With the number of daily new cases of the coronavirus doubling in the past four weeks, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delayed the planned loosening of public health restrictions for another four weeks, the Associated Press reports.
“I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” Johnson said in a press briefing Monday. “Now is the time to ease off the accelerator, because by being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people.”
The new planned date for easing restrictions on the size of social gatherings and the capacity of public places, like restaurants and pubs, will now be July 19th instead of the previously announced June 21st.
The delta variant of the coronavirus, believed to be more contagious and more likely to impact younger people, currently makes up more than 90% of the coronavirus cases diagnosed in the UK. Scientists say the delta variant is 40% to 80% more contagious than other strains.
The British government reported more than 7,900 new cases of the coronavirus for Monday alone, the highest number since mid-February, when Johnson’s government first laid out plans for easing restrictions. Just one month ago, the seven-day trend of new cases was holding steady at around 2,000 per day.