COVID-19: Boris Johnson under fire over rise in Delta variant cases and lockdown easing delay

Boris Johnson has been accused by the opposition leader of failing to act quickly enough to prevent the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the UK.

A rise in the number of cases has led the British prime minister to delay lifting England”s remaining coronavirus restrictions by four weeks, until Monday July 19.

Speaking at the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Johnson had delayed putting India — where the variant is thought to have originated — onto the UK’s “red list”, which would have meant more stringent travel restrictions.

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