UK Health Minister says 'No perfect time to lift COVID restrictions'; stresses caution

As England is rushing to ease the coronavirus restrictions from July 19 despite being devastated by the deadly delta variant of COVID-19, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the Parliament that "this is the right time for the country to get 'closer to normal life' after a rigorous lockdown. However, he maintained that the Britons should strictly follow the COVID-19 guidelines including wearing face masks in order to keep the virus at bay.

"We pledged that by the 19th of July, we’d have offered every adult a first dose of the vaccine, and have given two doses to two-thirds of all adults. I’m pleased to inform the House that we’re on track to beat both of these targets. So, as we make this crucial decision, we’re in a stronger position than ever before," UK health minister Javid assured the Parliament. 

"There will never be a perfect time to ease restrictions"

The British health minister also assured the Parliament that the government would stay vigilant and would keep a close eye on the data. Apart from these measures, the government will invest £50 million into research. "So even as we look to ease restrictions, we’ll maintain our tough measures at the borders and we’ll expand our capacity for genomic sequencing, already one of the largest in the world, so we can come down hard on new variants," added Javid.

Waiting any longer to lift restrictions will risk having the virus spread peak in the autumn and winter when children return to school and hospitals are most likely to be overwhelmed by seasonal infections, Javid and Prime Minister Johnson said. "There will never be a perfect time to take this step because we simply cannot eradicate this virus-- whether we like it or not, coronavirus is not going away,' Javid said.

We cannot simply revert to normalcy from July 19: Johnson

Earlier on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also confirmed the opening of Nightclubs and other venues with full capacity, with vaccine passports for entry 'as a matter of social responsibility'. "This pandemic is not over. This disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks for you and your family. We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, July 19 to life as it was before COVID," Johnson said.

The British government believes that the vaccine rollout has mostly severed the link between infections and those needing hospitalization. The numbers of people requiring hospitalization or dying from COVID-19 have stayed low and broadly stable, though they have been edging up in recent days. Still, concerns over the rapid increase in cases have piled pressure on the government to take a more cautious approach over lifting restrictions.

(With inputs from agencies)