The new Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who took office after the resignation of Matt Hancock, told the House of Commons that ministers “see no reason to go beyond” that “target date, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Health secretary Sajid Javid has announced that the final easing of lockdown measures in England is still set for 19 July.
The easing of lockdown measures in the UK was pushed back by four weeks from June 21 amid concerns over the spread of the Delta variant.
The new health secretary, who took office after the resignation of Matt Hancock, told the House of Commons that ministers “see no reason to go beyond” that “target date”, according to a BBC report.
Javid said that while cases were rising, the number of deaths “remains mercifully low”.
In a statement, he said no date for lifting restrictions would come with “zero risk” and that “we have to learn to live with” Covid-19.
“We also know that people and businesses need certainty, so we want every step to be irreversible,” BBC quoted Javid as saying.
“The restrictions on our freedoms, they must come to an end.”
Javid also added that the government was aiming for “around two thirds of all adults in this country” to have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine by 19 July.
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said the UK is “very likely” to ease Covid measures and people will be able to go back to life “as it was before Covid” on July 19.
“Although there are some encouraging signs and the number of deaths and hospitalisations remains low — though both are going up a bit — we are seeing an increase in cases,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“So we think it’s sensible to stick to our plan to have a cautious but irreversible approach, use the next three weeks or so really to complete as much as we can of the vaccine rollout.
“And then with every day that goes by, it’s clearer to me and all our scientific advisers that we’re very likely to be in a position on July 19 to say that we can go back to life as it was before Covid as far as possible,” he noted.
Britain has reported another 18,270 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, the highest since early February, and 23 coronavirus-related deaths, according to official figures released on Saturday.
The government’s decision on lifting measures is based on the progress of the UK’s vaccine rollout.
According to latest figures, across the UK, 44 million people — or 84.1 per cent of adults — have had their first jab and more than 32 million people — 61.6 per cent of the adult population — have had their second dose, the BBC said.
“I want to see the restrictions lifted and life going back to normal as quickly as possible. That is my absolute priority. I want to see those restrictions lifted as soon as we can,” Sajid Javid was quoted as saying.
After his statement at the Commons, Javid was asked what he would do to help parents who were having to stay home repeatedly because their children were being told to isolate.
Javid said a pilot was under way to ascertain whether “tests can be used in lieu of isolation,” the BBC reported.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, suggested the government should not be so confident about the date, warning that cases were on the up.
“We’ve seen around 84,000 cases in the last week, an increase of around 61%. Today we’ve seen the highest case rate since January,” he said.
“So what is he going to do to push infections down? Vaccinations will do it eventually but not in the next four weeks,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.