British PM Johnson Delays Lifting of COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions By A Month Due to Delta Variant

Making plans during the pandemic is like trying to eat bak kut teh outside while serving your Stay-Home Notice (SHN) without getting caught: pointless.

COVID-19 has repeatedly ruined our plans since January last year, whether it was to holiday in a faraway land or open up after a lockdown.

The UK, for example, was supposed to lift most social restrictions on 21 June, meaning that pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other hospitality venues could fully reopen.

But the coronavirus must have read this announcement online, and was like: “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

British PM Johnson Delays Lifting of COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions By A Month Due to Delta Variant

Thousands more might die if I do nothing, said British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson as he announced an extension of lockdown restrictions.

The authorities were supposed to ease restrictions on 21 June, but have pushed it back to 19 July due to the rapid spread of the more infectious Delta variant.

PM Johnson is certain, however, that the country will “not need more than four weeks.”

In the meantime, the UK will speed up its vaccination rate, which is already one of the highest in the world.

It will do this by shortening the recommended time between doses for those aged over 40 from 12 weeks to eight weeks.

“By being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people,” PM Johnson said.

Cases in UK Rising By 64% Every Week; More People in Intensive Care

In his speech, PM Johnson said that COVID-19 cases in the UK are growing by about 64% per week and the number of people in hospital intensive care was on the rise as well.

The escalating outbreak is believed to have been triggered by the Delta COVID-19 variant, which is said to be 60% more infectious.

What’s more, the Delta variant seems to double one’s risk of hospitalisation.

It’s not all bad news, though.

COVID-19 Vaccines Still Offer Strong Protection Against Delta Variant

A study done in the UK showed that COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca offered protection of more than 90% against hospitalisation from the Delta coronavirus variant.

After two doses, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 96% effective against hospitalisation, while AstraZeneca’s offered 92% protection against hospitalisation.

Another study, done in Scotland, showed that two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine cut one’s risk of hospitalisation by 70%.

In the UK, over 41 million people have received their first dose and nearly 30 million have completed their vaccination regimen.

This is around 57% of the adult population.

Hopefully, if enough people are vaccinated, the Delta variant will have nowhere to go.

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