Full article PM Boris Johnson had planned to ease pandemic rules for five days during the holiday, but made an abrupt change of tack after emergency talks on the virus British Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the new mutant strain of the coronavirus is “out of control” and suggested parts of England will be stuck in the new highest tier of restrictions until a vaccine is rolled out. More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home as a lockdown came into force on Sunday in London and south-east England and the government scrapped plans to relax rules on socializing at Christmas in an attempt to control the fast spreading new variant of the virus