B16172 Covid Variant, First Found In India May Disrupt UK’s Reopening Plans: Boris Johnson

Covid Update: England government which is planning to reopen and lift restrictions from the country after dip in Coronavirus cases and completing the inoculation drive for a large population has said that rise in cases of the ‘Indian coronavirus variant’ could “pose serious disruption” to Britain’s reopening plans.

England will take the next step of reopening on Monday as planned, but the final stage, currently scheduled for June 21, could be in doubt.

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“I do not believe we need to delay our roadmap,” said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

But, “this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress,” he said, adding “We will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe”, as quoted by AFP.

The UK Health Ministery has claimed that the B1.617.2 variant is “beginning to spread increasingly rapidly” in northwest England and to a lesser extent in London, “and decisive action is being taken to further control its spread”.

In a bid to stop the B1.617.2 variant from spreading further and to limit its affect in the country which might hinder the reopening plans, the Boris Government has planned to accelerate the second doses for the over-50s and the clinically vulnerable.

Johnson also said that Britain has driven down cases over the last few months thanks to a successful vaccine campaign, and officials are optimistic they will be effective against the variant.

“So far, there is no evidence that our vaccine will be less effective against serious illness and hospitalisations,” said the UK prime minister, adding the country was “in a different position from the last time we faced a new variant”.

The Britain government announced last month that travellers from India will have to be quarantined in hotels on arrival in Britain as India is experiencing a devastating wave of deaths from Covid-19. Britain has marked India on its red list.

Britain has been gradually reopening its economy, after months of coronavirus restrictions.

On Monday, indoor mixing will resume in England, including in pubs and restaurants.

(With AFP Inputs)