WEST Worcestershire MP Harriet Baldwin has said that she hopes that the Government will ‘give people the freedom to choose how they behave’ ahead of the Prime Minister's final decision on whether to delay the final stage of lockdown easing. 

Boris Johnson looks set to delay England’s final lockdown easing in an announcement at a 6pm press conference amid concerns over the Delta variant first identified in India.

Ahead of the announcement, Ms Baldwin said:“I have always urged the Government to follow the data rather than dates as we remove national restrictions and the local case numbers in Worcestershire are still low, but showing a slight upward trend. The hospitals now have very few patients with Covid-19.

“It could not be more important that we get as many people vaccinated as possible and I urge everyone to get a jab as soon as they are asked. You may also be able to speed up your second dose.

“Local people have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 16 months but we all want to see our lives return to normal and allow businesses and workers to return to their normal operations I hope today’s announcement will give people the freedom to choose how they behave, since so many are now fully vaccinated. So many local people are affected by the restrictions and yet the restrictions have been universally applied.”

Worcester MP Robin Walker added: “India was put on the red list before the Delta variant was identified as a variant of concern, so I think it was right that it was put on the red list very early.

"The reality is it’s been on the red list for some time, but unfortunately there is an issue with the number of cases so I think that’s what the Government will take into account in reaching any decisions. Obviously it’s a finely balanced thing because the number of cases in hospitals has fortunately remained low, and that’s a good thing, but any substantial rise in the number of cases is clearly a matter of concern."