London (AFP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the Indian variant could disrupt further deconfinement in England if it continues to spread there, after a worrying surge in some places.

Subject to strict containment during the winter, the United Kingdom, which deplores nearly 128,000 deaths, has seen its health situation improve markedly.

But three days before a key stage of deconfinement with the reopening of catering in theaters and cultural places, as well as the resumption of trips abroad, concern is growing in the face of the progress of this variant.

At this point, there is no reason to postpone Monday's easing, the conservative leader said at a press conference.

But if the variant turns out to be much more contagious, "we will be faced with difficult choices", he stressed: "this new variant could greatly disrupt our progress and make it much more difficult to take the next step", June 21, when almost all restrictions are supposed to be lifted.

To stop the spread of the B1.617.2 variant, the interval between two doses of the vaccine (up to three months) will be reduced to eight weeks for people over 50 and the most vulnerable, explained Boris Johnson.

The extension of vaccination to the youngest is also among the options studied, while screening will be stepped up in the affected areas.

"The race between our vaccination program and the virus is likely to become much tighter, and it is more important than ever that people receive the additional protection of a second dose," he said, noting that the service health care public was not under pressure.

For the moment, "nothing suggests that our vaccines will be less effective", he added, however calling on the public to "be extremely careful".

According to figures released Friday, more than 36 million people have received a first dose as part of the vaccination campaign launched in early December, and more than 19 million have had a second.

- Risk area -

The number of cases attributed to the Indian variant in the UK climbed from 520 last week to 1,313 this week, according to the Department of Health.

Most cases are concentrated in the north-west of England such as the city of Bolton, and London, as well as in younger people who have not yet been vaccinated.

In Scotland, authorities have announced that the easing of certain restrictions, scheduled for Monday, would not apply to certain areas suffering from epidemic outbreaks, such as Glasgow where the Indian variant has been detected.

Faced with this worrying emergence, Germany again classified the United Kingdom on Friday in its list of risk areas, the lowest on the scale, which includes those where the incidence rate is between 50 and 200 cases infection per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days.

Monday marks a sensitive stage in deconfinement with the reopening of cinemas and theaters, as well as the resumption of indoor service for pubs and restaurants - whose terraces were already reopened.

Indoor dating will again be allowed, but limited to a maximum of six or two households, and it will again be possible to vacation abroad - although only a few destinations are exempt from quarantine upon return.

Measures implemented locally include strengthening screening and contact tracing, and increasing genome sequencing of positive cases.

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, who is located in the affected area, objected on Friday to a possible implementation of local containments such as those applied in the fall.

"We would be very concerned if the government would subject Blackburn, Bolton, or any other place to local restrictions as the rest of the country becomes unconfined. Especially when there are things they can do before that," Mr Burnham told the BBC, stressing that the north-west of England was particularly vulnerable to lockdown, being one of the poorest areas in the country.

© 2021 AFP