PM warns against gathering on Easter weekend
COPING WITH THE VIRUS ACROSS WORLD
PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has urged against people meeting others from different households indoors over the Easter weekend as he warned vaccines do not guarantee “100 per cent protection” from coronavirus.
Groups of up to six, or two households, are now able to meet up in parks and gardens after the stay-at-home order ended in England earlier this week, but socialising indoors remains banned to limit the spread of the virus.
As millions of people plan to see friends and family over the bank holiday weekend, the Prime Minister warned that the country was not yet at the stage of allowing people to meet indoors.
The earliest date that families and friends could be reunited inside their homes under the Government’s road map is May 17, with the rule of six or two households then set to apply indoors.
During a Twitter question and answer session, Mr Johnson was asked if people could meet loved ones indoors if they are vaccinated, to which he replied: “I’m afraid the answer is no, because we’re not yet at that stage. We’re still very much in a world where you can meet friends and family outdoors under the rule of six or two households.
“And even though your friends and family members may be vaccinated, the vaccines are not giving 100 per cent protection, and that’s why we just need to be cautious. We don’t think that they entirely reduce or remove the risk of transmission.”
AstraZeneca has said its vaccine has 76 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 and is 100 per cent effective against severe or critical disease and hospital admission due to coronavirus.
It also has 85 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 in patients aged 65 years and over, the British-Swedish firm said.
More than 31m people in the UK have now received a first coronavirus vaccine dose, as the rollout progresses towards hitting the Government’s target of offering a jab to all adults by July.
Government data up to Thursday shows that of the 36,249,902 jabs given in the UK so far, 31,301,267 were first doses – a rise of 153,823 on the previous day.
Some 4,948,635 were second doses, an increase of 435,177, according to the statistics.
The Government also said a further 52 people had died within 28 days of testing positive as of yesterday, while there had been a further 3,402 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. Figures for cases and deaths yesterday do not include numbers from Wales, which is not reporting its data on Good Friday or Easter Monday.
Meanwhile, the Government has announced that care home residents will be allowed a second regular indoor visitor from April 12, while babies and young children can also attend.
Infants and children are not counted as one of the two visitors, meaning residents will be allowed to see small bubbles of relatives or friends for the first time in months.