July 12 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed his government’s plans to move forward on easing COVID-19 restrictions next week despite a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant.
On Sunday alone, British health experts documented more than 31,000 cases of the variant, but Johnson nevertheless said the lifting of most pandemic-related restrictions in England will begin as planned on July 19 under the government’s multiphase “roadmap.”
“We know we are going to see more hospitalizations and more deaths from COVID, but we also know that this wave was clearly foreseen by our scientists when we set out that roadmap in February,” the prime minister said at a Downing Street press conference.
The country is in the lower range of projections for mortality, Johnson said, stressing that the link between infections and deaths has been broken by the successful rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
“We think now is the natural moment” to ease restrictions rather than delaying until fall when cold weather sets in and schools reopen, Johnson said.
But he also urged caution, saying he would “expect and recommend” people still wear masks in crowded indoor spaces and that entertainment venues such as nightclubs require COVID-19 certificates for admission.
“I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough — this pandemic is not over,” he said. “This disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks for you and your family. We cannot simply revert instantly on Monday 19 July to life as it was before COVID.”
According to British government officials, 87.1% of adults have now received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 66% have received both shots.
Scientists advising the government estimate the peak of the current wave will be reached in mid-August, leading to between 1,000 and 2,000 hospital admissions per day.
Health Minister Sajid Javid told Parliament earlier Monday that even though new cases could reach 100,000 per day by then, it will not put “unsustainable pressure on the [National Health Service].”
Vaccinations, he said, had created a “protective wall” against a scenario in which the NHS becomes overwhelmed by COVID-related deaths and serious illnesses.