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That, however, raises the prospect of case numbers growing faster, leading to more hospitalizations and fatalities, and the British government said it had notified the World Health Organization about the prevalence of the new variant.

The new lockdown zone includes all of Greater London and much of the surrounding southeast of the country, a densely populated area encompassing nearly 20 million people, a third of England’s population. The restrictions will remain in place for at least two weeks, and will be reviewed on Dec. 30.

The government told people in this region to stay at home except for a few reasons, including urgent travel, medical appointments and outdoor exercise. Those outside this zone were advised not to travel into it, and those living inside will not be permitted to travel outside overnight. Nonessential shops will close, as will gyms, cinemas, hairdressers and nail salons.

And, though Mr. Johnson said just a few days ago that it would be “inhuman” to cancel Christmas, that will be the practical effect on much of the population with new restrictions on social mixing. A plan to allow three households to meet together over the holiday will be scrapped in London and the southeast, with no household mixing permitted at all.

In other parts of the country three households will be allowed to gather, but only on Christmas Day, and not for the extended five-day period once envisaged.

The announcement on Saturday is an admission that England’s existing system of restrictions, under which the country was divided into three “tiers” with different rules, has not been sufficient to control the spread of the virus. The new area of lockdown will constitute a new, and tougher, fourth tier.