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UK delays lockdown easing by a month
Under the final stage of a plan outlined by Johnson in February, Boris Johnson had hoped to lift most social restrictions on June 21.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed his plans to lift Covid-19 lockdown restrictions by a month on Monday, warning that the more infectious Delta variant meant if he did nothing thousands more people might die.
Under the final stage of a plan outlined by Johnson in February, he had hoped to lift most social restrictions on June 21, meaning pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other hospitality venues could fully reopen. That much-anticipated step was pushed back to July 19.
“I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” Johnson told a news conference. “As things stand, and on the evidence that I can see right now. I’m confident that we will not need more than four weeks.”
S Africa rejects 2mn jabs
South Africa’s vaccine roll-out has been hit by further delays as it will have to discard at least 2 million Johnson & Johnson shots produced in the country.
The vaccines were found by the US Food and Drug Administration to be unsuitable for use due to possible contamination of their ingredients at a Baltimore plant. South Africa was expecting to use them to inoculate its health care workers and people aged 60 and older.
