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England and Scotland again in isolation due to the new virus

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has ordered the complete isolation of England on Monday in an attempt to curb the increase in cases of infection with the new, much more widespread variant of the coronavirus.

Great Britain recorded its first cases of infection with the new variant of the coronavirus in mid-December and has since faced an increase in cases and worldwide isolation.

During an address to the nation, Johnson has said that the new form of the virus is spreading rapidly and that urgent action is needed to contain it. He announced that the measures will include the closing of schools from Tuesday and the closing of all citizens' homes. A similar decision was made on Monday in Scotland.

The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said that from midnight on Monday, citizens will need special permits to leave their homes. She added that the situation with COVID-19 is now more worrying than before last March, while specifying that the new variant of the pandemic virus is currently responsible for almost half of new cases across Scotland.