It is clear by the government’s own criteria that it would be “foolish” and a “major risk” to go ahead with the June 21 lockdown easing, one of its advisers has warned, as reports suggest ministers are considering delaying the reopening date by a fortnight.
As new daily coronavirus cases surpassed 6,000 for the first time since March, health secretary Matt Hancock insisted it was “too early to say” whether current plans could go ahead.
But Professor Stephen Reicher, of the government’s SPI-B advisory committee, pointed to the likely more transmissible Delta variant – now dominant in the UK – as he warned there was already enough evidence to say that one of the government’s four key tests for easing lockdown is not being met.
Meanwhile, the travel industry continues to rage at the government following its decision to remove Portugal from its “green list” – with Airlines UK’s chief executive lamenting the “complete pandemonium” caused by the lack of warning offered to travellers by the government.
Warning that consumer confidence had been “shot to…
