Boris Johnson announces new national lockdown

Boris Johnson has announced England will be going back into lockdown this week in response to rising Covid cases. This will be England’s third national lockdown since the start of the pandemic last year, and the Government is now advising people to stay at home unless reasons for leaving home are essential. 

In his address on Monday night, the Prime Minister said it is “clear that we need to do more” to control the spread of Covid-19 in the UK.

Mr Johnson told the nation: “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.

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“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. 

“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out.

“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.”

Who has to shield in UK national lockdown?

The clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to begin shielding again under the third national lockdown.

Mr Johnson said those affected by the shielding guidance will receive letters “shortly”.

People who are clinically vulnerable and who were previously told to shield should stay at home.

People who are being advised to shield should only leave their homes for medical appointments and exercise, the Prime Minister said.

The Government guidance on shielding currently states people who are define as clinically extremely vulnerable are at “very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus”. 

Those identified by a clinician or GP may have added a patient to the Shielded Patient List based on their clinical judgement. 

Someone may also be identified as clinically extremely vulnerabe because they have one or more of the following conditions, according to the Government website: 

• solid organ transplant recipients

• people with specific cancers:

• people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
• people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
• people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
• people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
• people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
• people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
• people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
• people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
• problems with your spleen, for example splenectomy (having your spleen removed)
• adults with Down’s syndrome
• adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (stage 5)
• women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
• other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions

On Monday, January 4, the Scottish Government also announced another national lockdown for Scotland.

People who are shielding in Scotland have been told not to go into work by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Addressing the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said: “If you were shielding and you cannot work from home, our clear advice now is that you should not go into work at all.

“The chief medical officer is writing to everyone who falls into this category, and his letter will count as a fit note for those who need it.”

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