British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to end an England-wide lockdown as scheduled on Wednesday next week and to announce a return to regional restrictions, as statistics show COVID-19 infections have stabilized.
Johnson’s office late on Saturday said that the government plans to return to using a three-tiered system of localized restrictions in England, with areas facing different measures based on the severity of their outbreaks.
More communities are expected to be placed in the two highest virus alert categories, the office said in a statement.
Photo: AP
The British government put England under a four-week lockdown that started on Nov. 5.
The Cabinet was scheduled to discuss the plans yesterday, and Johnson is to give Parliament the details today, the statement said.
The office also confirmed plans to begin a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program next month, assuming regulators approve a vaccine against the virus.
The government would also increase mass testing in an effort to suppress the virus until vaccines can be introduced.
Johnson announced the lockdown in England on Oct. 31 after public health officials warned that an exponential rise in new confirmed coronavirus infections was threatening to overwhelm the British National Health Service as the winter flu season approached.
New known cases of COVID-19 have started to drop across the UK, with the number of positive tests during the past seven days falling 13.8 percent from the week before.
About 2,861 COVID-related deaths were reported over the past seven-day period, 17 fewer than a week earlier.
British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock on Friday told reporters that the lockdown has been successful in slowing the spread of the virus.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said that gains could be quickly lost to a virus that takes “just seconds” to spread.
People should “keep up the pressure on this virus and push down on it as much as we can right to the end of the period [of lockdown],” he said.
The government’s scientific advisory group, known as SAGE, is expected to publish reports today showing that the earlier three-tiered strategy was not strong enough and recommending tougher restrictions when it returns.
Under that system, a “medium” alert level requires restaurants and pubs to close at 10pm and prohibits residents from mixing in groups larger than six.
The “high” level prevents people from gathering indoors with anyone not in their household or extended “support bubble.”
In areas put under a “very high” alert, pubs and bars can only remain open and serve alcohol only if it comes with a hearty meal.
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