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Covid: Lockdown easing in England to be delayed by four weeks - BBC News
Jun 14, 2021 2 mins, 5 secs

Senior ministers have signed off a decision to delay the lifting of all coronavirus restrictions in England beyond 21 June.

On Sunday Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a final decision on whether the reopening should be paused had not yet been taken.

"I think if it is as long as a month then there should be a break clause after two or maybe three weeks, to say that if we can tell by then that the rise in cases is not leading to a sort of rise in the serious illness that sends people into hospital, then we can unlock earlier," he said.

He said the decision on postponing unlocking would depend on whether the link between infections and hospital admissions had been severed.

The prime minister has previously said the government must be cautious so any easing of restrictions is irreversible.

Prof Andrew Hayward from University College London, who is a member of the Sage group which advises the government, said easing more restrictions would "fan the flames" of rising infections.

If it wasn't for the Delta variant, the government would in all likelihood be announcing the go-ahead for a full unlock.

None of that is guaranteed, of course, and so a delay, government scientists are arguing, gives them more time to work out with confidence where we are heading - and it is even possible the immunity built up by the vaccines will have started to halt the growth by then.

The government has set out four tests that must be met for the next stage of easing restrictions to go ahead:.

The Night Time Industries Association has warned any delay beyond 21 June would be "catastrophic" for sectors like nightclubs which have been forced to close since March last year.

The UK Weddings Taskforce, an industry group, estimates that 50,000 weddings planned in the four weeks from 21 June could be cancelled if the lifting of restrictions is pushed back and that the industry would lose £325m for every week of delay.

Some Conservative MPs also oppose a delay to easing restrictions, including members of the Covid Recovery Group of backbenchers.

Any decision to delay will be a political choice," he said.

Labour's Emily Thornberry said the decision over stage four of the roadmap was "the last chance" for the government to follow the science and communicate clearly with the public.

PM: Final decision on 21 June easing not taken yet.

Lockdown easing in England to be delayed

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