Boris Johnson addressed the nation tonight when he announced changes to the roadmap out of the lockdown.
At the press conference, broadcast from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said he will delay the roadmap and will not start Step Four in England on June 21.
Instead, England will remain in Step three for four more weeks until Monday, July 19.
The step on the roadmap that the country is moving towards is determined by four key tests. These tests act as a checklist that must be met before moving on to the next reopening step.
These tests determine if the launch of the vaccine is going as planned, if the vaccines are effective in reducing mortality and hospitalization rates, if the number of cases does not increase to a level that is unsustainable for the NHS, and if the new variants they do not create unforeseen risks.
Two of these tests have not been fulfilled, Boris Johnson said both are tests on variants that change the risks and the risk of an ‘increase in hospitalizations’ that would put pressure on the NHS.
However, there will be a relaxation of the rules starting June 21 for weddings, nursing homes and wakes.
There will be a two-week review of the delay on June 28, and the prime minister’s official spokesman said that if the data is “much better than expected,” the restrictions could be eased on Monday, July 5.
Boris Johnson said he is “confident” that we will not delay the roadmap again after July 19.
There is no guarantee step four will not be delayed again, and step to step four will only be confirmed on July 12.
But the official spokesman for Boris Johnson said: “The Prime Minister is confident that we will not need more than a four-week delay.”
The government has officially advanced its July 31 goal of offering a first dose of vaccine to everyone over the age of 18 in England.
Instead now aims to offer all adults a first dose of the vaccine by July 19; the new date in step four should take effect.
At the same time, the ministers have set a new goal. The summary ends.
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