The new strain of COVID-19 is out of control and people need to behave as if they already have the virus, especially in the new Tier 4 areas of England, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned.
He said everybody was looking forward to Christmas, but the new rapid-spreading mutant strain "was out of control" and the government acted "very quickly and decisively".
The five-day Christmas bubble period has been reduced to just Christmas Day for England, Wales and Scotland - and scrapped completely for areas in England under new Tier 4 rules - but remains in Northern Ireland.
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Mr Hancock told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "Everybody, particularly people in Tier 4 areas, needs to behave as if they might well have the virus - that is the only way we are going to get it under control."
He said the country faces an "enormous challenge" controlling the new strain of COVID-19 and it is "more important now than ever" that people stick to the rules and reduce social contact "because this is deadly serious".
"This is a deadly disease, we need to keep it under control, and it has been made more difficult by this new variant."
And he said scenes of people queueing at train stations, rushing to leave London before the new measures came into force this morning, was "totally irresponsible behaviour".
Asked why the prime minister announced the Christmas relaxation rules weeks ago, when there was a chance he would have to renege on his promise, he said: "Because we understand, I understand, how important Christmas is to people."
"I understand how people feel. I had to call my mum last night and say, 'We are not going to see each other over Christmas'."
He said ministers had no choice but to act - effectively cancelling Christmas for millions of people - after being presented with the new scientific evidence on Friday afternoon.
Mr Hancock said cases have "rocketed" during the last few days and warned keeping the new variant under control until a vaccine has been rolled out would be "very difficult".
"We have really got to get this under control. The cases in the Tier 4 areas have absolutely rocketed in the last few days - the last two weeks or so. We have got a long way to go to solve this," he said.
"Essentially, we have got to get that vaccine rolled out to keep people safe. Given how much faster this new variant spreads it is going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out."
"The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel," he said, adding that the vaccine rollout is accelerating.
"So we can see the way out through this but it is going to be a difficult few months," he added.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihgFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9jb3ZpZC0xOS1pbi10aWVyLTQtZXZlcnlib2R5LW5lZWRzLXRvLWJlaGF2ZS1hcy1pZi10aGV5LWFscmVhZHktaGF2ZS1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1tYXR0LWhhbmNvY2stc2F5cy0xMjE2ODEyNNIBigFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvY292aWQtMTktaW4tdGllci00LWV2ZXJ5Ym9keS1uZWVkcy10by1iZWhhdmUtYXMtaWYtdGhleS1hbHJlYWR5LWhhdmUtY29yb25hdmlydXMtbWF0dC1oYW5jb2NrLXNheXMtMTIxNjgxMjQ?oc=5
2020-12-20 09:45:00Z
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