What to expect from Boris Johnson's lockdown speech about June 21; The Prime Minister is due to announce that Step 3 of the lockdown will be extended beyond Monday June 21, in a speech at 6pm today.
Byline: By, Simon Meechan
Boris Johnson will lead a press conference early on Monday evening when he is expected to confirm lockdown will not be relaxed on June 21.
The Prime Minister will speak at around 6pm today along with Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty and Westminster's Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance.
Lockdown was pencilled in to end on Monday June 21, but concerns about the Delta variant's spread have reportedly convinced Mr Johnson to extend the measures. It means nightclubs won't be able to open as planned from June 14, while restrictions will remain in place in the hospitality sector, at venues and sports stadiums.
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England's rate of new cases of COVID-19 has climbed to its highest level for more than three months, with around one in 10 local areas now recording rates above 100 cases per 100,000 people, new analysis shows.
Some 35 of the 315 local authority areas in England -- 11% -- are currently recording rates above the symbolic threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 people, according to analysis by the PA news agency. They include Newcastle, which has a rate of 107.3.
The announcement means that limits on numbers for sports events, pubs and cinemas are likely to remain in place, nightclubs will stay closed and people will be encouraged to keep up social distancing and working from home.
The move has been met with fury by some Tory MPs, with a vote this month expected to lead to a possible Conservative backbench rebellion.
Health minister Edward Argar said that if the June 21 lockdown easing was delayed for one month, another 10 million second coronavirus vaccine doses could be given across the UK.
He told Sky News that while the number of people in hospital has been "creeping up a bit", vaccination meant "we are seeing that severing of the link between the disease and hospitalisations and death."
Mr Argar added: "I think that on that basis, everyone will recognise that there comes a point where we do have to live with this disease and recognise that you cannot go for a zero COVID approach, you have to live with it, and vaccination is the key to that.
"So I think once we have got those second doses in people's arms, once we have got that level of protection up to around that 81%, then I think people will be more comfortable with it."
Conservative MP Peter Bone said a delay to the lifting of restrictions should not happen "without really good reason" and that currently he...
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