UK analyzes postponement of lifting restrictions due to new Delta variant of coronavirus

In light of the rebound in cases, Hancock confirmed today that the government is openly considering the possibility of postponing the reopening date.

“At the moment, it is a date marked in pencil,” he said before indicating that the social distancing measures could continue beyond the final phase of reopening stopped by the authorities, reported the Europa Press news agency.

By the end of June, about three-fifths of adults will be fully immunized, Hancock added, up from 52% currently.

However, he added: “If the postponement is what needs to happen because the data is getting worse, we are quite willing to do it.

Experts such as University of London epidemiologist Anne Johnson or Academy of Medical Sciences president Trevor Phillips have categorically opposed any form of rush to reopen the country.

Indeed, the government adviser Stephen Reicher warned yesterday that the execution of the next reopening measures would be “imprudent” and would represent “a serious risk for the population”, according to remarks collected by The Guardian.

Despite the increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in recent days, which exceeds the 5,000 recorded daily, the number of hospitalizations remains stable, added Hancock.

Most of the hospitalizations concern patients who have not been vaccinated, he said, according to the AFP news agency.

The UK, the worst-affected country in Europe with around 128,000 deaths, has administered at least a first dose of the vaccine to more than 40 million people, and more than 27 million have already received a second dose.

But the arrival of the Delta variant, first identified in April in India and now dominant in the UK, according to estimates, after a long winter lockdown, threatens the lifting of the last restrictions scheduled for June 21.

On Saturday, 5,700 new cases were recorded.