Will lockdown still be eased on 21 June?

While Boris Johnson used the bank holiday weekend to get married, scientists have been busy filling the airwaves with various warnings about proceeding with the final lockdown easing on 21 June. There have been a series of statements from both government advisers and other scientists arguing that in the face of rising cases of the Indian variant – which the World Health Organisation now calls ‘Delta’ – it would be unwise to press ahead with the next stage of the roadmap this month.

Nervtag member Prof Ravi Gupta has said the UK appears to be in what could be described as the early stages of a third wave – with an ‘exponential’ rise in cases. As a result, he says the 21 June easing ought to be pushed back by a few weeks to allow for more time to process the data. Meanwhile, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi – director of public health at Lancashire county council – has said it ‘makes sense’ to delay unlocking until ‘the vulnerable get two doses of the vaccine’ (though it’s worth pointing out the government’s plan is to do this before 21 June anyway).