MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2020) The authorities of Scotland and Wales announced on Saturday toughening the coronavirus-related restrictions for the Christmas period as Tier 4 restrictions were already announced for parts of England earlier in the day.
Beginning from Sunday and until December 30, London, along with England's east and southeast, will go under the strictest bundle of COVID-19 restrictions, equivalent to a full lockdown, as announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday, despite earlier pledges not to lock down on Christmas. The unexpected restrictions came in response to the discovery of a new, mutated coronavirus strain that transmits faster and accounts for over half of all recently confirmed cases.
"I know this is tough. But this new virus strain is spreading much faster, and so we must act quickly to stop it taking hold. That means even tighter restrictions through January to prevent the serious situation currently faced by places like London & save lives," First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.
According to the official, as quoted in a statement on the Scottish government's website, Scotland will also go under Level 4 restrictions beginning from December 26 and for the next three weeks, except for the regions of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, as well as other island communities where restrictions were set at Tier 3 in recent weeks.
"The planned easing of restrictions around Christmas will be limited to Christmas Day itself, and not the previous 5 day window that was planned," the statement read.
Announcing the restrictions for Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford described the situation as "incredibly serious."
"We have therefore reached the difficult decision to bring forward the alert level four restrictions for Wales, in line with the action being taken in London and the South East of England. These new restrictions will come into effect from midnight tonight instead of during the Christmas period," Drakeford said in a statement, published on the Welsh government's website.
Two households will still be able to come together and form a so-called Christmas bubble, albeit not for five days, as previously ordered, but only for the single Christmas Day alone, according to the statement.
Level 4 restrictions are the strictest in the United Kingdom's four-tier scale. They include a closure of all retail businesses, except for grocery stores and essential services. Gyms, beauty industry businesses, entertainment services and cultural sites will all be closed as well.
Unless for essential reasons or legal obligations, people will be required to state at home and work from home, where applicable. travel to and from affected areas will also be banned.
