A decision not so surprising given the exponential spread of the Delta (Indian) variant in Great Britain. Boris Johnson expressed a “Great concern And the restrictions will now be lifted on July 19.
For England, the horizon is not completely clear. the Prime Minister Boris Johnson resolved on Monday to postpone by four weeks the complete lifting of the last anti-Covid restrictions in England. Initially scheduled for June 21, restaurants and cinemas will have to wait to be at 100% of their capacity. The end of the restrictions is now scheduled for July 19. “We cannot continue (…) when there is a real possibility that the virus outperforms vaccines and thousands more deaths will follow”, lamented the Prime Minister.
For cases, the number of cases of contamination has increased from 2,000 to 7,000 per day in recent weeks.
The Delta variant: 90% of new cases of contamination
According to a preliminary study published in the journal The Lancet on June 14, the Delta variant is now prevalent in British territory. Today it concerns more than 90% of new cases of contamination, in the north as in the south of the country. A decision not easy and judged “Worrying” by the Prime Minister, but under the requests of his scientific advisers who sounded the alarm, this is a considered resolution, since the variant B1.117, says ” Indian “ is 60% more contagious than the English variant (or Alpha). “Cases of infection double every seven days in the most affected areas [au nord-ouest de l’Angleterre, dans le Grand Manchester], hospitalizations have increased by 50% in one week in the territory. We are faced with a difficult choice: if we maintain the full reopening on June 21, thousands of people risk dying ”, said the prime minister on Monday.
