(Credit: University of London official website)

UPDATE: The UK government has indicated that the lockdown is likely to remain in place into March at least, with some measures lasting even longer.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a national lockdown on England, in order to combat the new COVID-19 variant that has been spreading exponentially throughout the country despite harsh COVID-19 measures.

Johnson stated that England’s health system is at risk of becoming completely overwhelmed in 21 days without a national lockdown. According to the government’s decision, citizens can leave their homes only to shop for essentials, exercise, and go to the doctor. The Royal Opera House has already canceled its production of Puccini’s “Tosca”  as a result of the new lockdown.

Schools and universities will also shut down and move to remote learning. Johnson added that the measures would likely stay in place through mid-February 2021.

“Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives,” said Johnson.

Meanwhile, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also declared a hard lockdown in Scotland that is due to start on Jan. 5, 2021.

“I am more worried about the situation than at any point since March 2020,” said Sturgeon.

The United Kingdom recently logged 60,000 new daily cases of COVID-19, with the new strain dominating. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna all announced that they are testing their vaccines for efficacy against the novel strain of the coronavirus.