Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the fourth phase of lockdown easing planned for June could be in jeopardy amid fears over the Covid-19 Indian variant of concern.
Hospitality leaders have responded by calling for more support for the hard-hit sector.
The variant appears to be more transmissible than the recent Kent variant and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warned "it is a realistic possibility that it is as much as 50% more transmissible".
At tonight's Downing Street briefing, the Prime Minister said: “I do not believe that we need, on the present evidence, to delay our road map and we will proceed with our plan to move to step three in England from Monday.
“But I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June.”
Later, he added: “This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible that we will be able to go ahead with step four.
“I don’t think that’s the case at all. But it does now mean there’s the risk of disruption and delay, and delay to that ambition, and we have to be utterly realistic about that.”
Mr Johnson said there was no evidence yet that a rise in cases of the Indian variant was translating into unmanageable pressures on the NHS in terms of hospital admissions.
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England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, told the briefing the variant was “quite widely seeded in a number of parts of England and indeed elsewhere in parts of the four nations of the United Kingdom”, and could overtake the Kent strain to become dominant in the 海角视频.
He said that if the variant proved substantially more transmissible than other variants, the 海角视频 could see “a really significant surge” in Covid-19 cases, adding: “That’s a really critical question to which we do not yet have the answer.”
海角视频Hospitality’s chief executive Kate Nicholls said it was “vital” financial support was offered if step four of the road map was disrupted by any surge of the Indian variant of coronavirus.
She said: “The Prime Minister’s statement has introduced an element of doubt surrounding the dropping of restrictions on 21 June. The situation will clearly be closely monitored but should the road map timings slip, it is vital financial supports are forthcoming, and that business rates are postponed until October.
“Businesses need a swift, publicly stated commitment that such supports would be in place in the event of a delay to step four, to give venues some reassurance as they look toward the challenges of viable trading.”