BORIS Johnson will today address the nation over his coronavirus battle plan just a week before Christmas.
The Prime Minister was last night in emergency talks over a potential travel curbs for London and the South East – and will now reveal his plans this afternoon.
What time is Boris Johnson’s Covid speech today?
The PM is expected to address the nation this afternoon.
Downing Street today confirmed the Prime Minister will host a cabinet call “shortly” and will later hold a press conference with the chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance
What will Boris Johnson announce?
Mr Johnson could announce new travel advice today after a new, more contagious strain has emerged.
Medics issued a chilling warning that the new virus strain is 50 per cent more contagious than previous Covid-19 cases.
It means millions of festive family bubbles could be told their Christmas is off – with Londoners and the South East potentially to be told they are not able to travel.
The draconian restrictions make the chances of a third national lockdown increasingly likely.
Trending In The News understands evidence shows a dramatic hike in positive cases in London in the past week.
Last night a government source told Trending In The News: “What we do not know yet is whether the new strain is more or less likely to cause you harm, but what we have learnt is that it will pass to person to person much more easily and that is what we are really worried about.”
The new strain is blamed for a sudden surge in hospitalisations.
And there are fears people are catching the virus despite wearing PPE and socially distancing.
A further 4.5million people — 38million in all — woke up in Tier 3 restrictions today.
Wales and Northern Ireland have already announced a post-festive shutdown. But Boris said he was “hoping very much that we’ll be able to avoid anything like that”.
He urged the public to avoid spreading the deadly bug over Christmas and reiterated the three household bubble was a limit, not a target people should aim for.
Praising Brits, the PM said: “I think people really get this. All the evidence I’m seeing, people understand this is the time to look after our elderly relatives and avoid spreading the disease.
“Keep it short, keep it small, have yourselves a very little Christmas as I said the other night — that is, I’m afraid, the way through this year.
“Next year I’ve no doubt that as we roll out the vaccine it will be very different indeed.”
Stats released yesterday showed those living with Covid in England have risen by almost a fifth in a week.
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.
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.
