London, July 13 (IANS)| The UK government has confirmed that most of the COVID restrictions in England will end next week, despite rising cases due to the delta variant. Most of the restrictions are due to end on July 19 as part of the final phase or phase four of England’s roadmap out of lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced earlier, reports Xinhua news agency.
But this needs to be confirmed even after reviewing the latest figures by the government. Step four’s detailed arrangements include: no further limits on social interaction to allow people to gather in groups of any size; Removal of the ‘one meter-plus’ rule in almost all settings, except in specific locations such as airports; No capacity cap on large-scale events; People no longer need to work from home.
At a news conference in Downing Street on Monday, Johnson said it was “important” to proceed with caution and that “this pandemic is not over”. Britain reported another 34,471 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, according to official figures, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,155,243. This is the sixth consecutive day that the daily cases have crossed 30,000.
Another six deaths were recorded in the country, raising the total death toll to 128,431. Johnson said England’s strict border policy would continue and would continue to monitor, trace and isolate positive cases. There was a delay of up to four weeks in getting to phase four so that every adult could be vaccinated. According to a government statement released on Monday, around 6.8 million first and second doses have already been given in England during the delay so far.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said during his speech in Parliament on Monday that this is the right time to go to the fourth phase. “If not now, when? It will never be the right time to take this step because we cannot eradicate this virus.” According to Sky News, despite easing legal requirements for wearing face masks in shops and eliminating public transport, the government will still recommend the use of face masks in crowded areas.
Scientists warn that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase the potential for dangerous forms. The latest official figures show that more than 87 per cent of adults in the UK have received their first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine and more than 66 per cent have received two doses. Javid said the government is now on track to provide one dose of the vaccine to every adult by July 19. According to the government, the vaccination rollout will continue to be accelerated by introducing a second dose for 40 to eight weeks – which means the entire population will benefit from greater protection.
(Disclaimer: This news has been published directly from news agency’s Syndicate feed. It has not been edited by AnyTV News team.)