European governments are expanding lockouts and other measures to contain rising Covid-19 infections, with the UK making up a large and growing proportion of new cases, even as it is developing the new vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC has been developed.
The UK recorded nearly 55,000 new cases on Sunday, despite a drop in test levels immediately after the New Year holidays. Fears are mounting that infections will increase further in the coming days as authorities warn that stricter closure measures may be needed to slow down the spread of the virus, which is partly driven by a new, more easily transmitted variant first introduced in the south-east. of England.
Scotland’s leader, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, on Monday announced a new, stricter closure that will take effect from midnight, backed by a legal requirement that people stay home, except for material reasons. Schools will remain closed to the majority of students until February. The Scottish Government had earlier advised that many students would not return to school until at least 18 January.
In England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said more measures would be needed to slow the spread of the virus there, but said on Monday he intended to keep primary schools open for as long as possible.
More than 75,000 people have now died from Covid-19 in the UK, which has killed governments in Europe, where many countries have blocked travel from the UK in recent days.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn told German television last weekend that authorities are likely to agree to extend restrictions to delay infections when local leaders meet on Tuesday. Norway on Sunday introduced new measures, including a ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and pubs and curbs on domestic mixing.
France on Sunday reported more than 12,000 new infections, well above the government’s target of keeping new case numbers below 5,000. Greece tightened restrictions and closed its hair salons and other businesses starting Sunday for a week.
With the growing infections, the UK and other countries are now trying to speed up the implementation of their vaccination programs. Britain on Monday began vaccinating people with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is seen by some scientists as a more practical alternative to the Pfizer vaccine, which began distributing last month because it does not need to be stored or transported at super-cool temperatures. does not become.