The British government has extended the nationwide lockdown till July 17 and has also decided to quarantine travelers from high-risk Covid-19 countries for at least 10 days as it is unable to arrest the rising numbers of new Covid variant infections. The Telegraph reported on Saturday, the British government has quietly extended lockdown laws to give councils the power to close pubs, restaurants, shops and public spaces until July 17. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail said, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will force travellers from high-risk COVID-19 countries to quarantine in hotels for ten days, in a decision to be taken on Monday.
On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government could not consider easing lockdown restrictions with infection rates at their current high levels, and until it is confident that the vaccination programme is working. He also warned on Friday that the new UK variant of COVID-19 may be associated with a higher level of mortality as the country's death tally from COVID-19 nears the 100,000 mark - hitting 97,329 on Saturday. The prime minister noted that there are more than 38,000 people in hospital, 78 per cent higher than there were at peak of the first wave, and more than 4,600 people have been hospitalized in the last 24 hours. Another 40,261 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 35,83,907, according to official figures released on Friday. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 1,401 in one day to 95,981.