英国首相警告未来或出台更严格防疫措施
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. /Getty Images
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday tougher lockdown restrictions were probably on the way as COVID-19 cases keep rising, but that schools were safe and children should continue to attend where permitted.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that most of the country's primary schools are safe to open on Monday (January 4), after the end of the Christmas holidays.
英国发现的变异新冠病毒具有高传染性，使英国感染病例数不断攀升，让英国疫情陷入“创纪录水平”。
当地时间1月3日，英国新增54990例新冠肺炎确诊病例，连续6天日增确诊超过5万例。
值得一提的是，不断涌现的新增病例已经迫使政府取消了在伦敦及其周边地区重新开放学校的计划，教育工会正在呼吁更广泛地关闭学校。
COVID-19 cases in Britain are at record levels and the increase in numbers is fuelled by a new and more transmissible variant of the virus. The government has cancelled the planned reopening of schools in and around London but teaching unions want wider closures.
目前，英国部分地区处于最高级的四级防疫封锁之中，这一级别下的措施包括：禁止不同家庭之间的聚会，饭店、酒吧、咖啡馆关闭等。
本应在1月4日迎来学生返校的英国校园，为降低新冠病毒传播速度，伦敦等地区的小学将推迟开学，转为线上教学。
在接受英国广播公司（BBC）访问时，约翰逊并未提到会再次全面封城。不过，他坦承英格兰地区的限制在未来几周内“可能会变得更加严格”。
约翰逊称，四级防疫封锁措施的影响目前还不清楚，需要继续观察是否需要其他额外的措施。
Much of England is already living under the toughest level of restriction under a four-tier system of regional regulations designed to stop the spread of the virus and protect the national healthcare system.
But, asked in a BBC interview about concerns that the system may not be enough to bring the virus under control, Johnson said restrictions "alas, might be about to get tougher".
"There are obviously a range of tougher measures that we would have to consider I'm not going to speculate now about what they would be," he said.