Amid fears that the mutation could derail the UK’s vaccination programme, Boris Johnson announced that all travel corridors will be suspended

he UK will be closed to all new arrivals from Monday for anyone without proof of a negative coronavirus test, in a major escalation of restrictions against a potentially dangerous 

Amid fears that the mutation could derail the UK’s vaccination programme, 2 hours. 

Brazilian emergency doctor Marcos Fonseca Barbosa (L) checks his mother Ruth Fonesca, 56, next to his father Glauco Rego Lima, 72, at his home in Manaus,

Drastic action

Sources said the drastic action was being taken to protect the progress made with the UK’s vaccination programme.

While there have been several mutations of coronavirus that have caused concern around the world – including one that originated in Kent and was identified in December – the drastic action to close borders suggests ministers and government scientists are particularly alarmed at the Brazilian strain, labelled Variant of Concern VOC202101/02

Immune response

It is these changes that scientists are currently focusing on to see whether it affects an individual’s immune response, either through vaccine or being previously infected.

While the Kent strain is more infectious, it does not cause more serious disease in an individual and it is believed the vaccines will still work.

The Prime Minister warned that, even after the most at-risk groups were vaccinated by 15 February, lockdown restrictions would continue into the spring.

He said by mid-February the government would “think about what steps we could take to lift restrictions” but added: “We can’t have any false sense of security where we lift all the restrictions altogether and the disease runs riot in the younger generations.” This would depend on whether further mutations threatened the course of lockdown and vaccinations, he said.

A third of people in hospital are under 65 while a quarter are under 55.

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