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Britain in Lockdown as Hospitals 'Overwhelmed' Amid New Coronavirus Outbreak

Henry Ridgwell

   LONDON - Britain entered another strict national lockdown Tuesday, amid
   a sudden and sharp resurgence in cases of COVID-19 linked to a new
   variant of the coronavirus.

   Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the measures in a somber
   televised address Monday evening. "As I speak to you tonight, our
   hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than at any time since the
   start of the pandemic," Johnson said.

   "In England alone, the number of COVID patients in hospitals has
   increased by nearly a third in the last week to almost 27,000. And that
   number is 40 per cent higher than the first peak in April. On the 29th
   of December, more than 80-thousand people tested positive for COVID
   across the U.K., a new record. The number of deaths is up by 20 percent
   over the last week and will sadly rise further," Johnson added. "We
   must therefore go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to
   contain this variant. That means the government is once again
   instructing you to stay at home."

   The prime minister himself has cancelled a planned trip to India.

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