British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom on Monday, instructing people to stay at home to contain a more contagious variant of the coronavirus.

The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect Wednesday, Johnson said in a televised address, AFP reported. 

With the announcement, nearly 56 million people in England will return to a full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, AFP reported.

“We must therefore go into a national lockdown, which is tough enough to contain this variant,” he said, Reuters reported.

“That means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home.”

The drastic step from England comes after Scotland announced similar measures to come into force from midnight (0000 GMT) on Tuesday.

Reportedly, three-quarters of the population of England is already under the most stringent restrictions, as the country grapples with one of the worst mortality rates from coronavirus in the world.

Moreover, the UK has failed to halt an upward curve in positive cases, which have been blamed on a more infectious new variant of the virus.

As per AFP inputs, Johnson said, as of Monday, almost 27,000 people with COVID were in hospitals — 40% more than at the peak of the first wave of the outbreak on April last year.

Last Tuesday, more than 80,000 people tested positive in just 24 hours.

“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it’s clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out,” he said, AFP reported.

“In England, we must therefore go into a national lockdown.”

The new measures are similar to those during the first, three-month lockdown from late March to June last year.

They include the closure of schools, working from home wherever possible, limits on leaving home, except for exercise, essential shopping and for medical supplies, and no household mixing.

A decision on whether to hold annual national exams for 16- and 18-year-olds will be made after consultations between the education secretary and qualifications bodies, said Johnson.

Shortly before Johnson’s announcement, the four chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the country had moved to the highest coronavirus “level five.”

That means the state-run National Health Service is at risk of being overwhelmed within 21 days if no action is taken.

Johnson said he hoped the restrictions could start to be lifted after the next school holidays in mid-February and acknowledged the weeks ahead “will be the hardest yet”.

But he said he was encouraged by the roll-out of two COVID vaccines, including one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which could see the four most vulnerable groups inoculated in the next six weeks.

“With every jab that goes into our arms, we are tilting the odds against Covid and in favour of the British people,” he added.