Scientists urge delay to may 17 unlocking as COVID cases double in parts of the UK

As the spread of the Indian COVID variant is moving concerningly fast, 10 million people could be getting their second dose of the vaccine earlier than expected in an attempt to slow the mutant virus down as much as possible.

Indian variant rapidly spreading

New data showed that in parts of the UK, cases of the coronavirus have doubled in less than a week leading many to believe that easing restrictions this coming Monday, 17 May, could prove to be a mistake.

In a bid to avoid further restrictions from being reinstated as a result of outbreaks, the government is now looking into surge testing for the new coronavirus variant in areas where it is spreading rapidly.

Lifting of lockdown to be pushed back?

Experts are also suggesting that the UK's younger population should start receiving coronavirus jabs as soon as possible. If not, according to them, lockdowns and social restrictions will not be lifted as planned in the upcoming phase three of the roadmap out of lockdown. PM, Boris Johnson, has also made it clear that no measures will be ruled out to contain the virus. During a conference, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said:

It is a variant of concern, we are anxious about it. There is a very wide range of scientific opinion about what could happen. We want to make sure we take all the prudential, cautious steps now that we could take. There is a range of things we could do—we are ruling nothing out.

Leading lecturer in epidemiology at Queen Mary's University of London, Dr. Deepti Gurdasani only backed up the suggestion of pushing back the easing of restrictions by explaining that:

If it's growing now, with current restrictions, we can't afford to be easing restrictions. We are seeing rapid exponential growth. And if we ease restrictions further, that's leading us straight into another lockdown.