- Findings from certification and social distancing reviews to
be published
- Cases continue to rise but link between hospitalisations and
deaths weakened
- Prime Minister expected to reiterate that we must carefully
begin to learn to live with this virus
The Prime Minister will host a press conference this afternoon
(Monday 5th July) to set out plans for the final step of the
Roadmap in England, giving businesses and the public more time to
prepare.
The Health and Social Care Secretary will announce the plans to
Parliament.
Step 4 is expected to begin on Monday 19th July if the
Government’s “four tests” for easing covid restrictions have been
met. This will be confirmed on Monday 12th July
following a review of the latest data.
The latest data and scientific modelling suggest that cases will
continue to rise as restrictions are eased, but the link to
hospitalisations and deaths has been weakened due to the
vaccination programme.
As of 2 July, there were 27,714 new positive cases in England.
331 people were admitted with Covid-19 and there were 1,611
patients in hospital. The latest ONS estimates show that 1 in 260
people have COVID-19 in England.
Next steps on the 1m plus rule, face coverings, and working from
home will be set out, alongside the findings of the social
distancing and certification review. An update will also be
provided on the next steps for care home visits.
The Prime Minister is expected to reiterate that Covid will
become a virus that we learn to live with as we already do with
flu. This means that hospitalisations, serious illness and deaths
from Covid will continue, albeit at a much lower level than
before the vaccination programme.
To continue to receive the best possible protection against
Covid, all adults are encouraged to get two vaccine doses. As of
4July, over 78 million vaccine doses have now been administered
in the UK, and 63.4% of adults have received two doses.
Step 3 was delayed by up to 4 weeks so every adult could be
offered a vaccine, around two thirds of adults could receive a
second jab, and more data could be assessed on the new Delta
variant which is now dominant in the UK.
Data from Public Health England now shows that Covid vaccines are
highly effective against severe illness and hospitalisation from
this variant. The analysis suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
is 96% effective, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine 92%
effective against hospitalisation after two doses.
The Government is ensuring preparations are in place to offer
third “booster” doses to everyone aged over 50 and the most
vulnerable to boost their immunity over the winter months, based
on interim advice from the JCVI. Final advice is expected in the
coming months.
Our red list border control regime, surge testing, community
testing and genome sequencing are effective ways of finding and
isolating new cases of variants and will continue to be deployed.
The Prime Minister is expected to praise the efforts of the
nation in getting this virus under control, while urging for
caution while cases continue to rise and more people receive the
greatest possible protection from two jabs.
Prime Minister said:
“Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme,
we are progressing cautiously through our roadmap. Today we will
set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach step
4.
“But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases
will continue to rise over the coming weeks.
“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all
continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise
judgement when going about our lives.”
