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COVID-19: 'Nothing conclusive' to say end of restrictions will be delayed - but 'we will know a lot more in a few days' time', says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has said there is "nothing conclusive to say we need to deviate" from plans to end coronavirus restrictions next month.

Amid fears that rising cases of the Indian COVID variant could push back England's roadmap out of lockdown, the prime minister said "we are looking very carefully at the data...what's happening...the epidemiology...the extent to which the new variant may be more transmissible."

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He said "we will know a lot more in a few days' time" and promised to "keep people informed" and "continually updated".

He stressed it underlined the need for people to get vaccinated, if they are eligible.

Speaking at a vaccination centre at north London, Mr Johnson said: "The numbers are incredibly high. And I know that... some people have been more vaccine hesitant than others, but actually, across the whole of society, the numbers continue to go up in every group.

"And that's very, very encouraging. And I would urge everybody - just to make the obvious point - who is eligible for a vaccine, when you get your call up, when you get the notification from the NHS, come and get your jab.

"We're trying to work out to what extent the new variants, the Indian variants may be more transmissible. At the moment, we see nothing conclusive to say that we have to to deviate from the roadmap. Obviously, we'll be keeping people informed."

At around the same time as the PM was speaking, his spokesperson told reporters the key factor in making the decision would be data on the transmissibility of the variant, and officials don't have that information at present.

Earlier, Environment Secretary George Eustice warned that rising cases of the Indian variant could delay the easing of restrictions and force the government to impose local lockdowns.

When asked if the proposed end of restrictions in England on 21 June may not go ahead as planned, Mr Eustice told Sky News: "We cannot rule anything out."

He said imposing local lockdowns in areas where the population remains at risk while opening up the rest of the country is one of the options being looked at.

Mr Eustice said: "The prime minister said we will take this one step at a time.

"Just yesterday, we've had a further set of easements... We need to see how that beds down over the next two to three weeks, and then shortly before the 21 June, we'll be in a position to assess whether we can go to that next stage."

But Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, told Sky News "there is no evidence" that local lockdowns work.

And he said there should be no reason why step four of the government's roadmap for easing restrictions should not go ahead as planned.

Sir Graham said the data is "continuing to move in a positive direction, and actually far more positive than anybody had anticipated at the outset".

There had been no issues with schools reopening and the return of outdoor hospitality, adding: "With the continuing advance of the hugely successful vaccination programme, I think there's every reason to believe that yesterday's reopening of indoor hospitality is going to go smoothly too."

On Monday, people across England were again able to enjoy hugs with loved ones, indoor pints and foreign holidays - but Boris Johnson has urged a "heavy dose of caution".

As the number of cases of the Indian variant B.1.617.2 nearly doubled in a week to 2,323, Mr Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday that the majority of people admitted to hospital in Bolton with it had been eligible for the jab but had not taken it up.

Sky analysis found the Indian coronavirus variant of concern appears to be spreading rapidly, with a 44% weekly increase in the number of areas in England recording a case.

The variant was detected in 127 local authorities in the week ending 8 May - compared with 71 the week before, according to figures from the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Bedford has the second-highest rate of coronavirus in England, with 214 new cases recorded in the seven days to 13 May. It has 80 confirmed cases of the Indian variant.

The town's director of public health, Vicky Head, said she was "really worried" about the rise in cases.

"What we think now is that pretty much all of our cases are likely to be the variant from India," she told BBC Breakfast.

Labour said it was "wary" of local lockdowns, because of the impact on places like Bolton and Blackburn where the towns have been under extra restrictions for much of the last year.

Labour's shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell told Sky News: "We would be very reluctant and wary to go down the road of local lockdowns.

"They didn't really work at last time, but they became incredibly difficult and divisive for those areas that were put in early lockdown and poor old Bolton and Blackburn have really been at the forefront of this for the last year.

"So... let's get that surge vaccination, that surge testing capacity very, very quickly into these areas. And hopefully we'll be able to see some of this off."

Professor Gabriel Scally, a leading public health expert, told Sky News "we should be throwing the kitchen sink at this" in places like Bolton and Blackburn to reduce infection.

He said vaccinating younger age groups, thorough contact tracing and support for people to self-isolate was needed.