Health Secretary Matt Hancock has opened the debate on whether to delay the easing of coronavirus restrictions
He tells MPs the Delta variant has given the virus “extra legs” because it spreads more easily.
“And because there’s some evidence that the risk of hospitalisation is higher than for the Alpha variant, which was of course previously dominant in this country,” he says.
“The Delta variant now accounts for 96% of new cases. The number of cases is rising and hospitalisations are starting to rise too – they are up 48% over the past week,” he says.
“The number of deaths in England is thankfully not rising and remains very low.”
He adds: “We don’t yet know the extent to which the link between hospitalisation and deaths has been broken, so we propose to give the NHS a few more crucial weeks to get those remaining jabs into the arms of those who need them.”
