The British Government announced this Monday that London and other areas of eastern England will move to level 3 from Wednesday, the highest level in terms of restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The measure, announced by the Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, before Parliament, will mean the closure of bars and restaurants, except for home delivery and take-away services, in addition to requiring that travel outside the home be reduced to a minimum and avoiding, as far as possible, travel between different areas. Ultimately, this is another blow for the Canary Islands tourism sector, which has the United Kingdom as its main source market.
In addition, with regard to meetings, people are asked to avoid meetings in private homes and in public spaces with people with whom they do not live or with whom they are not part of the same 'bubble', although in the latter case they should not exceed six people. The rule will come into force at 0.01 hours on Wednesday in the city of London, the entire Greater London area, as well as the south and west of the county of Essex and some areas of the county of Hertfordshire.
"This action is absolutely essential not only to keep people safe but because we have seen that early action can prevent more damage and longer lasting problems later," the minister argued, who explained that he made the decision to raise the level of confinement today and not on Wednesday, when the next review was due, in view of the increase in infections.
For his part, the mayor of the capital, Sadiq Khan, stressed that although the measure is "incredibly disappointing" for businesses, "the virus is accelerating in the wrong direction once again across London and the lives of Londoners are at risk". "It would be a tragedy to lose more people when the vaccine is already being administered in our city," he said in a statement.
