Coronavirus news UK latest: Delta variant sees Covid cases rise by 65% in a week amid June 21 freedom day delay fears

THE Government is “drawing up other options” before deciding on whether a June 21 end to Covid restrictions will still go ahead.

‘Freedom Day’ on June 21 could be delayed to July 5 in an effort to make sure all those aged over 50 receive a second vaccine. Sources told ITV News that plans are being made to push it back by two weeks.

Yesterday the UK recorded another 5,765 coronavirus cases and 13 further deaths yesterday – a figure slightly down from Friday’s two-month high – as experts say the planned end to restrictions remains “a difficult call”.

Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel told Times Radio: “It’s a hard one. I’m going to be annoying and sit a little bit on the fence on this, as I don’t think it’s our role as epidemiologists to call that. I think the difficult thing that we have, the difficult situation the government have is of course if you delay that then of course you’ll get a smaller subsequent wave.

It comes as new data suggests the mutation is twice as likely to cause hospitalisation, as June 21’s “Freedom Day” hangs in the balance.

A Public Health England report showed that people who tested positive for the Indian coronavirus variant were at 161% higher risk of needing hospital treatment within 14 days.

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