Boris Johnson signals 'tougher' measures are ahead for the UK as coronavirus variant spreads

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said coronavirus restrictions in the country are "probably about to get tougher."
• "It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country," Johnson said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday. "I'm fully reconciled to that."
• In late December, parts of the UK entered the highest level of restriction following the discovery of the new variant of the coronavirus that is believed to be possibly up to 70% more transmissible.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of tougher coronavirus restrictions to be put in place in the UK amid the spread of the new variant that is believed to be potentially more transmissible.

In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Johnson said the COVID tier system is "probably about to get tougher."

"It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. I'm fully reconciled to that," Johnson said.

Johnson added, "until the vaccine really comes on stream in a massive way, we're fighting this virus with the same set of tools."

In late December, parts of the UK were elevated to the highest level of restriction following the discovery of the new variant of the coronavirus that is believed to be possibly up to 70% more transmissible.

The "Tier 4" level lockdown is the strictest tier of local restrictions, which includes a wide stay-at-home order except for a few exceptions such as work and essential activities like shopping for food, according to guidance issued by the UK government.

The UK has over 2.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Since discovering the new coronavirus variant, several countries have restricted travel coming in from the UK to prevent the spread of the virus. To date, at least 33 countries have reported cases of the new variant.

In the US, the first case of the coronavirus variant was reported on Tuesday in Colorado, which was shortly followed by another reported case in Southern California on Wednesday.