BORIS Johnson will host a Cabinet call this afternoon and later hold a press conference after it emerged that a new Covid-19 strain found in England can spread more rapidly.
England’s chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty announced in a statement this afternoon that the UK has informed the World Health Organisation that the variant “can spread more quickly”.
After the statement, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced she had taken part in four nations talks and would be holding a Scottish Government Cabinet meeting later.
“Preventative action” may be needed to stop the new strain taking hold, she warned on Twitter.
READ MORE: Covid-19 variant: Nicola Sturgeon holds Cabinet meeting and issues warning
The Prime Minister will present the news conference with Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
The emergency update will be of concern to those who have plans over the Christmas period – over which “bubbles” of up to three households have been given the go-ahead.
Despite this, the Scottish Government has put out updated guidance on the restrictions, stressing the safest way to spend Christmas is in your own household and urging people to limit gatherings to a maximum of two households if they must socialise.
They also warned against indoor meetings, overnight stays and travel to and from high-prevalence areas.
The Prime Minister’s briefing will take place this afternoon at 4pm and be broadcast on the main news channels, while The National will carry live updates.
In his statement today Whitty said: “As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance,” he said in a statement.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson to hold press conference today amid fear over new Covid strain
“As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly.
“We have alerted the World Health Organisation and are continuing to analyse the available data to improve our understanding.
“There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is under way to confirm this.
“Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.”
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