Four months ago, when Boris Johnson’s government announced its plan to release England from lockdown, the Prime Minister vowed to be guided by “data, not dates”. In this respect at least, he has been true to his word.
The four-week postponement of the 21 June reopening – so-called Freedom Day – is a pragmatic response to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, which originated in India. The new strain, which now accounts for up to 96 per cent of Covid cases in the UK, is estimated to be 40 to 80 per cent more transmissible than the previously dominant Alpha (Kent) variant, which emerged before Christmas.
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