New variant of coronavirus was 'out of control' in UK; lockdown can be extended: Health Secretary

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock was the first one to announce the identification of a new variant of coronavirus. Now, as his government has announced a Tier 4 lockdown in the country, Hancock has justified the move by revealing the extent of danger the new variant poses.

Talking about the new and stricter lockdown in south-eastern England during the Christmas time, Hancock said the decision was needed to control the worsening situation as the new variant was "out of control".

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Patting his own back, Hancock defended the new 'stay at home' orders. "We acted very quickly and decisively," he said. "Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control."

While many leaders and scientists have been assuring the locals that the new variant can be easily handled, Hancock revealed the situation was "deadly serious" and people should stay at home to make sure the situation does not get any worse than this.

"It's going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out," he said. "This is what we face over the next couple of months."

Hancock's statement comes a day after the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a Tier 4 lockdown in the capital city London and the rest of the country to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus — especially since the new variant resulted in a surge of cases. The lockdown was not appreciated by the locals as it hampers their Christmas celebrations.

Johnson also reported that the new variant is70 per cent more transmissible. However, whether or not is deadlier than the previous one is not yet clear.

Meanwhile, several European countries such as Belgium and Germany are imposing travel bans on all the incoming flights from the UK and South Africa to make sure the new variant does not get transmitted to their countries.