Sadly, it looks like UK‘s return to normalcy might be later than expected. As a matter of fact, the country’s roadmap to ease COVID-19 restrictions could be delayed by two weeks The delay would give time to people over 50 years old to be fully vaccinated.
Cabinet ministers Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance were less optimistic these past few days than the past weeks. This is mostly caused by the latest data that was described as “fairly grim”. Because of this, the plan to reopen bars and clubs without masks and social distancing on June 21 could be pushed back. Both club owners and attendees will be disappointed, especially after having pilot events that showed promising results. However, the delay is relatively short. A cabinet source quoted in a report by The Times said the delay in the lifting of restrictions could be between “two weeks and a month”.
Apparently, cabinet ministers think that a delay made more sense than the confusing partial lifting of restrictions. The government does not want to go back into a partial lockdown once it is completely lifted. Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in the past few days, with a total of 7,393 today only. This recent spike made the experts expressed reservations regarding the currently proposed lifting of restrictions.
As of today, 40.8 million people were vaccinated once and 28.8 million received a second dose. With more than 54% of the population that has received two doses, UK is surely heading in the right direction. Compared to them, the USA has 42.5% of its population fully vaccinated.
Stay tuned for more news on the reopening of bars and clubs in the UK.