British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that he saw “absolutely nothing” in the scientific data that would justify reviewing his deconfinement plan for England, when some scientists warn of new variants of the coronavirus.
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The most bereaved country in Europe by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Kingdom will slowly come out of its third confinement in the coming weeks. Wales thus became the first of four British provinces on Saturday to lift some of the restrictions put in place at the start of the year to combat the spread of a new, more transmissible variant, which appeared at the end of 2020 in the south-east. from England.
On Monday, it will be England’s turn to soften its measures, allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors. The terraces of pubs and restaurants as well as non-essential shops will then reopen their doors to customers on April 12.
“As it stands, I see absolutely nothing in the data that could dissuade me from continuing on the path to freedom, out of confinement for our economy and back to the life we love” , said the Prime Minister on Saturday, during the virtual launch of his Conservative Party’s campaign for the local elections in May.
Earlier today, one of the government’s scientific advisers had however stressed the need to remain vigilant. “In the short term, we are worried about the new variants,” Mike Tildesley said on Times Radio as a third wave of COVID-19 hits Europe hard and could hit the UK in three weeks.
Aware that there are “risks”, Boris Johnson said, however, that the success of his large vaccination campaign – which provided a first dose of vaccine to almost 30 million adults – constitutes a “fundamental difference” from the previous year and “sufficiently mitigate” the increase in infections and hospitalizations.
“In a few days, I will finally be able to go to the hairdresser”, rejoiced the one who has for weeks displayed a huge blonde hair and disheveled during press conferences devoted to the health situation.
“But more importantly, I’m going to be able to go out onto the streets and, safely, but definitely, I’m going to have a pint of beer in the pub,” he joked.