All over 18s are now able to book a vaccine, and nearly 60 per cent of under 25s have received at least one dose, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
The government on Monday announced that people attending nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather will need to be fully vaccinated from the end of September.
The announcement came on the day nightclubs in England were allowed to reopen after 16 months of closure. As per latest figures, 35% of 18 to 30-year-olds have not had their first jab, the BBC reported.
Currently nightclubs and other crowded venues are only encouraged to ask clubbers to show proof of vaccination, a negative test result or immunity.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said he was concerned by the continuing risk of transmission.
“I don’t want to have to close nightclubs again as they have elsewhere. But it does mean nightclubs need to do the socially responsible thing,” BBC quoted Johnson as saying during a press conference. “As we said last week, we do reserve the right to mandate certification at any point if it’s necessary to reduce transmission.”
“And I should serve notice now that by the end of September, when all over 18s have had their chance to be double jabbed we’re planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather,” he added.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance also said nightclubs and other such venues could be “potential super spreading events” because of crowds in close contact.
“I would expect that with opening of nightclubs, we’ll continue to see an increase in cases, and we will see outbreaks related to specific nightclubs as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, UK has reported another 39,950 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,473,477, according to official figures released on Monday.
The country also recorded another 19 coronavirus-related deaths, with the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now standing at 128,727. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.
.Monday is being described by the British government as Freedom Day when almost all legal restrictions on social contact have been removed.
The detailed arrangement of the final step out of lockdown includes: no more limits on social contact to allow people to gather in groups of any size; removal of the “one meter-plus” rule in almost all settings, except for specific places such as airports; no capacity caps on large scale events; and people are no longer required to work from home, among other changes. Face coverings will be recommended in some spaces, but not required by law.
In a statement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson emphasized the need to remain cautious as restrictions were lifted.
He also called for all adults who have not yet received their first or second vaccine dose to come forward and have the jabs.
All over 18s are now able to book a vaccine, and nearly 60 per cent of under 25s have received at least one dose. Young adults can be key drivers of transmission and are urged to come forward for both doses, according to the statement.
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