July 19 is the “end date” for the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England and it would take an “unprecedented and remarkable” change in circumstances to derail that, Michael Gove told Sky News.
The Cabinet Minister was speaking after Boris Johnson announced a delay at the fourth stage of England’s roadmap COVID-19[female[feminine measures, pushing back the hoped-for “Freedom Day” from June 21, amid rising cases of the Delta variant first identified in India.
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Mr Gove said the postponement was “regrettable” but said “what we want to do is make sure that when we make this move we don’t go back”.
“Because the worst thing for business, the worst thing for any of us, would be to open up again and then find very quickly that we have to reimpose restrictions.”
When asked if the restrictions would finally end on July 19, he said that would be the “end date” for COVID measures.
“It would take an unprecedented and remarkable change in the progression of the disease” for that to change, Gove added.
The Prime Minister told a press conference in Downing Street on Monday that postponing step four would allow more people to receive their second jab before further easing of restrictions takes place, with evidence showing that current vaccines offer a high level of protection against the Indian variant.
The proposed extension will be reviewed to see if action can be taken two weeks earlier on Monday, July 5.
However, Mr Johnson has announced some changes, remove the 30-person limit for weddings starting June 21 as planned and removing the requirement for residents of nursing homes to self-quarantine for 14 days after day trips.
The decision to delay has drawn criticism from several Tory MPs, with Steve Baker, a member of the COVID Recovery Group (CRG) of Conservative backbench MPs, saying the public must “review true freedom.”
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-15 06:20:00
