England's Final COVID-19 Lockdown Easing Delayed Until July 19 - Prime Minister

England's Final COVID-19 Lockdown Easing Delayed Until July 19 - Prime Minister

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced that the final easing of the COVID-19 restrictions in England will be postponed for another four weeks until July 19, over concerns that the more infectious Delta variant could trigger a third wave of the pandemic

LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced that the final easing of the COVID-19 restrictions in England will be postponed for another four weeks until July 19, over concerns that the more infectious Delta variant could trigger a third wave of the pandemic.

"We can simply keep going with all of step 4 on June 21st even though there is a real possibility that the virus will outrun the vaccines and that thousands more deaths would ensue that could otherwise have been avoided," Johnson said at a briefing.

"I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer," Johnson said at a televised press conference.

Under the government�s roadmap out of the lockdown in England, all legal restrictions on social contact should have bee lifted on June 21, so the delay means that everyone who can work from home must continue to do so, theaters and other indoors venues will have to operate at half capacity, while nightclubs will remain closed.

After stressing that "now is the time to ease off the accelerator" and give the National Health Service an extra time to have more people vaccinated against the coronavirus, Johnson said he was confident the delay will be the last before going back to normality.

"As things stand - and on the basis of the evidence I can see right now - I am confident we will not need any more than 4 weeks and we won't need to go beyond July 19," he said.

According to official data, England's rate of new infections had climbed to its highest level for more than three months due to the prevalence of the Delta variant first identified in India.

As on Monday, the Department of Health and Social Care reported 7,742 new COVID-19 infections - the highest number in one day since February - and a further 3 deaths.