UK eyes stricter lockdown provisions

The U.K. is likely to implement stricter lockdown measures amid a continued rise in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday.

Amid record highs in the country and the emergence in southeastern England of a more contagious strain, Johnson told the BBC that lockdown rules “alas, might be about to get tougher,” according to Reuters.

“There are obviously a range of tougher measures that we would have to consider,” he added. “I’m not going to speculate now about what they would be.”

However, Johnson maintained that schools remain safe and said parents should continue to send their children to in-person classes where local regulations permit.

“There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe, and that education is a priority,” he said, according to Reuters.

As of Saturday, Britain had 57,725 new cases of the virus and over 74,000 deaths, according to the news service.

U.K. regulators approved AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine last week and the first 530,000 shots are set to be administered Monday, Johnson said. He added that ideally, the country will administer tens of millions in the months ahead.

In the London area and in other parts of southeast England, primary and secondary schools are set to remain closed for the next two weeks, with exemptions for essential workers’ children and children with needs that cannot be met by remote learning, according to CNN.

Johnson told the BBC’s Andrew Marr he stood by an earlier prediction that the situation on the ground will have improved by spring. The remarks came soon after Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted that “the end is in sight,” noting that officials have administered 1 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine.

We’ve delivered over 1 million #coronavirus vaccines.

Tomorrow rollout of the @UniofOxford / @AstraZeneca vaccine begins – across every part of the UK – as we accelerate delivery of the coronavirus vaccine.

The end is in sight. pic.twitter.com/xUIDg6kGds

— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) January 3, 2021