Boris Johnson Extends UK Lockdown By 4 Weeks

Boris Johnson Extends UK Lockdown By 4 Weeks

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, said Monday that the next planned relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England will be postponed for four weeks, until July 19 as a result of the spread of the delta variety.

iexclusive News Nigeria report that Boris Johnson told reporters at a news conference that he believes he won’t need to postpone the plan to ease limits on social interaction any longer as millions more people get completely vaccinated against the virus.

According to him, by July 19, two-thirds of the British population will have received two vaccinations.

“I believe it is prudent to wait a little longer,” he remarked. “Now is the time to take it easy on the gas pedal, because by being cautious now, we may save tens of thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more individuals in the next four weeks.”

Along with the decision to postpone the easing, Boris Johnson announced that the government has moved the date for everyone over the age of 18 to receive their first dosage of vaccine from the end of July to July 19.

“It is undeniably evident that the vaccines are effective, and the sheer scale of the vaccine rollout has put us in an incomparably better position than past waves,” he said.

All limits on social interaction were due to be eased next Monday as part of the government’s strategy to lift the lockdown.

Before the official announcement, several firms, particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment industries, expressed their dissatisfaction.

Scientists advising the government estimate that the delta variety, which was initially discovered in India, is 40 percent to 80 percent more transmissible than the previous dominant strain.

It now accounts for more than 90% of all infections in the United Kingdom.

Boris Johnson selected June 21 as the earliest date for the government’s four-stage plan to lift the lockdown in England when he originally laid out the government’s four-stage plan in February.

However, he emphasized at the time that the schedule was not set in stone and that all phases would be guided by “data, not dates,” with the goal of being “irreversible.”

The rapid rise in new coronavirus illnesses had put pressure on Boris Johnson to postpone the reopening so that more people could be vaccinated.

The British government announced 7,742 new confirmed cases on Monday, one of the biggest daily totals since the end of February.

Although daily infections have grown threefold in recent weeks, they are still far below the approximately 70,000 daily cases recorded in January.

Many people blame the Conservative administration for the increase in cases, claiming that it took too long to enforce the strongest quarantine restrictions on everyone traveling from India, where the virus has resurfaced in a disastrous way.

To prevent the delta version from spreading across Europe, numerous nations, particularly France, have increased restrictions for British travelers.

Others, such as Spain, are allowing British tourists to enter the country without having to take a test if they are properly vaccinated.

Despite worries regarding the delta version, the United Kingdom’s vaccine deployment has been praised as one of the fastest and most well-coordinated in the world.

Around 62 percent of the British population had received one injection as of Monday, while roughly 45 percent had had two.

In recent months, the rapid deployment of vaccines and a stringent months-long lockdown have aided in reducing the number of virus-related deaths in the United Kingdom.

Despite this, the country has had more virus-related mortality than any other country in Europe, with over 128,000 deaths.