Recently, it has been confirmed by scientists studying novel coronavirus that a new strain of the deadly virus, first detected in September, is linked to the rising number of new cases being reported in London and the Southeast region of England.

This development has caused panic in the UK and the whole world has started to react to this news. To date, at least 40 countries including several European nations have suspended UK arrivals amidst the confirmation of the presence of a more transmissible strain of coronavirus in the country.

This Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation via a televised press conference in which he broke the news that London and Southeast England will go into restrictions on Sunday and declared new restrictions on movement for the Christmas season.

"It seems that the recent spread (in London and Southeast England) is now being driven by the new variant," the premier confirmed.

He further added:

"It's with a very heavy heart, I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned. There’s no evidence that it causes more severe illness or higher mortality, but it does appear to be passed on significantly more easily. And although there’s considerable uncertainty, it may be up to 70% more transmissible than the original version of the disease."

It must be noted that although the new strain spreads faster there is no conclusive evidence that it is more deadly. Also, health experts are convinced that there is no reason to believe that the new strain will not be susceptible to the coronavirus vaccines that have been given in the UK and other countries.

So there's no need to panic just yet as most viruses continually mutate and develop small changes in their genetic code. Britain's health professionals are pleading to the public to not get terrified by the development and just keep following the coronavirus SOPs put in place by the government. This might just prove to be a false alarm.