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On Saturday, much of the county found themselves in a state of disarray. There was a leak to a
Sunday Times journalist and then a press conference, where it was made official: The previous Christmas relaxation period for indoor household mixing, slated for the 23-27 December, is firmly off the cards.
For much of the country, it is still permissible to bubble with two other households for 25 December, only. In the south-east, including London, Kent, Essex and Bedfordshire, a fresh tier – four – is now stacked onto the existing three. Here, any mixing, even on Christmas Day, is forbidden.
Is this something unusual? There have been many mutations in the virus since it emerged in 2019. This is to be expected – SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and these viruses mutate and change. Is this something to be worried about? Not enough is yet known about the new strain, but it is premature to make any claims about the potential impacts of virus mutation. But if the virus spreads faster it will be harder to control. However, there have already been various strains of Covid-19 with no real consequence. It could potentially be serious, but not enough is known, and the surveillance and research will continue.