On track to end lockdown on July 19: The UK Health Minister
New Delhi: Health Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) Matt Hancock on Tuesday said, “We are on track for the opening on July 19 and we will watch vigilantly, we will look at the data in particular at the start of next week.”
The UK Government has decided to lift all Covid-19 restrictions on July 19 as the health administration reports a low rate of deaths and hospitalization in the country.
The data over the last week or so has been encouraging, especially looking at the number of people who are dying that is staying very, very low, Matt Hancock said.
According to the official data of the UK Government, around 4.64 million got infected by the deadliest coronavirus and around 128,000 people have lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, he added that the flu vaccine could be offered alongside a coronavirus booster jab in the autumn to prevent the need for further lockdowns later in the year.
Hancock said, “the government will be monitoring the data closely next week to make an assessment related to the July timeline for easing all restrictions on gatherings and weddings.”
The minister has also indicated that plans to allow quarantine-free travel for people who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are also under consideration as the country looks to ease up lockdown measures, delayed by a month amid a spike in Delta variant infections.
He also said that “the main National Health Service (NHS) app will be ‘important in the future, with countries likely to need Britons to prove their vaccination status before entering.”
“Six million people have now downloaded the main NHS App and on that, you can show whether you have had the jabs,” Hancock said. “It’s important because we know other countries are going to say that they want proof that you have been vaccinated before you go. So, when travel opens up, we are going to make sure people have got that ability to prove it,” he said.
