January 4, 2021 5:48PM ET

‘Frustrating and Alarming’ Virus Surge Forces England Into Lockdown

Non-essential British retailers will be shuttered until the middle of February at a minimum, inflicting new wounds on a battered sector. — On Dec. 22, a woman walks past a store with signs indicating that it is closing down on Oxford Street, central London, where people have been advised against all but essential travel after the capital moved into Tier 4 of coronavirus restrictions. The U.K. enacted a nationwide Tier 4 lockdown on Jan. 4.

CREDIT: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire URN:57239370 (Press Association via AP Images)

All of England is under a strict new lockdown through the middle of the February, as coronavirus infections—especially those of the new highly transmissible variant—surge nationwide even as the U.K. begins the “biggest vaccination programme” in its history. In announcing the shelter-in-place measures during his address to the nation Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson noted…

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