Minister of Health outlines why restrictions are being lifted
Sajid Javid said the government would “step down hard the moment we discover a new variant” as he set out why the government would move forward with easing restrictions in England on July 19.
The Minister of Health said of the vaccination program in England: “It has prevented between 7.5 million and 8.9 million infections, it has prevented about 46,000 hospitalizations and about 30,000 people lost their lives, all because of the protection vaccines can bring.”
Health Minister Sajid Javid briefs MPs on the government’s coronavirus plans (Image: PA)
Mr Javid reiterated that cases are on the rise and could reach 100,000 a day in the summer – with the average number of daily cases currently being more than 26,000, which has doubled in the past 11 days.
He said hospital admissions are also increasing, but this wave was 61% lower in January compared to a previous wave.
Mr Javid said the government will “remain vigilant” and keep a close eye on the data, adding, “Based on the evidence we have, we do not believe that infection rates will put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.”
The Minister of Health continued, “Even if we try to loosen the restrictions, we will maintain tough measures at the borders and expand our genome sequencing capacity …