Dominic Raab grilled by Ridge over lockdown restrictions review

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Lockdown measures will come to an end with all coronavirus limits lifted from June 21. Social distancing and mass gathering numbers are due to see all legal limits removed from that time, but now the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has warned some legal restrictions could continue on beyond that date. But what could these new rules involve exactly?

More than 15 million people in the UK are now fully vaccinated according to the latest Government data.

This means a large proportion of the elderly and most vulnerable people are vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Government also revealed a further 14 people had died within 28 days of a positive test, which is up from seven deaths reported on Saturday.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today revealed some Covid safeguards will likely remain in place beyond June.

This appears to be at odds with the Government’s roadmap which outlines how “all legal limits” would be lifted from June 21.

The June 21 lifting of restrictions includes all legal limits on social contact being removed, in addition to the removal of legal limits on the number of people who can attend weddings, funerals and other life events.

Nightclubs will also be allowed to reopen.

There are just two more planned lifting stages for the current rules planned for May 17 and June 21.

All lifting stages are contingent on four key tests:

• The vaccine programme continues to go to plan
• Vaccines sufficiently reduce the number of deaths and hospitalisations
• Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospital admissions.
• New Covid variants do not fundamentally change the risk of lifting restrictions.

Mr Raab told the BBC no decisions have been made about the restrictions which will remain in force after June 21, but safeguards will likely remain in place beyond that time,

He said the UK is “in a good position: to “get life back as close to normal as possible”.

Mr Raab told the Andrew Marr Show: “But there will still need to be some safeguards in place.”

He added: “That’s one of the tools, one of the options that we’ll look at. No decisions have been made.”

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The comments from the Foreign Secretary came as the Government announced a trial of daily lateral flow tests for those who have come into close contact with someone with Covid.

This plan could see the end of the mandatory self-isolation period.

From May 9, around 40,000 close contacts of people with Covid in England will be invited to participate in the study.

These individuals will be able to test themselves for seven days, but will no longer be required to self-isolate as long as the test result remains negative and they do not show any symptoms.

The Foreign Secretary did not outline what types of measures could likely remain in force beyond June 21.

Professor Martin Michaelis, virologist and professor of molecular medicine at the University of Kent, said the new normal will see a lot of new permanent measures to protect against resurgence of the virus.

The virologist told Express.co.uk: “COVID-19 will not go suddenly away.

“It will take until 2022 or even 2023 before a substantial fraction of the world population will be vaccinated.

“In the meantime, there will be a continuous risk that new variants are introduced, which are not covered by the available vaccines or immunity provided by infections with previous virus strains.”

Professor Michaelis added protection against viruses wanes over time and therefore numbers of new cases need to be carefully observed, especially as formal restrictions are eased.

The virologist added social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures will likely remain in place.

Professor Michaelis told Express.co.uk: “Since COVID-19 will continue to be a threat, distancing and hygiene measures (‘Hands, Face, Space and Fresh air’) will probably remain in place for the foreseeable future.

“We will be allowed to meet people without formal restrictions, but the expectation will be that we do this in a responsible way without causing future COVID-19 spikes and waves.

“Moreover, I would anticipate regular testing to become a fixed part of our lives, in particular when we cross borders or attend places at a higher risk of virus transmission.”

In addition to these measures, Professor Michaelis said he believes mass-scale events will be controlled differently, particularly night club environments and food offerings such as self-service and buffets.

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