Britain announces third national lockdown

SCHOOLS and colleges across Britain closed on Tuesday(5) ahead of a national lockdown as the country battled to control surging coronavirus cases that are threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.

The tough new measures were announced Monday(4) even as Britain began rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca shots, a possible game-changer in fighting Covid-19 worldwide, and as vaccine programmes in the US and Europe stumbled.

Scotland began its lockdown on Tuesday, while prime minister Boris Johnson said all of England would close down from Wednesday(6), possibly into mid-February.

Meanwhile, finance minister Rishi Sunak will later on Tuesday set out plans to offer more help to businesses, a top cabinet minister said.

"The Chancellor (Sunak) will be saying a little bit more about additional support for business," Michael Gove told Sky News.

"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," Johnson said in a televised address.

Similar to a first March-June lockdown last year, the new moves include the closure of schools and a ban on leaving home for all but exercise and essential shopping.

The pandemic has also hammered the live music industry, with Britain's summer festivals such as Glastonbury into "existential crisis".

Lockdowns and restrictions have forced music venues to shutter in Britain, and in many other parts of the world.

"There is a real threat that the vast majority of the 2021 season will not happen either," UK Music, an industry organisation, warned Tuesday, calling for greater government support.

As Britain ramped up its inoculation programme Monday with the shots developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, pressure was growing on European authorities to speed up their vaccine approvals process.

The European Medicines Agency is yet to approve the Moderna vaccine, and it has said a decision on the AstraZeneca jab is unlikely in January.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders were expected Tuesday to extend a shutdown in Europe's top economy as coronavirus deaths mounted despite tough restrictions in the run-up to the holidays.

In the US, the worst-hit nation in the world, the rollout of vaccines has been plagued by logistical problems and overstretched hospitals and clinics.