London prepares for virus hit NYE, with NHS under pressure

Trafalgar Square in London has been closed off to the public ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations.

The UK capital and large swathes of the country are currently under strict coronavirus measures

The British government on Wednesday extended its toughest  restrictions to more than three-quarters of England’s population, saying a fast-spreading new variant of the virus has reached most of the country.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at midnight the government's top infection-warning level, Tier 4, would be expanded beyond London and the southeast to cover large swaths of central, northern and southwest England, including the major cities of Manchester and Birmingham.

The move will severely curtail New Year's Eve celebrations in parts of England that are home to 44 million people, or 78% of the population.

In England's Tier 4, most people are advised to stay home, barred from mixing with the members of other households either indoors or out, nonessential shops are shut and restaurants and bars can only offer takeout.

Hospitals in the worst-hit areas of London and southern England are becoming increasingly overstretched, with ambulances unable to unload patients at some hospitals where all the beds are occupied.

There are more people in hospitals with COVID-19 now than at the first peak of the outbreak in April.

Britain has recorded more than 71,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths, the second-highest death toll in Europe after Italy.

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