UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that the UKs path out of the COVID-19 lockdown remains on track despite latest data showing prevalence of the coronavirus variant first identified in India in the northwest of England
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that the UKs path out of the COVID-19 lockdown remains on track despite latest data showing prevalence of the coronavirus variant first identified in India in the northwest of England.
"As things stand at the moment I can see nothing conclusive in the data that says we have to deviate from the roadmap, but we've got to be cautious," Johnson told reporters during a visit to a vaccination center in London.
The prime minister said, however, that authorities are closely observing all the data coming from Bolton, Blackburn, Bedford and other English cities where the so-called Indian strain has become prevalent.
"We�re just looking at those curves where they're moving, trying to understand whether the Indian variant is more transmissible and if so by how much more it is transmissible and also trying to understand to what extent our vaccine programme has already sufficiently fortified us all against it," he added.
Step three of the government's roadmap out of lockdown came into effect on Monday, when bars and restaurants resumed serving clients indoors, cinemas and theaters reopened and up to six people from different households were allowed to meet indoors for the first time in months.
The fourth and last step is planned for June 21, when all limits on social distancing would be lifted, but there is concern that the prevalence of the Indian variant could derail the path back to normality or eventually force the government to impose local lockdowns in the most-affected areas.
