England on track for next stage of lockdown easing

England is on track for the next stage of lifting the lockdown restrictions next month, health minister Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.

Indoor service in pubs and restaurants will be allowed from May 17 at the earliest, according to the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. The data shows

“we are essentially precisely on track for where we expected to be at this point and that is obviously good news, it means we can follow the roadmap,”

Hancock said at a news conference.

Progress with Britain’s vaccine rollout should limit the damage from any third wave of COVID-19 infections, one of England’s top doctors said on Wednesday, adding that there would likely still be bumps in the road in the coming year.

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England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said that the

“modelling consensus is clear that we will have what is called a third wave.”

“I am personally hopeful that if the vaccine programme continues at pace, and continues to be as successful as it’s been, the third wave, so to speak, might just be a third upsurge and much less significant, because of the de-linking of cases to hospitalizations and deaths,” he said at a news conference.

“But I think it’s inconceivable to think that we will go from a period of relative calm…

with no further bumps in the road in terms of upswings in activity

between now and this time next year,” he added, saying he expected more cases, likely in the in the autumn or winter, but it was hard to know for sure.