Good Morning Britain's Dr Sarah Jarvis explained what the new strain of Covid-19 seen in the South East means for the rest of the nation.
Her words came as millions in the area were placed into Tier 4 on Saturday as Boris Johnson backtracked on his relaxation of lockdown over Christmas.
The new strain, prevalent in London and the South East, is not thought to be more deadly and research does not yet indicate the vaccine won't work on it - but it does spread faster.
But Dr Sarah said it is more important than ever to keep a lid on the virus as much as possible as the NHS is under so much pressure, delaying patients their treatment for non-Covid related conditions. "This is a new strain of the virus, we are talking about an increase in the R