LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce on Monday the final step of his road map out of the COVID-19 lockdown in England, despite latest data and scientific modeling suggesting that cases will continue to rise as restrictions are eased, his office said in a statement.
"Today we will set out how we can restore people's freedoms when we reach step 4. But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks," Johnson was quoted as saying ahead of his press conference.
According to the prime minister's office, Johnson is expected to reiterate that COVID-19 will become a virus "that we learn to live with as we already do with flu," meaning that hospitalizations, serious illness and deaths from the disease will continue, although at a much lower level than before the vaccination program started in December.
He will also announce next steps on social distancing, face coverings and working from home, as well as on care home visits, that should come into force on July 19.
Step four of the road map was delayed by a month in June, due to a surge in coronavirus cases linked to the prevalence of the Delta variant first identified in India and to allow more people be offered a COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, over 78 million vaccine doses have been administered in the UK, and 63.4 percent of adults have received two doses.
