Johnson switches from G-7 host to bearer of bad Covid news

[LONDON] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns from hosting world leaders along the golden sands and aquamarine sea of Carbis Bay to a much grimmer task: delaying plans to lift England's pandemic restrictions.

Mr Johnson hoped the Group of Seven summit would showcase British leadership on crucial issues, including action to cut carbon emissions and commitments to help vaccinate the world and bring the pandemic to an end.

The surge in the Covid-19 delta variant first identified in India has forced Mr Johnson and his team to rethink their blueprint for ending social distancing rules on June 21. Now, officials expect the premier to announce a delay of as long as four weeks to the easing of most rules when he sets out his decision to the nation on Monday evening.

There may be some relaxation of restrictions on weddings and major sporting events to allow larger public gatherings to take place, one official said. Answering questions on Sunday, the prime minister said he'd be studying the latest Covid data before setting out his plans.

According to the Monday edition of the Times, Mr Johnson and senior ministers including Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have since signed off on a four-week delay.

On Saturday, Mr Johnson sounded a warning that the outlook was not looking good, saying he felt less optimistic than he had done two weeks earlier.

"It's clear that the Indian variant is more transmissible and it's also true that the cases are going up, and that the levels of hospitalisation are going up," Mr Johnson told Sky News. "We don't know exactly to what extent that is going to feed through into extra mortality, but clearly it's a matter of serious, serious concern."

NATO AND BREXIT

Before Mr Johnson addresses the nation, he will spend the day at the Nato summit in Brussels. While alliance leaders are likely to discuss Russia, Mr Johnson may also find Brexit remains an issue.

Throughout the gathering, Mr Johnson and his team were dogged by questions about a simmering dispute with the European Union over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, and the more immediate threat that a new wave of infections will engulf the country.

The UK and EU are locked in a standoff over how to apply parts of the Brexit divorce accord that require checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from mainland Britain.

Mr Johnson and his team hit out at EU leaders on the sidelines of the G-7 summit, accusing them of being "offensive" in their failure to grasp that Northern Ireland is an integral part of the UK.

French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for "calm" after reports suggested he had implied to Mr Johnson he didn't think Northern Ireland was part of the UK in the same way that Toulouse and Paris were both mainland French cities.

Mr Johnson threatened to suspend parts of the Brexit deal if the EU doesn't back down by the deadline of June 30, when a grace period on checks on goods headed to Northern Ireland expires. The bloc, meanwhile, has warned it will retaliate if the UK acts alone.

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