Local businesses react as England's lockdown easing delayed until July 19

Dan Visser, Langdale Hotel & Spa


In England, the planned lifting of restrictions has been postponed by four weeks to allow for more people to get the vaccine.

For hospitality businesses in the Lake District it's a big blow, with prolonged table service adding to the problems caused by the staffing crisis.

There is some good news for weddings though, with number restrictions lifting though still with precautions.



The link between hospitalisation and cases has been "weakened" but not "severed", Boris Johnson said announcing the delay.

He added there was a possibility "thousands more deaths" would come from continuing with step four and that it was "sensible to wait just a little longer".

"I am confident we will not need any more than 4 weeks and we won’t need to go beyond July 19th," Mr Johnson said.

He hopes deaths will be significantly reduced by that point because two-thirds of adults will have then been offered both vaccine doses due to the delay.

The gap between first and second doses of the vaccine will also be shortened from twelve to eight weeks for those over the age of 40 and the government aim to offer a jab for those over 18 before July 19.

Mr Johnson announced he would bring forward the target to give every adult a first dose by July 19th and said 23 and 24 year olds would be able to book vaccines from Tuesday.

Data shows that while two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines almost as effective against the Delta variant as against the Alpha one (the variant first identified in Kent), one dose of either only provides 33% efficacy.