Coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson announces new tier 4 and tightens Christmas rules; Scotland announces travel ban with rest of UK | World news

In a joint statement, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s Covid Recovery Group, have urged people to be “exceptionally careful” and said clergy and others who are shielding should feel “no compulsion” to attend public worship.

The statement said:

The news of fresh restrictions in many areas will be a bitter blow. For many people, it will mean spending Christmas Day alone.

We know that public worship – both in person and through remote means – has brought comfort, hope and inspiration to so many.

So we are grateful that, even in tier 4, church buildings can be open this Christmas. But I urge everyone to take precautions and, especially for those in tier 4, to be exceptionally careful.

Even though attending public worship is permitted, many people may feel it is currently better they do not do so. Clergy and others who are shielding should certainly feel no compulsion.

What does tier 4 mean?

Under tier 4 restrictions, non-essential shops, hairdressers and leisure and entertainment venues will close, with a new “stay at home” message introduced.

People who need to travel for education or childcare will be exempt and exercise will be unlimited. Where people cannot work from home, they are still able to travel to work.

Under the measures, households will not be allowed to mix, but one person will be allowed to meet with one other person outside in a public space. Support bubbles and those meeting for childcare will be exempt.

Those who are deemed clinically extremely vulnerable should not go to work and should limit time outside of their homes.

Tier 4 residents must not stay overnight away from home and cannot travel abroad. People in all tiers are advised to stay local, and “think carefully” about whether they need to travel abroad.

Read more about the tiers in this explainer by my colleague Molly Blackall, here:

Here’s more from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, who said he was “really frustrated” following the announcement that Christmas would be cancelled for many families across the UK.

The infection rates are going up very, very fast and so something has to be done, and we support the steps the government has put in place but millions of families are going to be heartbroken by this news – having their Christmas plans ripped up.

I’m really frustrated because I raised this with the prime minister on Wednesday and he dismissed that and went on to tell people to have a merry little Christmas – only three days later to rip up their plans.

I think the British public is entitled to more decisive leadership than that.

The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has lambasted Boris Johnson’s government for making last-minute changes to coronavirus restrictions around Christmas, adding that stricter rules should have been in place earlier.

New tier 4 restrictions were announced across England, Wales and Scotland on Saturday amid a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about a new strain of coronavirus.

Here is a recap of the main developments from the last few hours from the UK:

• From midnight tonight, London, the south-east and the east of England will enter tier 4 – the toughest level of restrictions, similar to the last national lockdown in November. The changes affect areas including, Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and all 32 London boroughs – some 17.7 million people. People will be advised not to travel into or out of tier 4 areas. In tier 4, a stay-at-home order will be issued to residents (apart from those who have to travel for work or education), social mixing will be restricted to the meeting of one other person in an open public space, all non-essential retail and businesses will have to close (including, hairdressers, nail bars and indoor entertainment venues). Boris Johnson said the measures would be reviewed every two weeks.
• The relaxation of rules for Christmas has been scrapped for much of south-east England and cut to just Christmas Day for the rest of England. The planned relaxation of rules over five days for Christmas has been cancelled completely for the areas going into tier 4, where households are longer permitted to mix at all (apart from support bubbles). For the rest of England in tiers 1-3, the gathering of up to three households can only take place on Christmas Day. The announcement followed days of serious concern from scientists and medics over the relaxation of restrictions amid rising infection rates and hospitalisations and the fast-spreading new strain of the virus, particularly in the south-east of England.
• The new variant, spreading most rapidly across London, the south-east and the east of England, is up to 70% more transmissible than the original virus. At present, the new strain is not thought to be any more dangerous or lethal than the original virus, and it is believed that the vaccine should be adequate for it. Rising alarm over the dramatic spread of the new variant was a significant motivating factor behind the above restrictions announced today for England, Wales and Scotland and the festive period.
• Scotland announced a strict travel ban with the rest of the UK, festive bubbles will only be allowed on Christmas Day and level 4 restrictions from Boxing Day. The first minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement after an emergency cabinet meeting where information about the impact of the new strain of the virus suggested that this was “probably the most serious and dangerous juncture” since the beginning of the pandemic. Sturgeon emphasised that it remained essential to act on a preventative basis. The five-day Christmas window for indoor mixing will be reduced to Christmas Day itself alone, and near-lockdown level 4 restrictions will come into force for all of mainland Scotland from Boxing Day morning for three weeks, with non-essential shops and hospitality closing. To be reviewed after three weeks, Sturgeon’s measures are the toughest of those announced across the UK today.
• Wales will be placed under lockdown from midnight tonight with all festive relaxation plans limited to Christmas Day only. The decision announced by the first minister, Mark Drakeford, followed urgent talks over the new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in London and the south-east of England. Drakeford said the pattern of transmission linked to the new variant, is “remarkably consistent with the rapid acceleration of transmission in Wales” in recent weeks and required an “immediate response”. There had been plans for Wales to go into lockdown from 28 December, but the changes brought this forward to 00.01 on Sunday 20 December. The whole of Wales will enter the highest level of lockdown – level 4 – with all but essential shops shut from the end of trading today, and the public told to “stay home”, the planned relaxation of rules from 23 to 28 December has been scrapped and festive bubbles are now limited to Christmas Day only.

There is no immediate plan to change the Christmas Covid-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland, despite rules being tightened in other parts of the UK, PA Media understands.

Sources said meetings between the executive and the UK government had been ongoing all day. The first minister Arlene Foster, the deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, the health minister Robin Swann and the chief medical officer Michael McBride held discussions on the issue on Saturday.

The Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has said the new strain of coronavirus was “genuinely part of the explanation” for a rapid surge in cases across Wales.

He told BBC Wales:

We know as of today there are hundreds of people in all parts of Wales who are now suffering from this variation, and those people will be more infectious to other people.

And other people are more likely to catch the virus because of the way the virus has changed.

I think when you look at those numbers which are so similar to the numbers in London and the south-east, it is genuinely part of the explanation.

Back to Johnson’s press conference.

Q. Three days ago you knew about the new strain and rising infections, and still you said it was ‘too late’ to cancel Christmas – how do you expect people to follow the rules if they keep changing?

Johnson says their understanding of the velocity of transmission of the new variant changed.

Q. Are you going to put additional support in place for businesses that have to close now?

Johnson points to the loan scheme and the extended furlough scheme (until April).

The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has announced lockdown restrictions will come into force across Wales from midnight tonight, with festive relaxation plans cancelled except for Christmas Day.

The decision followed urgent talks over the new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in parts of the country. Drakeford said the pattern of transmission in London and the south-east of England, linked to the new variant, is “remarkably consistent with the rapid acceleration of transmission in Wales” in recent weeks.

In a statement, the first minister said the latest evidence suggested that the new strain is present “throughout Wales” and said this required an “immediate response”.

The Welsh government’s cabinet met this afternoon to discuss the “worrying new development in the pandemic”, as well as advice from senior medical and scientific advisers, including the impact on NHS Wales.

Drakeford said:

The situation is incredibly serious. I cannot overstate this. We have therefore reached the difficult decision to bring forward the alert level 4 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.

The planned relaxation of rules from 23 to 28 December has been scrapped and festival bubbles are now limited to Christmas Day only.

The first minister said:

Unfortunately, we must also look again at the arrangements for Christmas – we cannot expose people to the risk of this new, more virulent strain of coronavirus.

We will therefore change the current rules, which allow two households to come together to form a Christmas bubble over a five-day period, so that they will apply on Christmas Day only.

Throughout the alert level 4 period, a single person household will be able to join with one other household.

Drakeford added:

While we all want to avoid further disruption to businesses and plans for Christmas, our overriding duty is to protect lives here in Wales. We know that 2021 will be a different and a better year. Our economy will recover. Christmas will come again.

There had been plans for Wales to go into lockdown from 28 December, but the changes mean this has been brought forward and will begin at 00.01 on Sunday 20 December.

The whole of Wales will enter the highest level of lockdown – level 4 – with all but essential shops shut from the end of trading today, and the public told to “stay home”.

Q. As you knew about the new variant as far back as November, was it reckless to promise five days of Christmas against scientific advice?

Johnson says they’ve always tried to follow scientific advice.

The science has changed, in terms of what we’ve learned about its transmissibility, so we couldn’t ignore that and had to take these extra steps, he adds.

Q. What does ‘keeping it short’ over Christmas Day mean?

Whitty says to the extent you possibly can – keep it small, keep it short and keep it local, and remember that the vulnerable are vulnerable.

Minimise the amount of contact, keep it at a distance and the shortest period you can.

Vallance adds you must assume that you might be infectious and that’s how you have to behave.

Johnson adds one in three infections are still being transmitted asymptomatically and people need to remember this.

Q. Should police be stopping people from travelling outside tier 4 and knocking on doors of households breaking the rules on Christmas Day?

Johnson says he’s sure the bulk people will continue to take this seriously.

Q. Is this an admission that the tier system has failed and are we essentially back in a lockdown until March?

Johnson didn’t answer this.

Q. Why has Britain got this new variant so bad, do other countries have it, and how did Britain get it?

Vallance says lots of mutations of the virus have occurred around the world.

It may be in other countries as well and it may have started here but we can’t be sure, he says, which is why the sequencing is so important.