But the Prime Minister urged the public to remain cautious despite the greater freedoms, as concerns mount over the spread of the Indian Covid variant. Surge testing is being ramped up in hotspot areas and the vaccine rollout is being accelerated to prevent the new strain from derailing the route out of lockdown. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain could "spread like wildfire" among the unvaccinated as he urged people to get their jabs. The Health Secretary said there had been no known deaths from the Indian variant in Bolton of somebody who has received both jabs. However Mr Hancock hailed "new very early data" from Oxford University which said the existing vaccines work against the variant.

Source: Daily Mirror May 16, 2021 21:22 UTC