Boris Johnson is to delay announcing how social distancing rules could be eased amid concerns over the impact of new Covid variants.
The government is now not expected to give the all clear to the fourth and final step in England’s relaxation of lockdown rules until 14 June – a week ahead of the earliest date for the removal of restrictions on 21 June.
There is speculation that the June date could slip, with some health experts urging the government to delay a full unlocking while new variants are assessed.
It came as new figures showed more than 60 million first and second vaccine doses have been administered since 8 December.
That includes 37.9 million people who have received a first dose – 72 per cent of the UK population – and 22.6 million who have had both (43 per cent).
The number of second doses administered in the UK hit a daily record on Saturday, with 556,951.
Meanwhile, a study found thay Covid infection has a distinct smell that can be detected by specially trained dogs with up to 94 per cent accuracy.
The findings, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, are based on six dogs who tested more than 3,500 odour samples donated by the public and NHS staff.
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