LONDON (AP) — The British government is facing accusations of reintroducing local lockdowns on the sly after it published new guidelines for eight areas of England that it says are hot spots for the coronavirus variant first identified in India. Lawmakers and local public health officials expressed shock Tuesday that they hadn’t been made aware of the changes to the guidelines to travel and social interaction that the Conservative government published online last Friday. They also said the guidelines were not mandatory and that the mixed messaging could undermine efforts to keep a lid on the virus by confusing people.
