When will England’s lockdown end?
No. 10 plays down talk of early end to restrictions
![Bolton testing centre](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kzw752Rc7WoMQTMmxFZWXe-415-80.jpg)
Downing Street has denied suggestions that the end of coronavirus restrictions in England could be brought forward from 19 July.
A spokesperson for the prime minister told reporters that “we will monitor case data day by day to see if moving forward after two weeks is possible”, but noted that more people are being treated in intensive care units and “the seven-day average for hospitalisations also continues to rise”.
The intervention came after the BBC reported that Boris Johnson had earlier said the 19 July deadline for all restrictions to come to an end was “looking good”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During a visit to a testing laboratory in Hertfordshire, the prime minister said: “You can never exclude that there will be some new disease, some new horror that we simply haven’t budgeted for, or accounted for.
“But looking at where we are, looking at the efficacy of the vaccines against all variants that we can currently see - so Alpha, Delta, the lot of them, Kappa - I think it’s looking good for July 19 to be that terminus point.”
The new ‘terminus date’
England’s so-called Freedom Day, originally scheduled for 21 June, was last week delayed as cases of the new Delta Covid variant continue to increase.
Appearing at a press conference last week, Johnson told the nation that thousands of deaths can be avoided by pushing back the final step out of lockdown, which would have included the reopening of nightclubs and the end of limits on social gatherings.
The new date in the diary is 19 July, described by Johnson as “the terminus date”. By then, every adult should have had at least one vaccination and two-thirds should have received two doses.
Johnson last week said the government would be monitoring the situation daily and if after two weeks, around 5 July, “we have concluded that the risk has diminished, then we reserve the possibility of proceeding to step four and a full opening sooner”.
However, the possibility now appears unlikely after the prime minister’s spokesperson today told reporters: “The data we are looking at - 10,000 cases recorded for the third day in a row on Saturday - is the highest level since 2 February”.
A later reopening
The prime minister was “doing the best impression he could of his old bullishness” as he last week announced that, “barring any unforeseeable new variants”, he was “confident” that the government would not need to go beyond the four weeks, says The Telegraph’s sketch writer Michael Deacon.
But he adds: “Note the caveat. Once again, a nation crosses its fingers, and sighs.”
Johnson’s refusal to exclude the possibility that there might be “some new variant that is far more dangerous, that kills people in a way that we currently cannot foresee or understand” is unlikely to placate some Tory MPs who worry that scientists will push for a further delay. Some even fear that restrictions could be in place until spring.
Asked in the Commons last week if the government had ruled out reintroducing restrictions in the autumn and winter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock did not answer the question directly. But he said a goal of eradicating Covid-19 was “impossible” and, therefore, “we must learn how we can live our normal lives with this virus”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stage
The Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side
In the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Roman epic Those About to Die has split the critics
Talking Point Sword and sandals miniseries starring Anthony Hopkins puts spectacle above story
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Long Covid and chronic pain: is it all in the mind?
The Explainer 'Retraining the brain' could offer a solution for some long Covid sufferers
By The Week UK Published
-
Infected blood scandal: will justice be served?
Today's Big Question Government apologises for 'decades-long moral failure' and promises £10bn compensation but true accountability may take far longer
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How happy is Finland really?
Today's Big Question Nordic nation tops global happiness survey for seventh year in a row with 'focus on contentment over joy'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published