How UK PM Johnson decided to delay COVID reopening

FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen on a road in Covent Garden ahead of a further easing of lockdown restrictions for England on April 12, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in London, Britain, April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday delayed by a month his plans to lift the last COVID-19 restrictions in England after modelling showed that thousands more people might die due unless reopening was pushed back.

The move was due to the rapid spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, which is more transmissible, associated with lower vaccine effectiveness against mild disease and could cause more hospitalisations in the unvaccinated.