Let's Not Relax Rules Just Yet

Britain backs necessary delay to June 21 Freedom Day

- Macer Hall

It’s been majestic President Biden thanks ‘gracious’ Queen

Boris Johnson is to keep Covid curbs until most adults have had two jabs.

He will today order a delay in relaxing the rules of at least four weeks in the face of surging Delta variant cases.

The Prime Minister’s caution was backed by voters, with 54 per cent wanting next Monday’s planned Freedom Day pushed back – up from 43 per cent in two weeks.

While Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hinted virus rules might stay until the link between infections and hospital admissions with the disease is “broken” by the double inoculation. Mr Raab added: “The race that we are in is to get everyone up as far as we possibly can to two doses.”

The poll by Opinium found that as concern grew about the strain – first recorded in India – voters who backed keeping restrictions rose from 43 per cent to 54 per cent.

Figures yesterday showed a further eight people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid, taking the total to 127,904.

Mr Johnson will set out his revised timetable for lifting restrictions in a televised address tonight.

He declined to give an early hint of his plans as he closed the G7 Summit in Cornwall, saying he would give the public a “full package” today to explain the delay.

The PM said: “We are continuing to look at the data, no final decision has been taken. The right time to fill everybody in on what we are going to do with step 4 with June 21 is [Monday]...when we will be putting out the whole package.”