Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, insists that July 19 is still realistic for lifting Covid restrictions. In fact, the Government’s scientific data showed vaccines are working against all coronavirus variants. Many in the country hope that freedom day will go ahead on July 19.
Despite the positive attitude, Johnson acknowledged the rising cases and hospital admissions. However, he insisted that the government is taking a cautious approach. He did not exclude the possibility of restrictions being needed again if the country faced other rises in cases over fall or winter. After announcing a four-week delay to the planned easing of lockdown on June 21, people are starting to lose patience.
Still, the government had good reasons for being cautious. The Prime Minister told reporters that cases of the Delta variant first identified in India were going up by about 30% a week. Apparently, hospitalisations had the same spike and so are ICU admissions. “We’ve got to be cautious, but we’ll be we’ll be following the data the whole time”, said Johnson.
The prime minister remains confident with this new date. “Looking at where we are, looking at the efficacy of the vaccines against all variants that we can currently see, I think it’s looking good for July 19 to be that terminus point. I think what the scientists are saying is that things like flu will come back this winter. We may have a rough winter for all sorts of reasons, and obviously, there are big pressures on the NHS”.
The Prime Minister suggested the economy was ready to bounce back as restrictions ease. This means bars and nightclubs may have the chance to benefit from a couple of weeks of summertime. The UK has more than 42% of its population fully vaccinated.
