Boris Johnson to hold press conference today amid rising Covid infections
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Helen Keenan
Boris Johnson will hold a press conference on Saturday after amid concern about the rising number of coronavirus cases in south-east England.
The prime minister is meeting with Cabinet ministers to discuss the spread of a mutant strain of Covid-19, which scientists believe is spreading more quickly than the previous form.
Joined by Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the prime minister is expected to outline his concern about the growing prevalance of the disease.
Following news of Saturday's press conference, chief medical officer Chris Whitty said: "As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance.
"As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly.
"We have alerted the World Health Organisation and are continuing to analyse the available data to improve our understanding
"There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments although urgent work is underway to confirm this.
"Given this latest development it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission."
While the new strain of virus spreads quicker, it is something which virologists are not surprised by.
Dr Simon Clarke, from the University of Reading, told ITV News' Science Editor Tom Clarke i
told ITV News' Science Editor Tom Clarke "that's what infectious agents like viruses do - they wish to produce more copies of themselves and infect people."
"The implications of transmissability is that it will infect more people or that it will be easier to infect more people."
Downing Street would not comment on reports that among the measures being considered by ministers were new travel restrictions for the South East of England.
However, the meeting comes as large parts of the region were following London and large parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, which entered the toughest Tier 3 restrictions earlier this week.
The NHS in Kent announced that it was suspending non-urgent hospital procedures as it was treating double the number of patients it had at the peak of the first wave in April.
Meanwhile, latest figures from Sage showed the reproduction number, or R value, of coronavirus transmission across the UK is estimated to have risen to between 1.1 and 1.2 – which means the spread of the disease is accelerating.
With fears that the relaxing of the restrictions over Christmas could lead to a further upward spike, Mr Johnson on Friday refused to rule out the possibility of a third national lockdown for England in the new year.
ITV News' Science Editor Tom Clarke explains what virologists have told him about the new variant
“We’re hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that. But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks,” he told reporters during a visit to Bolton.
In Scotland, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said the option for a post-Christmas lockdown “remains on the table”, while Northern Ireland and Wales are braced for fresh lockdowns following the festive period.Dr Kit Yates, senior lecturer in the department of mathematical sciences at the University of Bath, said: “I think the tiers at the moment are clearly not enough.
“Tier 2 is not enough to do anything almost anywhere, Tier 3 is enough to bring cases down in some regions, but not in others.”
The latest tiering changes in England – which came into force on Saturday morning at one minute past midnight – mean 38 million people are now living in Tier 3, 68% of the population of England.
Those areas moving into the highest tier are Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of East Sussex, and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.
Bristol and North Somerset have moved down from Tier 3 to Tier 2 while Herefordshire drops into Tier 1 – even though the county’s public health director raised concerns about the relaxation.
Elsewhere in the UK, Northern Ireland will see a six-week lockdown from December 26 to curb rising cases – with the closure of non-essential retail and contact services, as well as restricting the hospitality sector to takeaway only.
Wales will go into its third full lockdown from December 28 amid a “sustained rise in coronavirus”.
A Government spokesman said: “We strengthened the measures in the tiers, following advice from Sage, and will continue to take decisive action in areas where the virus is most prevalent. We expect areas in Tier 3 to drive down R if everyone follows the rules.
“As the latest figures show, we need to remain vigilant to keep this virus under control to protect the NHS and save lives.”
What can you do in each tier from December 2? The new rules in England at a glance:
Tier 1: Up to six people can meet indoors or outdoors. Pubs and restaurants can open, with last orders at 10pm and closing at 11pm.
Tier 2: No mixing indoors, apart from support bubbles. Up to six people can meet outdoors. Pubs and restaurants can open, with last orders at 10pm and closing at 11pm - but alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal.
Tier 3: No mixing indoors. People can only meet outdoors in limited places such as parks and public gardens. Pubs and restaurants must close, with the exception of takeaway sales.
In all tiers, non-essential shops, gyms, hairdressers and personal care services can open. People in all tiers to work from home where they can do so. Full details on what you can do in each tier here