President Donald Trump slams London's Prime Minister Boris Johnson after 'canceling' Christmas due to the "more contagious" COVID-19 virus that is spreading across the country.
Lockdown rules have tightened in London, Breitbart reported. Most of southeast England is also affected by tighter lockdown restrictions. Instead of the third tier restrictions that had been more restrictive than the first tiers, a new "tier four" is now going to take effect given the more contagious strain of the coronavirus.
The official tweet from the UK Prime Minister made it clear that those living in Tier 4 areas "cannot join or form a Christmas bubble."
From Sunday 20 December, some areas in England will enter Tier 4: Stay At Home.
[Tap to expand the poster] pic.twitter.com/zPKKGrutN2"” UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) December 19, 2020
Tier Four areas include London with much of Southeast England, Bedford and Central Bedford, parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton and Peterborough. Since every tier means tighter restrictions than the first, tier four lockdown is therefore the harshest with orders for people to "stay at home." Outdoor gatherings are definitely out of order and people of different households cannot join together even to celebrate the Christmas season. Metro reported that while the British PM is an ally of the United States President, it still did not stop Donald Trump from criticizing such strict measures - especially on Christmas. To quote, President Trump said, "We don't want to have lockdowns. The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself!"
We don't want to have lockdowns. The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself! https://t.co/sHBJfG9T8X "” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2020
Before the Tier 4 restrictions, the country had been looking forward to celebrating Christmas with more relaxed restrictions for at least five days from Dec. 20 until Dec. 25. But now, only those living in tiers one, two and three can now meet up for social gatherings as long as they follow safety protocols, especially social distancing rules.
Announcing the changes during a press conference, Johnson share how they must change their response with changing science even if he knows how disappointing it might be.
"I know how disappointing this will be, but we have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science.
"When the science changes, we must change our response. When the virus changes its methods of attack we must change our method of defence and as your Prime Minister I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me," Johnson said.
The UK PM also added that he was doing things with a "heavy heart" but that a new strain of virus that is more transmissible by up to 70 percent had left him "no choice."
Instead of having five days, Christmas celebrations will be eased to just a single day on Dec. 25 - but only in areas that are considered as non-tier four in England - which made hundreds of people to flee the country's capital after Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the entire country's lockdown from midnight of Dec. 20.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed that the new rules made her "want to cry" after ordering to close the borders of Scotland and reduce Christmas celebrations on just the day.
"I know how harsh it is, but this virus doesn't care about anything apart from spreading as far and wide as possible."
