‘July 19 Is Looking Good'

Boris Johnson insists the prospects for lifting Covid restrictions next month are “looking good”.

- Macer Hall

The Prime Minister said the Government’s scientific data showed vaccines are working against all coronavirus variants to raise hopes that freedom day will go ahead on July 19.

But he also cast fresh doubt over summer holidays abroad by warning that travel will remain “difficult” this year.

Mr Johnson gave his latest assessment of the national effort against the pandemic during a visit to the MHRA laboratory in South Mimms, Herts, yesterday.

He said: “You can never exclude that there will be some new disease, some new horror that we simply haven’t budgeted for, or accounted for.

“But looking at where we are, looking at the efficacy of the vaccines against all variants that we can currently see – so Alpha, Delta, the lot of them, Kappa – I think it’s looking good for July 19 to be that terminus point.

Priority

“I think what the scientists are saying is that things like flu will come back this winter. We may have a rough winter for all sorts of reasons, and obviously there are big pressures on the NHS.

“All the more reason to reduce the number of Covid cases now. Give the NHS the breathing space it needs to get on with dealing with all those other pressures – and we are certainly going to be putting in the investment to make sure that they can.”