United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday cancelled his visit to India later this month. Boris Jonhson, who was scheduled to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade on January 26, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his regret.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said, "The prime minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned." 

boris johnson
boris johnson

"In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the prime minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus."

Coronavirus cases in UK

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that England will enter another national lockdown, the third of its kind since the coronavirus pandemic began in the country early last year.

The lockdown came into force at 12 a.m. on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. In a televised address on Monday, he urged people across the country to "stay at home" except for permitted reasons, echoing the message back in March 2020.

The latest development came as another 58,784 people in the UK have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, marking the highest daily spike since the onset of the pandemic, according to official figures.

It was also the seventh day in a row that new cases have topped 50,000. The country now has a total of 2,721,622 cases and 75,547 deaths.

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