Britons have been forced to endure another four weeks of lockdown amid fears the Delta variant could lead to a third coronavirus wave.
England was due to come out of lockdown on June 21, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pushed the date back to July 19.
In his announcement on Tuesday morning (Australian time), Mr Johnson said cases are growing by about 64 per cent a week and the number of people in hospital intensive care was rising.
He cited the risk of spiking hospital admissions from the Delta variant as a reason to delay lifting all restrictions on social contact.
That means pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other hospitality venues won’t be able to fully reopen for another four weeks.
Restrictions that will remain
- Pubs are limited to providing table service to groups of up to six people, and cannot allow anyone to drink or stand at the bar
- Only six people or two households can gather indoors
- Cinemas and theatres are limited to a capacity of 50 percent
- Nightclubs remain closed
- A limited audience of 1000 people is welcome at sport pilot events.
In an attempt to soften the blow, Mr Johnson axed the 30-guest limit at weddings in England.
He hopes delaying his plans to lift lockdown restrictions by a month would speed up Britain’s vaccination program – already one of the world’s furthest advanced.
“I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” Mr 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.”
The situation would be reviewed on June 28, which could allow the reopening being brought forward, although Mr Johnson’s spokesman said this was considered unlikely.
In recent weeks there has been fast growth in new cases caused by the Delta variant, first discovered in India.
Health officials believe it is 60 per cent more transmissible than the previous dominant strain and scientists have warned that it could trigger a third wave of infections.
On Monday, Britain recorded 7742 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths.
-with AAP
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