Coronavirus: UK records over 60,000 cases

Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced England will be going into its third national lockdown as cases of the novel virus reach record-breaking figures. All schools will remain closed until at least February.

Addressing the nation last night, Mr Johnson said: “In England, 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.

“You may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law, such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance such as getting a Covid test, or to escape domestic abuse.”

Now, a police chief has warned there is “no excuse” for not knowing the new rules as officers across the country are able to hand out staggering fines.

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John Apter, chair of the Police Federation in England and Wales, said: “It will be easier for police to have one consistent rule for people to follow across the whole country, which means it is easier for people to understand and comply with what is expected of them.

“People should expect to see more enforcement as a consequence because there really are no excuses for not knowing the rules this time.

“But, where it is different from March is we now have a hardcore element who are against the rules.

“We have anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine protests to deal with and crime levels have increased from March.”

Under the new rules, police can hand out £200 fines for those who break the rules for the first.

Those who continue to ignore life-saving restrictions could face fines of up to £6,400.

On New Year’s Eve, hundreds of partygoers were hands fines of up to £10,000, days before the third lockdown was imposed.

Of the latest restrictions, Mr Johnson said the new variant has been “both frustrating and alarming” in terms of the speed at which it spreads.

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He said: “As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic.

“In England alone, the number of Covid patients in hospitals has increased by nearly a third in the last week, to almost 27,000.

“That number is 40 percent higher than the first peak in April.

“On December 29, more than 80,000 people tested positive for Covid across the UK – a new record.

“The number of deaths is up by 20 per cent over the last week and will sadly rise further.

“My thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones.”

The lockdown was imposed amid fears the NHS will become overwhelmed as cases of the virus continue to soar.

The UK has been one of the worst-hit countries in the world with the total number of infections rising to more than 2,000,000.

Deaths have reached a staggering 75,431.

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