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Londoners could be ARRESTED for travelling home for Christmas as travel in and out of Tier 4 outlawed
LONDONERS could be ARRESTED for travelling home for Christmas as travel in and out of Tier 4 is outlawed from midnight tonight.
Millions of Brits were today told their Christmas would be cancelled as London, the South East and East were all moved into the new lockdown tier.
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And Boris Johnson today announced travel and different households mixing will be banned under Tier 4.
Speaking today, Boris said: "As PM it's my duty to take the difficult decision to do what is right."
Part of the restrictions also mean Brits could be arrested if they try to travel in or out of the capital or other Tier 4 regions.
Locals have been told they must not stay overnight from home if they live in Tier 4.
According to the drastic restrictions, non-essential shops, hairdressers and entertainment venues will also have to close.
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- Boris Johnson today cancelled Christmas for millions as he put London, the South East and East in Tier 4 lockdown
- The new variant strain of the virus which causes Covid-19 may be up to 70% more transmissible
- All Brits have been told to stay local during the festive season
- Christmas bubbles in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 have been cut to just 24 hours on December 25
- Non-essential shops and gyms in Tier 4 areas must be closed from midnight
- Those in Tier 4 will be able to meet only one other person outdoors - but must not stay overnight from home
- Wales will go into lockdown from tonight - but people can bubble for Christmas day only
Streets in London that are usually teeming with Christmas shoppers have already taken a hit with popular areas like Regents Street seen deserted.
The plan to allow Brits to form social bubbles over five days was thrown out, with only those in Tiers 1 to 3 allowed to form a bubble on Christmas Day itself.
The PM – who had insisted just five days ago that festive bubbles would go ahead – may have felt bounced into the drastic measures in a bid to stop a mutant strain of coronavirus, which was identified in the South East, spreading throughout Britain.
The new variant strain of the virus which causes Covid-19 may be up to 70% more transmissible and could increase the R value by 0.4, the PM said.
Professor Whitty has informed the World Health Organisation that the new variant can spread more rapidly.
He said while there was no evidence the new strain causes a higher mortality, urgent work was underway to investigate it.
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Prof Whitty said: “Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.”
The new strain is blamed for a sudden surge in hospitalisations and The Sun understands evidence shows a dramatic hike in positive cases in London in the past week.
It could be weeks until it is known just how dangerous the new strain could be.
Stats released yesterday showed those living with Covid in England have risen by almost a fifth in a week.
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The ONS said 567,300 people had the bug between December 6 and 12 — equal to one person in 95. The latest reproduction R number is now between 1.1 and 1.2.
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But the public do appear to be listening to the PM — as official figures show only half of Brits are planning to form a festive bubble.
That includes 26 per cent saying they plan to visit family and friends but not stay overnight compared with 52 per cent last year.
UK streets empty on week before Christmas after government place more into higher tiers
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