British health minister Matt Hancock mentioned on Sunday it was too early to say whether the government would stick with its plan to fully lift COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England on June 21.
Hancock mentioned there had been a “very significant” impact from the delta variant of COVID-19 first detected in India over the last month, which is now the dominant strain in England, according to official estimates.
He pointed to a renewed rise in COVID-19 cases however mentioned he had been reassured by a broadly flat rate of hospitalizations and deaths as officials consider plans to end the lockdown.
“It is too early to make the last decision on that,” Hancock informed Sky News.
“The prime minister and I and the team will be all the data over this week. We’ve mentioned that we’ll give individuals enough time ahead of the June 21 date.
“We are not saying ‘No’ to June 21 at this point,” he added.
Hancock mentioned it was important that individuals receive both doses of COVID-19 vaccines as the data confirmed this might protect successfully against the delta variant.
Britain’s swift vaccine rollout had weakened, however not broken, the link between the virus, hospitalization, and demise, Hancock mentioned.
Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned he could see nothing within the data that would derail the plan to end lockdown restrictions, although caution was needed.
Britain’s overall demise toll from the pandemic stands at 127,836 and is the sixth-highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
