Covid 21 June lockdown exit cancelled, Boris Johnson ‘to announce on Monday’

“Patience now will pay off in the long run,” an expert has told ministers as they make a final decision on whether or not to delay lifting all remaining lockdown restrictions on 21 June.

Jim McManus, vice-president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said “Covid is not going to disappear on 21 June”.

Ending restrictions could “derail our path back to normality”, he added, as cases and hospitalisations could rise and new variants enter the UK.

“We would like to see the extension of the current measures – brought into effect on 17th May – and a delay to the full reopening”, he said.

An announcement on whether or not a delay will be implemented into the roadmap out of lockdown is expected on Monday.

Restriction-free gatherings may have to wait another month as ministers are considering delaying the fourth and final stage of the PM’s roadmap out of lockdown by four weeks, reports say.

The longer delay has been suggested as a means of giving businesses certainty about when they can fully reopen, according to The Times, as a shorter delay could end up being extended.

Others reportedly suggested that a two week delay is also still being discussed, as is unlocking on 21 June – but this is said to be seen as unlikely. A final decision is set to be announced to the public on Monday.

It’s “highly unlikely” that the government will lift all remaining lockdown restrictions on 21 June, the shadow foreign secretary has said.

Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast that if the end of restrictions comes too soon, variants could spread and the country could end up being placed under another lockdown.

“This has got to be the last lockdown,” she said.

“I think it’s highly unlikely [ministers] are going to go ahead with full unlocking on the 21st.”

Proceeding with caution is important, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi stressed when whether ending remaining lockdown restrictions on 21 June is likely to be delayed.

“I think it’s really important that we are really careful,” he told Times Radio, adding that “the virus hasn’t gone away”.

“There has been some really hard won battles against this virus and we don’t want to squander those hard fought gains that we have made through the vaccination programme,” he said.

“In saying that, the virus hasn’t gone away, the virus will continue to attempt to mutate, to escape, to try and survive, and I think it’s really important that we are really careful.”

Britain’s supply of Pfizer vaccine will be “tight” in the next few weeks, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has admitted.

He stressed that that the supply is “stable” albeit “finite” after Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said that it will be “particularly tight” in coming weeks.

Mr Zahawi told LBC that he’s “confident” Scotland will be provided with the Pfizer vaccines it needs to be able to meet the UK’s vaccination target for the end of July.

Asked whether it’ll be tight, he said: “It will be, there is no doubt. Every time I’ve come on your show I’ve said that the determining factor in terms of vaccine in arms is supply.

“And supply remains finite, but it is stable, and Pfizer have done a great job in being consistent on their delivery schedule.”

Could the government’s red, amber and green lists for international travel change at the next review on 24 June?

Do I have any chance of a hot French or Italian getaway this summer?

For answers to these questions and many more, here’s Simon Calder on all of your burning travel queries:

Cornwall’s public health director has said that her team is used to dealing with coronavirus outbreaks in the wake of reports that a hotel hosting G7 summit security staff in the region was closed over Covid-19 concerns.

Asked about the outbreak, Rachel Wigglesworth, director of Public Health for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, told Sky News that “we are used to dealing with these sort of incidents across the country now”.

“Our public health teams and the expertise around them are helping to support venues where there are any outbreaks and sometimes a business has to make the decision that they operationally cannot continue to work,” she added.

The Pedn Olva hotel in St Ives closed for deep cleaning on Thursday after the outbreak was identified. Reports suggest that some of the security staff of the world leaders staying at the nearby Tregenna Castle had been staying there.

All over-50s who have had their first vaccine dose should be offered their second by 21 June, the vaccines minister has said.

Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Breakfast that this target is on track to be met, adding that there has been a “very high level of uptake” of the jabs.

He also urged people in this category who have not had either their first or second doses to do so to gain protection agains the virus and the Delta variant in particular.

Over 90 per cent of new Covid-19 cases in the UK are now the Delta variant, Public Health England data suggests.

The variant, which was first identified in India, is associated with an approximately 60 per cent increased risk of transmission compared to the Alpha variant, first identified in the UK, PHE say.

The data also suggests that the Delta variant is showing a higher rate of growth: regional estimates for doubling time range from 4.5 to 11.5 days.