Boris Johnson promised that June 21 was going to be ‘Freedom Day’ in the U.K., when 15 months of stringent COVID-19 restrictions were finally lifted. But the British PM is due to delay the partying for four more weeks Monday because of the spread of a more infectious coronavirus variant first detected in India, the BBC reported. Britain suffered more than 127,000 deaths in two brutal waves of COVID, making it among the world’s worst-hit countries, but deaths have almost dried up because of the success of its vaccination programme—so far, 80 percent of the adult population has received at least one jab and 60 percent are fully vaccinated. The so-called Delta variant has seen cases climb back up, especially among younger people, and scientists warned that hospitals could come under pressure if rules on indoor gatherings and mask-wearing were lifted. Health Minister Edward Argar told the BBC that a four-week delay would allow 10 million people to get a second jab of COVID vaccine.
