Boris Johnson has said he is “hopeful” the current UK coronavirus lockdown will be the last, adding that there is nothing in the data at present to suggest deviations from his government’s roadmap to 21 June could become necessary, although Professor Chris Whitty, his chief medical officer, did warn that an uptick in infections was inevitable as unlocking continued and that Covid variants around the world remained a concern.
The PM preached cautious optimism at his latest Downing Street press conference on the same day that Covid-19 restrictions in England were eased - more than three months after the country was plunged into its third national shutdown - with golf courses, swimming pools and sports and leisure centres all reopening and the rule of six returning.
Mr Johnson also announced that up to 60m doses of GlaxoSmithKline’s Novavax coronavirus vaccine will be produced in the north east of England at the company’s facility near Barnard Castle, the very same historic town that inspired the downfall of his former adviser Dominic Cummings.
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