The Prime Minister has committed to announcing “by the end of the month” whether or not lockdown will come to an end on June 21st. At the same time, he will provide more details on plans for vaccine passports and mask-wearing rules beyond the fourth and final step of the “roadmap”. Boris says “I don’t see any prospect of certificates [going] into pubs”, though earlier today a Government insider hinted that the use of vaccine passports could be widened later this year due to fears about the Indian variant and a third wave of Covid infections. The Prime Minister has also said that he would like to scrap the one-metre plus” rule in hospitality settings on June 21st. Sky News has more.
Doubt had been cast on the last step on the roadmap out of the lockdown by the rising number of cases of the Indian coronavirus variant.
However, speaking on Friday, the Prime Minister said he had not seen any signs that he would have to “deviate” from plans to scrap all Covid curbs in England by next month, suggesting there was no need for so-called vaccine passports to be used to gain entry to pubs.
According to the Government’s current plan, it hopes to be in a position “to remove all legal limits on social contact” from June 21st.
It also intends to allow the reopening of premises that still remain shut – including nightclubs – and ease restrictions on large events and live performances.
Prior to this, the Government will have carried out a review of social distancing and other long-term measures that have been put in place to cut transmission.
Speaking on a visit to Portsmouth, Mr Johnson said: “We will be letting everybody know exactly what sort of arrangements to expect for June 21st.
“But what I can tell you, and just to stress that I am still seeing nothing in the data that leads me to think that we’re going to have to deviate from the roadmap – obviously we must remain cautious but I’m seeing nothing that makes me think we have to deviate.
“But on June 21st and vaccine certification – or Covid status certification I should say – people should bear in mind that I don’t see any prospect of certificates to go into pubs or anything else.”
Pressed on whether the public would continue to be asked to wear masks, Mr Johnson replied: “We will let people know as much as we possibly can by the end of the month about weddings, for instance.
“All the details we’ll try and let people know by the end of the month about exactly where we think we’ll be on June 21st, Step Four.”
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