The Environment Secretary, George Eustice has warned that easing of restrictions could be delayed and local lockdowns could be imposed.
Boris Johnson has previously said that restrictions will end on 21 June, but Eustice told Sky News that this may not happen and said “we cannot rule anything out.”
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs in the Commons on Monday that the Indian variant has almost doubled in a week to 2,323 cases.
Eustice said, “The Prime Minister said we will take this one step at a time.
“Just yesterday, we’ve had a further set of easements… We need to see how that beds down over the next two to three weeks, and then shortly before the 21 June, we’ll be in a position to assess whether we can go to that next stage.”
He wasked if there could be local restrictions on areas which are struggling after the 21 June.
Eustice said, “That would be an option.
“We cannot rule anything out, but our preferred outcome is that we really double down and get the vaccination rates up in those areas that are seeing these problems so that we can give them the immunity that they need, and then we won’t have to have any such local lockdowns.”
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