An antigenic test against the coronavirus.
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AFP
A new strain of the coronavirus "out of control".
This is how the British Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, justified the re-containment of London and part of England.
“We had to take back control, and the only way to do that is to restrict social contact,” Matt Hancock told Sky News.
He added: “It will be very difficult to keep it under control until a vaccine is deployed.
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The government of Tory Boris Johnson announced on Saturday evening the reconfinement of London, south-east England and part of the east, forcing more than 16 million people to stay at home and forgo the reunion of Christmas.
Non-essential businesses have closed and all travel outside of these high alert areas, whether to go elsewhere in the UK or abroad, is prohibited.
Pubs, restaurants and museums were already closed there since Wednesday.
Faster spread
“It's a huge challenge until we have rolled out the vaccine to protect people.
This is what we will be facing over the next two months, ”warned Matt Hancock.
The UK has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of the faster spread of the new strain, "up to 70%" according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Previous mutations of SARS-CoV-2 have already been observed and reported worldwide.
The government's scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, had indicated on Saturday that this new variant, in addition to spreading rapidly, was also becoming the “dominant” form, having led to “a very sharp increase” in hospitalizations in December.
She would have appeared in mid-September in London or in Kent (south-east), according to him.
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