UK PM Johnson on lockdown, vaccinations, schools

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus.

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said "With most of the country already under extreme measures it's clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out. In England we must therefore go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to contain this variant."

As of Monday, there were 26,626 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in England, an increase of more than 30% from a week ago. That is 40% above the highest level of the first wave in the spring. The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect Wednesday. Authorities have recorded more than 50,000 new infections daily since passing that milestone for the first time on December 29.