What Is the New, More Virulent COVID-19 Strain That Isolated the United Kingdom? Intelligencer 12/28/2020
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On December 19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson instituted the United Kingdom’s strictest coronavirus restrictions since the initial lockdown in March, banning holiday gatherings of more than one household and closing all nonessential stores in a zone which includes greater London and much of the southeast of England. By December 24, the restrictions were expanded to include around 24 million people, close to 43 percent of the U.K. population. The cause for caution is a new COVID-19 mutation active on the island, which has helped the rate of new infections almost double in the early weeks of December.