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UK Starting to Restrict Spread of Virus Variants, Hancock Says

Two women walk down Regent Street, one of London's main shopping streets, as Britain continues its third COVID-19 lockdown, in London, Britain, January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Two women walk down Regent Street, one of London's main shopping streets, as Britain continues its third COVID-19 lockdown, in London, Britain, January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
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UK Starting to Restrict Spread of Virus Variants, Hancock Says

Two women walk down Regent Street, one of London's main shopping streets, as Britain continues its third COVID-19 lockdown, in London, Britain, January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Two women walk down Regent Street, one of London's main shopping streets, as Britain continues its third COVID-19 lockdown, in London, Britain, January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said tougher border measures and enhanced contract tracing appeared to have restricted the spread of coronavirus variants from Brazil and South Africa.

Hancock said a roadmap to ease England’s third national lockdown, due to be published on Monday, would need to allow time to analyze the data because the government is still concerned the variants could undermine the vaccine roll-out.

However, he told Sky News that the initial signs were encouraging.

“There is evidence that the measures that we’re taking, both the enhanced contact tracing and also the stricter measures at the border, there is evidence that these are working and that we’ve now got a much stronger vigilance in place.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out the roadmap on Monday, having got off to a faster than expected start with Britain’s vaccine roll-out program.

“It is very important to see the impact of steps that we’re taking,” Hancock said of the next steps. “We want to set out a roadmap which gives people guidance in terms of how we think we’ll be able to do this. We also absolutely will be vigilant to the data on the way.

“We’ve currently seen other new variants that thankfully there’s very, very, very few of in this country now, but we’ve got to protect against them.”

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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)

Australia’s government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.

The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the US in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. US President Donald Trump’s administration announced a formal review of the pact this year.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state.

“The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines,” the statement said.

The treaty was a “commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defense cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I,” it said, adding that it built on the “strong foundation” of trilateral AUKUS cooperation.

Britain’s ministry of defense said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies’ submarine programs and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years.

AUKUS is Australia’s biggest-ever defense project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the program, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US production base.

Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the US in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed.

The defense and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia’s largest war games.

As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia’s military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability.

Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.