Wait Four It - Freedom Day On Hold

Final stage of reopening will be delayed a month ... as experts back move

- Ben Glaze

Boris Johnson will tonight announce a four-week delay to the end of lockdown as Covid cases continue to soar.

And the PM could not rule out it being even longer.

But medical chiefs backed the move amid fears fully lifting curbs could spark another wave. Pandemic expert Professor Stephen Reicher said: “We don’t know how many people are going to get seriously ill.

“Therefore it makes good sense to pause.”

Mr Johnson insisted before he left the G7 summit in Cornwall no final decision has been made but he would “fill everybody in” on the situation later today.

DELAY OR RISK WAVE

Johnson to postpone June 21 lockdown lifting

Fears of new outbreak as cases & admissions rise

MEDICAL experts last night backed calls to delay the ending of all lockdown curbs in a bid to avoid another wave of Covid.

With cases of the Delta (Indian) variant surging and hospitalisations up, Boris Johnson is tonight expected to say Freedom Day on June 21 will be postponed for four weeks. And he refused to rule out it being even longer.

The move will anger lockdown sceptics in his own party while hospitality chiefs demanded clarity as a further delay will inflict more damage on the battered industry.

But the PM yesterday would not guarantee ending curbs – as a poll showed most Brits support a delay.

University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care director Professor Andrew Hayward warned Mr Johnson to be “very cautious” about lifting curbs.

He said: “There is still a substantial chance we could have a wave of hospitalisations which could put substantial pressure on the NHS.