LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson on Friday said he would postpone the next stage of
lockdown easing for at least two weeks due to a pick-up in
COVID-19 infection rates.
"On Saturday 1 August we had hoped to reopen in England a
number of the higher-risk settings that had remained closed ...
Today I am afraid we are postponing those changes for at least a
fortnight," Johnson said at a news conference.
"I know that the steps we are taking will be a real blow to
many people ... I am really, really sorry about that but we
simply cannot take the risk."
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Paul Sandle, writing by
Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)