Boris Johnson has announced England will be plunged into a nationwide lockdown - with all school closed until mid February. In a televised address to the nation, the Prime Minister set out plans for sweeping new restrictions to curb surging infection rates.
He described the speed of the spread of the new variant as "alarming" and said hospitals in England were under more pressure than at any point in the pandemic.
Mr Johnson urged the public to "stay at home", with exceptions for essential reasons such as food shopping and exercise. All schools and colleges will be shut from Tuesday until the February half term - except for vulnerable kids and the children of key workers - in a major u-turn.
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