Boris Johnson announced a pause in England, but restrictions that have been eased have already created a surge in infections
The prime minister has announced that England is not yet able to remove the final public health measures that are in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that these measures are likely to remain until 19 July. So why is this step needed, and what are the potential benefits of an additional four weeks of restrictions? Will this be enough to prevent a further wave?
The Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 (first identified in India) has become the most common strain in the UK over the past few weeks and is spreading rapidly as a result of its being more transmissible than the Alpha (Kent) variant responsible for the January 2021 wave – the number of infections is doubling every seven to 10 days at present.
