LONDON: The UK government on Saturday said it is considering “options” around a planned end to lockdown on June 21 after the country recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases in just over two months.
The UK recorded a further 6,238 cases on Friday as England’s R number, or the rate of infection, continued to rise and the latest government numbers also showed another 11 Covid-related deaths.
The cases in the country are now at its highest since March 25, when 6,397 were recorded, and the spike is largely down to the Delta variant first detected in India.
“Of course officials are drawing up other options but we are still expecting to be in a place to go ahead on June 21,” a UK government figure told Sky News.
Options under discussion are said to include retaining the wearing of face masks in certain settings and continuing the work from home advice.
The UK will also offer first doses of the vaccine to people over age 25 from next week, Telegraph reported on Friday.
However, the government maintains that there is “nothing in the data” to suggest that ending the lockdown should be delayed.