The festival season’s spirit has been marred by a new virulent strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom

The British Government claims that a new strain of the Coronavirus is spreading like wildfire across the island nation which has led to several curious questions. When the books about the Coronavirus pandemic are written, several politicians will find themselves remembered poorly by historians, at least by those who have the ability to write freely. One of them who is almost certain to be pilloried is Boris Johnson, the man in 10 Downing Street in London. Not only was Johnson one of the first world leaders to get a bad case of the virus, the way the British Government has handled the virus with impossibly complicated tiered lockdowns and protocols that have been duly disobeyed by the public, now it emerges that there is a new virulent strain of COVID-19 doing the rounds in the British Isles just as the nation heads for its strictest lockdown yet just ahead of Christmas. It is claimed that this new strain is allegedly 70 per cent more virulent than the regular virus, albeit, we are assured, no less fatal. But that is a moot point, even with systems in place, the harsh winter across Europe and North America has made cases alongside fatalities spike and that has led to hospital systems being overwhelmed. However, with the suggested lockdown to keep the virus in check coming just ahead of Christmas, a particularly festive time in the United Kingdom, many on either side of the political aisle believe that this is a conspiracy theory. It has been said that this is a ploy to ensure everyone gets vaccinated, this at a time where prominent celebrities like Eric Clapton have come out publicly against wearing face masks and believe that the virus is a ploy to take away freedoms, sounding little different from some of Donald Trump’s more hyper supporters. Others have claimed that this is a way for the British Government to justify its decision to clamp a lockdown and ensure that people stay home.

But it takes a lot of courage to shut the borders down, and ruin the most critical shopping season of the year. Even in India despite numbers spiking, governments across the board ensured that there were no lockdowns during the festive season. Indeed, a few kilometres beyond the Delhi borders you would not know that there is an ongoing pandemic with mask compliance almost non-existent and large social gatherings carrying on merrily. If the British Government is indeed telling the truth, it is imperative that India also closes her borders to all, including Indian citizens coming from the United Kingdom. There are currently nine non-stop flights a day from four Indian cities to London, an estimated 2,000 passengers daily. At least at the Government’s level we must believe that Boris Johnson and his Cabinet are not lying. Hopefully, the Brits will be able to get control of this strain before it spreads although it already appears to be too late. The Indian Government and State Governments should be prepared for the worst case scenario.