed coronovirus patients in hospital in England between Christmas Day and 2 January.

In an address by Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: 'There is more pressure on our police than at any time since the epidemic began. It is clear that we need to do more .. while our vaccines are rolled out. '

The prime minister said in his speech to the nation that this was enough to counter Kovid earlier than it was originally because the new version - which is 50 percent to 70 percent more transferable - spread to a 'disappointment' having had. And dangerously.

He said, "As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under pressure from Kovid, any time since the onset of the epidemic."

Mr Johnson said the number of Kovid patients in hospitals in England had risen by almost a third in the past week to around 27,000 - a 40 per cent increase from the first peak in April.

On 29 December 'more than 80,000 people tested positive for Kovid across the UK', a 20 per cent increase in the number of deaths compared to the previous week 'and sadly it will grow even further'.

He said that in most parts of the country, or perhaps under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to put more effort into getting this new version under control while our vaccines are rolled out.

'So in England we should go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to include this version.'

Mr Johnson said parents could reasonably ask why the decisions of the schools were not taken 'early'.

"The answer is simply that we are doing everything in our power to keep schools open because we know how important each day in education is to the lives of children," he said.

'And I want to emphasize that the problem is not that schools are unsafe for children. Children are still not likely to be badly affected by the new version of Kovid.

'The problem is that schools can still act as vectors for transmission, allowing the virus to spread to homes.'

Mr Johnson said the move to schools meant 'it is not normal for all exams to go beyond this summer'.

He said that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson would work with the regulator for 'alternative arrangements'.

The PM said: 'We will provide additional support to ensure that students entitled to free school meals continue to receive them during school closures, and we will distribute more devices to support distance education.'

The premier suggested that England could pull out of the lockdown from mid-February - but it overwhelmingly voiced its optimism, hinting that the crisis could drag on for too long.

'If our understanding of the virus does not change dramatically, if once again, if the rollout of the vaccine program is successful, if the vaccine starts causing deaths, and - critically - if everyone plays their part. Rules, so I hope we can re-lockdown schools after half-time of February, reopen schools and start cautiously to move areas below the tier, 'Mr Johnson said.

He left his address, repeating the mantra from the first lockdown, 'Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives'.

"I want to say to everyone across the UK that I know how tough it is," he said.

'And I know how disappointed you are and I know that you have more than the government's guidance on how to defeat this virus.

'But now, more than ever, we must pull together.'

He warned that 'the weeks ahead will be the toughest yet' but 'with every jab going into our arms, we are leaning against Kovid against the odds and in favor of the British people'.

'Thanks to the miracle of science is not only the end in sight, but we really know how we will get there.'

Businesses voiced in the new clampdown that threaten to wreak havoc on the economy.

The Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Adam Marshall, said: 'Businesses will understand why the Prime Minister has felt compelled to act on the spiraling threat to public health, but will be astonished and disappointed at the fact that he has supported the affected Not announced trade with these new restrictions. '

The British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClurkin said: 'A third lockdown is another setback for our region. This was especially followed by an extremely quiet Christmas and New Year, which saw many pubs closing in on what was their busiest time of the year.

'The announcement today calls for the pub's crisis as it shows that they are a long way from properly reopening. The road to recovery for the pub sector is now long. '

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the government should have gone further by expanding the rules on wearing face masks to cover busy outlying areas and tightening control of borders.

"The government's declaration of complete national lockout was inevitable," Khan said.

'It is unclear why it took Boris Johnson so long to reach this conclusion.'

Shadow's Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy tweeted: 'It is beyond chaos. How can tomorrow go online when teachers were asked to spend the last two weeks planning to reopen?

'What will change the exam? And since PM was told by SAGE that it would definitely be necessary on 22 December, why are they so unprepared? '

Mr Johnson confirmed this morning that 'hard' measures were being taken despite optimism previously being administered by a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine - though at the time he indicated that he would prefer to remain with the Tier system in England .

The SAGE cautioned that it is probably impossible to control the new coronovirus variant while remaining open - although experts say a total shutdown may still not be enough to bring an 'R' fertility rate below one.

Michael Gov held a coordination meeting with the first ministers of four countries in which strategies were coordinated. But in a sign of splits, Wells has said it will proceed with the reopening of schools in the next fortnight until there is new evidence about variant strains.

Earlier, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt called for Labor and Tory MPs to immediately close schools and borders and ban all home mixes.

Mr Hunt warned that the mutant Kovid has put the NHS under pressure to 'scale off' compared to the normal winter and the government cannot wait even a day.

Mr Hunt posted on Twitter: 'It is always the same in the NHS for those arguing: you are wrong. I faced four severe winter crises as Health Sick and now the situation is somehow worse. '

Mr Hunt said that Hunt's number 1 lesson from the epidemic is 'that countries can save more lives and regain their economies at a normal pace' if they act quickly and decisively.

Mr. Hunt said, "So we can't wait: all schools should be closed, international travel discontinued, domestic admixture is limited and tier systems reviewed so that the highest levels of infection are actually Reduce the level. "

'The good news is that before these restrictions will be limited to 12 weeks or vice versa, it will take the vaccine out of the Kovid's weakest - so there is light at the end of the tunnel.'

Mr. Hunt was among a growing band of Conservative lawmakers, including former No. 10 consultant Neil O. Bryan, who urges emergency steps to deal with the coronovirus surge.

Labor is also stressing the squeeze, with Sadiq Khan saying that Mr. Hunt was 'on the spot'.

Earlier Matt Hancock suggested that the first step would be to move into even more Tier 4 in the country, adding that Tier 3 was not able to withdraw the more contagious version of the deadly disease.

He stressed that the problem was partly for people failing to follow the rules, with some MPs having more powers to police.

But there were questions about whether further expansion of Tier 4 coverage could already subject three-quarters of England to the most stringent bracket, where only essential shops such as supermarkets were allowed to open and people were allowed to stay Have taken home.

Medical Director of Public Health England (PHE) Drs. Yvonne Doyle said the latest daily figures were a 'bitter warning' about the danger.

'The constant increase in cases and deaths should be a bitter warning to all of us. We should not forget the basics - the life of our friends and family depends on it. '

Speaking yesterday morning during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in North London, Mr Johnson gave a 'tough tough' warning for the coming weeks.

He said: 'If you look at the numbers then there is no question, for this we have to take tough steps and we will announce for this reason.'

Mr Johnson tried to strike a positive note, promising that the number of vaccinations would 'ramp up rampant'.

He said: 'A massive ramp up operation is now underway.

'The rate limiting factor is no longer supplying vaccines, although we want them to move faster, it is testing them properly and delivering them to the NHS.

'It is not the capacity to deliver the vaccine, it is not the shortage of staff.

'It is being tested properly. Which will come on the ramp in the coming weeks. '

When asked in a round of interviews about the possibility of a national lockout, Mr Hancock said: 'We do not rule on anything, and we have shown time and again that we will see public health advice and we will see public health In the context of what is necessary to control the spread of the disease. '

Pressed on whether the changes could be announced within the next 24 hours, he replied: 'We have shown that we are ready to move incredibly quickly ... We look at the data on a daily basis.'

Mr. Hancock said that 'the old tier system is no longer as strong' as the new variant is 'easier to catch, more transmissible, and we are now seeing its impact in many parts of the country'.

On Sky News challenging whether Tier 4 sanctions work, Mr Hancock said: 'This is, obviously, for people's behavior. What matters is, yes, definitely, the rules we enforce, but also how people act.

'And frankly what I would say is this: It is important that everyone in the country does all that can reduce the spread of the virus.'

In a clear message about the length of the UK's face, Mr Hancock said the problem was' how do we collectively keep this under control for the next few months as a society ... until vaccines give us Cannot secure '.

The government's 'Kovid-O' committee, which decides on lockdown restrictions, is thought to meet today to decide on next steps.

Ms Sturgeon announced this afternoon that Scotland would be transformed into a national coronavirus lockdown from midnight.

The SNP leader said the renewed, in late January, will include rules on a legally enforceable house.

Exercise and necessary travel will be the only reason people will be allowed to leave their homes.

Plans are being planned to reopen the schools on 18 January, to be brought back on 1 February at the earliest, while workers are being instructed to work from home wherever possible.

Rules will be tightened at outside gatherings to allow a maximum of two people from two families to meet.

Meanwhile, places of worship will be closed from this Friday but will still be allowed to go ahead for weddings and funerals.

A maximum of 20 people will be allowed to attend funeral services and a maximum of five people will be allowed to attend weddings.

Ms Sturgeon said that new 'toughening' is necessary due to the 'increasing rising' rate of infection north of the border as she warned that the lockdown could be extended beyond January if necessary.

The measures effectively meant the withdrawal of sanctions seen during the first UK-wide lockdown at the end of March last year.

All mainland Scotland has already been placed at the highest level of the Kovid-19 rules, but the number of cases has prompted Ms Sturgeon to take more drastic action after announcing 2,464 new cases.

Mr Johnson said yesterday that he was also considering further closure of schools.

But Mr Hancock said this morning that people should keep following the rules - meaning most primaries will return this week.

He told Times Radio that people understood why the government was changing its position.

He said: 'A major challenge in the midst of the epidemic is that the data changes, and therefore public health advice changes correctly, and we must change our position.

'One of the interesting things as Health Secretary I've seen last year is that people, right?

'People find out that the virus runs - we've seen this new version build a lot, much harder because it's so simple and then we have to update our status based on updated public health advice.

'In schools, our approach is that we should follow public health advice.'

The statement signed by GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, Unison and Unite stated: 'The chaotic operation of the opening of schools by the government has led to confusion for teachers, school staff and parents.

'Bringing all students back to classrooms while the rate of infection is so high that workers in the education sector are facing a serious risk of malaise and may lead to an epidemic.

'Unions have called for a reopening of schools for anyone other than vulnerable children and children of key workers, and a move to distance education for all while reviewing the Kovid-safe working system . Kovid-19 vaccination should be given priority to all school staff working in schools.

Instead of claiming that the schools are safe, the Prime Minister should sit down with the unions to discuss a joint approach to ensure the system of safe functioning in all schools and for all students to achieve a higher standard for equipment and access Enabling for should prioritize. Distance learning until the safety of him and his school staff can be guaranteed. '

SAGE member John Edmonds said tonight that Britain was on track to record more than 100,000 deaths.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine scientist told BBC Radio 4's PM's program: 'We are in a really difficult situation.

'The new strain is much more permeable than the old strains. So we have to take significant additional measures to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by Kovid patients.

'Unfortunately we have to take some extra measures, I can see no other way than this.

'The biggest lever that is only partially pulled is the school closed. This will have the biggest impact of one solution and I can see it happening. '

He later said: 'What we have to do now, and this I know is terrible, but we have to take a lot of tough steps and as soon as we will now.'

Prof Edmunds rejected suggestions that lack of public compliance with sanctions is a major issue, adding: 'I don't think it's a major issue, I think people are very obedient.'

As pressure on the PM increased, Birmingham City Council's Labor Leader called for a new 'lockdown' amid rising rates.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, Clar Ian Ward said the city's seven-day rate had increased by 36 per cent last week.

He said: 'The NHS pressure in the city is low. University Hospital Birmingham has 98 percent intensive care beds and Sandwell and City (Trusts of Hospitals) have 100 percent intensive care beds.

"We need to take decisive action right now and the government needs to act quickly and get ahead of the curve for once."

On a more optimistic front, Britain has today begun putting out the Oxford's game-changing Kovid vaccine, which has been called a 'decisive moment' in the fight against the epidemic, with the 82-year-old dialysis patient becoming the first person to receive the job. Do it

Brian Pinker, a retired maintenance manager who describes himself as born and bred in Oxford, said he was 'very pleased' to receive the vaccine and 'really proud' that it had developed in his city Was.

Mr Pinner, now eager to celebrate his 48th wedding anniversary next month with wife Shirley, received a coronavirus virus vaccine at Churchill Hospital in Oxford at 7.30 am.

In the biggest vaccination campaign in British history, one and a half million doses of Oxford University / AstraZeneca jab will be made available to vulnerable people this week, with the promised 'tens of millions' by April.

AstraZeneca chiefs previously suggested that up to $ 2 million a week could be ready by mid-January, and officials promised to deliver the jabs to them as soon as possible.

But that ambitious target could be overcome more than expected, with the fear that Britain would not get enough supplies until February. Matt Hancock revealed today that the country's manufacturing capacity is 'a large medium-term project'.

And he said that the 'bureaucracy' involved in signing up to volunteer vaccinations is being curtailed, after it was revealed last week that thousands of retired medics who are trying to help get the dishes out have been red Was fastened to tape

 Mr Hancock stressed that the manufacturing process would be the deciding factor in how vaccines can be deployed faster than NHS operations.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'If the NHS needs to go fast, it will move fast. If two million doses are given a week, the NHS will deliver at that pace.

'This is an important question, but this supply is not there yet, and we are working closely with the manufacturers.'

Sir Keir Starr had called for an immediate nationwide lockout as he warned that 'the virus is clearly out of control'. The Labor leader said: 'Come on, the Prime Minister did not say,' I am going to do this, but not yet. '

'This is the problem he has done many times. Nationwide Lockout - The Prime Minister has indicated that this is going to happen, but he is delayed again; And we can't afford it again. '

Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One, Mr Johnson said that he 'perfectly harmonized to do what takes the virus down' and warned of 'going through a difficult period'.

He said that more people would get a way out of the vaccination restrictions and he hoped to get 'tens of millions' vaccinated in the next three months.

The Prime Minister stuck to his prediction that the situation would be better by spring, but said: 'It may be that we need to do things that will be difficult in many parts of the country in the next few weeks.

'I completely match that to the whole - and I'm sure that is harmonized with the people of this country because until the vaccine actually comes in a massive stream, we can keep this virus from the same Fighting over a set of tools. '

Mr Johnson said the government's assessment of whether Tier Four sanctions were strict enough to control the spread of the virus or if further steps were needed, adding: 'We've got things to keep under constant review. '

Asked whether people could be restricted to one hour of exercise a day or a complete ban on mixing in any household, he replied: 'There are obviously many difficult measures on which we should Will have to consider. I am no longer going to guess what they will be.

'Obviously, the closure of the school - which we had to do in March - is one of those things. This is not something we necessarily want to do. '

Government sources confirmed that the minister was looking at even more areas in England's Tier Four - although curfew is not currently considered imminent.

But former Tory minister Sir Desmond Sven was among those who condemned the idea of ​​tightening. 'What else do they want to torment us? What are they going to stop us from doing now? 'He told the Telegraph.

'Necessary shops and takeaways shut down? The whole thing is insanity - it is going beyond ridiculous. '