Boris Johnson announces new national lockdown

Express.co.uk readers can vote in our poll on whether Mr Johnson has acted quickly enough to toughen up border controls. And let us know more about what you think by scrolling down and leaving a comment.

Our poll comes as ministers are understood to be considering stricter border controls which would require international arrivals to have a negative test before travelling to Britain. Hauliers would be exempt.

The announcement is expected later this week.

Under the proposals, anyone travelling to the country will have to receive a negative coronavirus test up to 72 hours before entering.

Responding to reports of the new measures, Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan suggested the move was too late.

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He tweeted: “Horse. Bolted.”

Speaking on GMB, Mr Morgan also said the “failure to protect borders” like Australia and New Zealand after nine months of the pandemic will come back to haunt Mr Johnson.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday called for the country’s borders to be shut “right away”.

Taking to Twitter before the Prime Minister made his lockdown announcement, Mr Hunt said: “We therefore cannot afford to wait: all schools should be closed, international travel stopped, household mixing limited and the tier system reviewed so that the highest tier really does bring down infection levels (as with the first lockdown).”

Currently, people entering the UK are required to self-isolate for 10 days unless there is a travel corridor or they are exempt from the rules.

The Test to Release scheme, introduced in December, means people can pay for a private test after five days and stop self-isolating if the result is negative.

Our poll comes as Mr Johnson ordered a third national lockdown on Monday night.

Under the rules, people will only be allowed to leave home for limited reasons such as shopping for food and medicine.

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Regarding international travel, only essential journeys are permitted.

In his statement, the Prime Minister said the new variant of coronavirus, which is up to 70 percent more transmissible, was spreading in a “frustrating and alarming” manner.

He also warned the number of coronavirus patients in English hospitals is 40 percent higher than the first peak.

Mr Johnson pinned hopes on the vaccine rollout but warned the draconian restrictions are expected to last until the middle of February.

The Prime Minister: “The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but I really do believe that we’re entering the last phase of the struggle, because with every jab that goes into our arms we’re tilting the odds against Covid and in favour of the British people.”

Mr Johnson’s announcement came after the chief medical officers for the first time raised the UK to the highest level on the Covid-19 alert system.

They warned the NHS was at risk of being overwhelmed within 21 days “in several areas” without further action.

The UK reported 58,784 new coronavirus cases on Monday and a further 407 deaths.

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